Steel tires

[ric]

About 20 years I worked on flathead Ford V8 engines for fun and occassionally for some of the farmers around where I lived. One day a friend showed up in my garage and wanted to know if I could work on the engine in his tractor if he delivered it. Later he rolls in with a Ford tractor with Ford flathead V8 engine. Other than the engine the most unusual part of the tractor was it had steel wheels and tires front and rear that looked like R1's. When I asked where he got those he said they came on the tractor when his grandfather bought it new and those were the second set. About 10 years ago I saw a newer John Deere with similar wheels and tires on it. I assume it was newer tractor it was a diesel. Wonder where you could get steel wheels and tires today?

 

[HalseyGreen]

Not sure you can call them "steel tires", they are steel wheels with no rubber. You found them on Ford's and others during WWII, when rubber was going to the war effort. I have seen them in the classified ad section of the "Lancaster Farming News". For those of you not familiar with this paper, its a weekly rag that comes out of Lancaster, PA. If full of farming articles, and a whole section of 20 or so pages of classified and dealer ads for farming equipment plus another section of all things from construction equipment, building, animals, fencing, dairy equipment and vehicles for sale. Back to the steel tires, I have noticed them for sale on equipment that I beleive to have been operated by the Amish or the like. Hope this helps. If you want more information about the Lancaster Farming News, let me know and I will get you the address and cost.

 

[bgott]

Some 2N Ford tractors during WWII came with magnetoes and steel wheels and hand cranks due to wartime shortages. The most common flathead V-8 conversion kit was made by a company named Funk. They have pictures of them at www.ytmag.com. It must have been a real treat to get any traction out of a V8 on steel.

 

[Thomas]

Closes I could come w/a photo of a Ford w/steel wheels.
Not sure I would want to get on some ice w/those steel wheels. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

 

[RoyJackson]

A friend of mine restored a '55 John Deere 70.
The attached pic is not his tractor, but was on a website he directed me to when I asked him about his "Johnny Popper"
The site URL is:

http://johnnypopper.com/

 

[MJB]

Steel wheels were the only wheels you could get on tractors up until the 1930s. Allis Chalmers was the first major tractor manufacturer to equip their units with rubber tires as standard equipment. Many farmers resisted the change to rubber tires for years. Of course, many old-time farmers don't consider something new as being "field tested" until it has been in use for 20 years or so./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Strangely enough, rubber tires actually get better traction than those old steel lugged wheels. The Nebraska tractor tests were finally able to prove to the old farmers that the rubber tires were actually better, unless they were working in areas where flat tires were common. Rubber shortages during WWII did cause a return to steel wheels for a while, but it was not really a major problem since steel shortages meant that there were not that many new tractors built either.

 

[Joe_W]

In Ohio and probably most farming states we have antique tractor shows, steam thresher shows and other farm-related activities that will have flea markets with old tractor items for sale. If you don't find any steel wheels at one, I bet that if you ask some of the people that have restored some of these old pieces of farm equipment, they may have some extra wheels or know someone that does.
Good Luck
Joe W.

 

[RobertN]

The Nebraska tests did kind of double duty. One, as you mention, rubber gave better traction. A bonus is that fuel consumption improved too. One of my books has numbers for the improvements, but of course I can't find the reference right now... The other big thing about rubber, was operator comfort; the ride is much smoother.

The rubber tires have more flex, and can conform to the ground better, giving more traction.

The original concept was tested by Firestone, using an Allis Model-U. The testing actually took place on the Firestone family farm.

 

[MJB]

I remember reading somewhere that Allis Chalmers hired Barney Oldfield (famous race car driver of the time) to drive an Allis Model U with rubber tires and a special high speed axle ratio. The tractor would do about 60mph on the test track. The idea was to show farmers how much better the tractors drove and rode with the rubber tires instead of steel. Must have been quite a sight./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[ric]

Thanks for the tip on where to find these in Ohio. I'll check it out. My goal here is not traction but uptime. I have alot of ground that I need to get into with high grass, thorn bushes small trees and so on and I'd like to not have to spend alot of time fixing flat tires. Plus it seems to me steel wheels and tires would likely be inherently heavier which speaks for itself. I rented a bobcat a few years ago that had solid rubber R4 tires on it that I used in places I'd be concerned about balloon tires surviving inflated. The rims were taller than the standard rim and the "tires" were about 5 inches thick solid rubber. Went everywhere no flats. Ever since then I been thinking about how to apply this to my L245DT. All the tires on the 245 are flatproofed which works great but I just know one day my luck will run out in the worst spot. Thanks. ric