Mowing Nails in Tires

[ABuddy]

Howdy,

I am planning on doing weed abatement on lots throughout California.

Most of the lots appear to be relatively flat with wild oats to be abated with a brush hog. There is also some scattereed debris on a small percentage of the lots. May be an occasion nail or sharpobject which I may not be able to see.

Any suggestions on the most practical method for repairing tubeless tires? I may need to fill the tires with water for traction and ballast.

Also, would you recommend to use the goop which can be injected into the trires to help fill leaks?

Thanks,

Bud

 

[Egon]

Use the goop.

Carry a repair kit and a cheap 12 volt compressor.

 

[Ironhand]

Slime works great in ATV tires if you can do without the ballast (both won't work).

 

[Carykong]

If you experience unusually high tire failure due objects like nails and thorns,I got my tires lined on the inside with extra rubber,about 3/8 inch. Inner tubes hold up much better.

 

[Soundguy]

I don't know the cost.. but what about 'balasting' the fronts with slime.. or a slime like alternative.. I know tsc sometimes sells it in bulk with a pump handle.

that or

get used aircraft tires for fronts

foam fill your fronts

got to tubes, and run thick boots as someone else mentioned


good luck

soundguy

 

[NWOH_Grizz]

A couple of years ago I had a flat on one of my ATV's while way out in a national forest. Put Slime in there, sealed the flat well. Ran it with the Slime in there the whole rest of the season. The following spring, went to dismount the tire and had a heck of a time getting the bead to break. Had to use a wide dull chisel, a 4 lb hammer, and some special words. The Slime had rusted the rim real bad. I was able to salvage it with a lot of wire wheel and sandpaper time, then tube it. The other three tires popped right off and the wheels were nice and shiny.

In my experience, Slime is good for an emergency fix, but not for long term use in tubeless tires. Probably OK for tubed tires.

 

[LoneCowboy]

there's a kit by blackjack and it's basically a patch kit from the outside. You ream it, shove the stuff thru and it holds the tire.
then run air off your truck. (it usually doesn't lose that much air to be honest)

yes, you will go thru tires.

 

[TripleR]

When cleaning up a section of our property we had a lot of Locust trees and couldn't keep the tires on our tractor or ATV patched, so we used a tire sealer, I forget the name, but it worked very well for a couple of years until the tires were about a third wood, a third rubber and the rest sealant.

 

[Soundguy]

I think I'd have to grab a set of old tires and rusty rims and foam them if I had to do alot of work in a thorn or nail ridden area..

soundguy

 

[whistlepig]

R1 rear tractor tires will take a tremendous amount of abuse without getting a flat. I used to mow vacant lots in the city for realtors. These vacant lots were a dumping area for all the houses around. I have popped several hundred beer bottles with my rear tires and never gotten a flat. Ran over about anything one could imagine. I tried Slime and the tire sealants on my small mowers and ATV's. This stuff really makes a mess inside the tires and rims and doesn't last forever. Sooner or later this stuff has to come back out of the tires.

 

[George2615]

On my tractor I have had nails in the front tires (Tubeless R4's). I used Fix a Flat and it worked great. Fix a Flat is water soluble and doesn't cause any harm to wheels. If you decide to dismount the tire for a more permanent fix the Fix a Flat in the tire will wash out with water and a rag.

I also have used a manually operated plug gun bought from NAPA. (JC Whitney used to sell them as well). You just fill the tire with air, remove the nail, load the plug gun, shove the plug gun tip through the tire where the nail was and manually pump the handle which pushes the plug through the hole. Pull the plug gun out and cut off any part of the rubber plug the sticks above the tread.

 

[bjr]

I'm gonna go at this from a different angle. Depending on the wheel size and if you can get them get a complete set of wheels and some old beater tires foam filled. Yes, Exspensive,but, if your gonna show a profit at the end of the day you don't wanna have to stop for flat tires and maybe completely shredded tires. I might also consider a skid plate for the engine area. People are PIGS and all the trash and metal get strewn wherever. Good luck too you, It's a brave new world and you gotta keep tryin' different things to bring in a dollar these days. bjr

 

[ABuddy]

Getlemen,

I had no idea there was so much to know about protecting tires from nails and sharp objects.

It appears that slim is a temporary fix with negative consequenceces down trhe line-- rusiting rims and general paint to remove tire etc.

Local tractor supply charged my son 26 dollars for small bottle of tractor goop!! Any difference between tractor Goop and regular Goop? I think I will return at first opportunity.

SO it appears innertube and possibly inner boots are hte way to go??

Don't know where to find

bjr- sound like an interesting angle. If I foam fill a set of beater tires, what would be the downside to such a practice? Is it a special type of foam and how do I apply it?

George- Are you saying the fix a flat will not rust the rim like the goop? The plug gun sounds good- but can I use it on the side wall as well? My rear tire has a small pin leak in the side wall and the tires have water in them foe ballast I guess. Will the plugs still work with water filled tires?

Whistlepig- I will look into R1 tires. Are they just heavier duty? Did you use inner tubes as well? Did you do anything special to protect the front tires?

Soundguy- I may have to go with the foam. SOund like a good idea for the fronts at the very least. Aircraft tires may be a good idea.

Lone Cowboy- I will look into Blackjack patch kit.

NWOH_Grizz- Thanks for the warning. What do you think of foaming the tires?

Carykong- Can you gove me a lead as t0o where to acquire the 3/8 liner?

Ironhand- 10/4

Many thanks Gentlemen for your much appreciated input.

Abud

 

[George2615]

George- Are you saying the fix a flat will not rust the rim like the goop? The plug gun sounds good- but can I use it on the side wall as well? My rear tire has a small pin leak in the side wall and the tires have water in them foe ballast I guess. Will the plugs still work with water filled tires?

Abuddy,
There was a car show on TV (I think it was on SpeedChannel either Saturday or Sunday) it was one of those shows with 2 guys working on a car or truck. Toward the end of the show they did a segment on Fix a Flat. They said it was safe to use and easy cleanup with water later if a more permanent fix was required. I don't recall anything about it rusting wheels from the inside. You mention your tires are water filled, won't that water rust your rims from the inside.
I have used it for years. I keep a can in my motorcycle saddlebag for emergencies, I have a can in each front tire of my tractor (Its been in for a year now). I have plugged the sidewall of another tractor tire (my current tractor has plugs in the tread) without problem. The tractor tire sidewall is thick, heavy and strong enough to hold a plug unlike a car tire which is thin and would flex too much. I wouldn't hesitate to plug a tractor sidewall. Its much less expensive than a new tire. When using my plug gun I put rubber cement in the gun then load the plug and put it in the tire. When I pull the gun out the plug stays in and the cement bonds the plug to the tire.
In your case with water filled tires I don't think Fix a Flat would work because the water would dilute the Fix a Flat.
Here's a link to the show the segment on Fix a Flat. It was on the Truck U show. Click on the link and go to the product demo.
http://www.fixaflat.com/

 

[whistlepig]

I think the R1's and R'4s are equally hard to puncture. Rear tractor tires are just pretty darn tough. People wouldn't have the rears filled if they were easy to puncture. Getting a flat fixed on a filled tire is pretty pricey. I've tried the goop's for fixing flat tires. For the short term they worked. Long term they were a lot more work than the plugs and patches that I went back to. Again, sooner later that stuff is going to have to come back out of there. It's a liquid and like all other liquids it does have a shelf life.

 

[J_J]

I believe Gemplers make some stuff called Bullet Proof, and they will sell you the amount for a particular size tire. Should fix holes to about 1/2 in. Also, anti-rust.

Tire Sealants, Flat Tire Prevention, Tires & Supplies