radial tires and liquid ballast

[john12566]

Will be trading down to a new Deere 2025r and wanting to get the Galaxy radial tire option. Will have a loader on the tractor and have always had liquid ballast in the rear tires for that reason. A lot of info out there--much of it from tire manufacturers themselves--saying not to load radial tires. I read more than once that loading a radial tire basically "turns it back into a bias ply tire."
Anyone out there that has loaded (liquid) radial tires and could share their experience with the ride, footprint and soil compaction, especially if they have a before and after experience?
Thanks.
John

 

[ovrszd]

In regards to the radial issue. I've never heard that. My [AFFILIATE=1, nofollow=true, newwindow=true, title="Kubota"]Kubota[/AFFILIATE] has Titan radials with the rears filled. I have no complaints about the performance.

"turning it back into a bias ply tire" would indicate a loss of traction maybe? Not sure what that means. The footprint of mine is just as pliable as when they were unloaded. There might be a bit harsher ride because of a smaller air bubble in the tire. But certainly not enough that I notice it.

My little 2210 has bias ply tires. I loaded the rears and ran it that way for several years. When I moved the duties of that tractor changed. Less compaction became more important than added traction. I dumped the fluid. For MMM duties I think it actually rides a bit worse without the fluid.

If using an FEL the weight gain offsets any losses.

 

[dieselscout80]

I loaded my rear radial tires.

I noticed the water stiffened the ride but not as stiff as my old bias ply tires.

17.5LR24 Tires w/ R1 Tread

I had Titan 17.5L24 R4 tires on my New Holland TC45DA and they provided terrible traction, so I set out to find a R1 type tire. I only found one 17.5LR24 / 460/70LR24 tire with a R1 tread pattern the BKT RT 747. https://www.bkt-tires.com/ww/us/rt-747-agro-industrial The RT 747 is a radial and...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[LouNY]

I'm not familiar with your size tires but I don't recall seeing that info before on the larger tires I'm more familiar with.
We don't like liquid fill for many reasons, we prefer bolt on iron ballast.
That said I don't see were liquid fill would be affecting the tire performance as too making a radial behave like a bias ply.
We much prefer the radials on tractors for the traction and slightly better compaction, they do allow more sway from the tires on steep sidehills.

 

[john12566]

Again this info is coming from some of the maufacturers, not me

 

[ovrszd]

Again this info is coming from some of the maufacturers, not me

Yep we understand. We're just offering our experiences.

With an FEL on that tractor I'd want some sort of tire/wheel weight.

I agree with Lou's thoughts comparing cast iron weights to tire fluid. The only advantage fluid has is initial cost. My [AFFILIATE=1, nofollow=true, newwindow=true, title="Kubota"]Kubota[/AFFILIATE] has fluid plus cast iron weight. I still carry a heavy box blade on the 3pt when doing heavy Grapple work.

AG tractors carry a much larger percentage of their total weight on the rear tires. Utility tractors are a bit more balanced. CUTS and SCUTS carry a much larger percentage on the front.

Welcome to TBN!!! Let us know what you decide. With pictures of the new tractor of course.

 

[Farmer495]

Have radials loaded with Calcium. Loader tractor so weight is desirable. Came that way from dealer.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Radial tires with a tube.

 

[ovrszd]

Radial tires with a tube.

What's the tube for?

 

[oldnslo]

Reason I was told to consider steel weight vs fluid in radials is the fluid slows down how quickly the radial can flex and absorb bumps or follow ground contour. Per the tire supplier this could possibly damage the radial tire easier that bias ply but not sure what operating conditions or speeds this was based on. I suspect concern is With more farmers operating at higher speeds of 8 - 10 MPH. He did not mention concerns about traction loss.

This information is also around 5 years old so tire designs may have changed since then.