Tire covers

ron45 · May 8, 2013

Tires on my Kioti, [ 30hp FEL/BH ] are pretty new. A. should I keep covers on the tries? It does not have any kind of shelter. I live in New Mexico so they see plenty of UV every day. Altitude is near 7k feet.

B. What long lasting material would you make them out of if you could make some?

Ron

oldballs · May 9, 2013

I use any old heavy plastic bag that mulch type products come in. 50 lb feed or seed bags are handy also. When cut along two sides they usually make something large enough to cover a tire. On tandem axle trailer I use either a 6 x 8 tarp or any large plastic sheeting from my "stuff" / junk acculumation. I just do this on the sunny side if the object is parked by a building. Then one has to tie the cover on some way. I use bailing twine.

PeterK · May 9, 2013

HF sells a set of four covers for low $$. Since most park their trailers in the same spot, one side often gets more UV than the other so more likely than not, one-side sidewall cracks. So protection is a good idea, 6-plys are not inexpensive and IMHO it's good insurance to protect them.

orezok · May 9, 2013

Your conditions are not much different than mine. I'm at 3,500 in the Mojave. My Kubota has been out uncovered for 8 years and the tires and seat show little environmental damage. I had a travel trailer with a rubber roof exposed for 16 years with no UV damage. I believe that the UV damage is greatly accelerated by air pollution and moisture and the clean air and no rain here and in NM seems to help.

I'm not saying don't cover if that makes you more comfortable, but it hasn't been necessary for me.

bigtiller · May 9, 2013

Well, you could do what this guy does;

pwright · May 9, 2013

Are you using it everyday or does it sit for weeks at a time?

If it sits a lot I would definitely cover them. Re-using something like feed bags sounds like a great idea. The Harbor Freight covers I've got for my travel trailer definitely wouldn't cover the rear but might cover the front tires.

For that matter I would suggest getting something like an RV shelter to park it under if you don't have a barn.

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