Tractor Tire Pressure

[ALBALD1]

My owners manual recommends 25psi for most general work including fel operation. Seems like they sag w/ a bucket full of dirt. Is that normal or should i make them stand up under load/

 

[3RRL]

I suppose you are talking the fronts, and mine does too. But I generally pump them up to at least 32psi since I'm mostly on dirt anyway. For heavy fel work I get up to 38psi.

 

[RoyJackson]

My owners manual recommends 25psi for most general work including fel operation. Seems like they sag w/ a bucket full of dirt. Is that normal or should i make them stand up under load/

I suggest you add enough pressure to ensure theode front tires are pretty stiff. You'll notice increased difficulty (very) steering (when there is a load in the bucket) if you don't have adequate pressure.
Definitely keep an eye on those tires when using your loader and increase pressure accordingly.

 

[RoyJackson]

My owners manual recommends 25psi for most general work including fel operation. Seems like they sag w/ a bucket full of dirt. Is that normal or should i make them stand up under load/

I suggest you add enough pressure to ensure the front tire sidewalls are pretty stiff. You'll notice increased difficulty (very) steering (when there is a load in the bucket) if you don't have adequate pressure.
Definitely keep an eye on those tires when using your loader and increase pressure accordingly.
Inadequate pressure in the fronts not only causes difficult steering. The tires can roll off the rims. Also, the tractor is less stable, thus increasing a potential for a roll over.

I came close to rolling the tires off my rims (when carrying an old boiler)....not a comfortable feeling!

 

[ALBALD1]

Thanks for the advice. I was thinking the same thing. I recently moved a pile of dirt that took about 15 trips on grass, then cement, then asphalt, & then grass a gain. The whole thing was probly less than 200 ft, but I just didn't figure that was good for the tires. I double checked the owners manual & it said 25psi for fel work. I'm gonna just put them up to 32 & just adjust as needed from there.

 

[Grrrr]

Thanks for the advice. I was thinking the same thing. I recently moved a pile of dirt that took about 15 trips on grass, then cement, then asphalt, & then grass a gain. The whole thing was probly less than 200 ft, but I just didn't figure that was good for the tires. I double checked the owners manual & it said 25psi for fel work. I'm gonna just put them up to 32 & just adjust as needed from there.

All of the fronts on our 2WD tractors are at 40psi no matter what they do. The back tires are at about 10psi.

 

[skipmarcy]

Thanks for the advice. I was thinking the same thing. I recently moved a pile of dirt that took about 15 trips on grass, then cement, then asphalt, & then grass a gain. The whole thing was probly less than 200 ft, but I just didn't figure that was good for the tires. I double checked the owners manual & it said 25psi for fel work. I'm gonna just put them up to 32 & just adjust as needed from there.

I wouldn't go any higher than the max. pressure rating on the tire - that figure is there for a reason. That being said, I run mine right at that pressure all the time - 40 psi for my R4 16.5x12. The owner's manual may not necessarily be correct - my manual gives tire pressures for R1 tires for my model but not the R4's that came on it new.

 

[SkunkWerX]

I wouldn't go any higher than the max. pressure rating on the tire - that figure is there for a reason. That being said, I run mine right at that pressure all the time - 40 psi for my R4 16.5x12. The owner's manual may not necessarily be correct - my manual gives tire pressures for R1 tires for my model but not the R4's that came on it new.

I agree with Skipmarcy, look at the sidewall of the tire and see if it gives a Max. psi. If so, then I would use that.

If they say Max of 25 psi, and you put 32 in them, you are running about 23% over the max recommended pressure. If you ran 10% over, that would be 27.5 psi and would be the farthest I wold go above Max. rated.

 

[pat32rf]

I tend to take the other side of the coin. I have a lot of sharp rocks and sticks, not to mention bumps. I learned (on my 4x4s)a long time ago that a softer tire is less apt to get a hole poked in it, gives better traction and floatation, and a much smoother ride. The tires should have some flex (but not enough so it pinches the sidewall against the rim)
Going over a stick or stone with a hard tire can tilt your tractor real quick, but if your tire can conform to the stick you won't feel it as much. This is even more evident with a rear tire.
Used to always run oversized tires on the little(3-4000lb) 4x4s at about 12-15psi and get even tread wear and a smooth ride, excellent traction. (Then when they went to a garage for an oil change they would come back with 25-35psi in them.)

 

[RoyJackson]

I tend to take the other side of the coin. I have a lot of sharp rocks and sticks, not to mention bumps. I learned (on my 4x4s)a long time ago that a softer tire is less apt to get a hole poked in it, gives better traction and floatation, and a much smoother ride. The tires should have some flex (but not enough so it pinches the sidewall against the rim)

Pat, have you ever used a loader? Lower pressure (to a degree) is OK for mowing and using the tractor with a 3PH implement. But loader work compresses those tire sidewalls quite a bit. They'll look almost flat, in fact. This dramatically increases the difficulty in steering and can roll the tire right off the rim. The sidewalls, being compressed, make the machine unstable too.

I found this out when moving an old boiler. I didn't check (and increase) the front tire pressures. Boy...I was in a jam since I didn't notice the problem until I was ½ too my destination (but I was wondering why it was so tough to steer...I attributed this to the loader and power steering hydraulic sharing the same reservoir)). When I saw how flat the fronts were, I almost defecated in my jeans, bro...

 

[texasjohn]

No question, with FEL that you actually use, max pressure in front tires as stated on the tires themselves. Many reasons this is the right answer.

 

[skipmarcy]

I tend to take the other side of the coin. I have a lot of sharp rocks and sticks, not to mention bumps. I learned (on my 4x4s)a long time ago that a softer tire is less apt to get a hole poked in it, gives better traction and floatation, and a much smoother ride. The tires should have some flex (but not enough so it pinches the sidewall against the rim)
Going over a stick or stone with a hard tire can tilt your tractor real quick, but if your tire can conform to the stick you won't feel it as much. This is even more evident with a rear tire.
Used to always run oversized tires on the little(3-4000lb) 4x4s at about 12-15psi and get even tread wear and a smooth ride, excellent traction. (Then when they went to a garage for an oil change they would come back with 25-35psi in them.)

pat, I agree with your reasoning but only for my rear tires - I run my rears a little soft for exactly the reasons you state, but I keep my FEL on all the time and use it almost every time I run the tractor so I keep full pressure in the fronts. Even at full pressure, my 6' bucket full of dirt or gravel will squat the tires some, makes steering a little harder and on uneven or hilly ground it can make you squeeze your cheeks a little tighter to the seat, especially making a turn going downhill. I've had the rear wheels dancing off the ground before and was sure glad those front tires were up to par!

 

[Soundguy]

Pat.. i have to agree with Roy.. you must not run a heavilly laden FEL often.

I move round hay bales with my loader.. if I ran anything under max pressure.. the tires' flatten right out and roll of fthe rim as soon as i turned...

And yes.. we've all had sticks poke our tires and had to fix flats... it's just aprt of owning a tractor.

soundguy

I tend to take the other side of the coin. I have a lot of sharp rocks and sticks, not to mention bumps. I learned (on my 4x4s)a long time ago that a softer tire is less apt to get a hole poked in it, gives better traction and floatation, and a much smoother ride. The tires should have some flex (but not enough so it pinches the sidewall against the rim)
Going over a stick or stone with a hard tire can tilt your tractor real quick, but if your tire can conform to the stick you won't feel it as much. This is even more evident with a rear tire.
Used to always run oversized tires on the little(3-4000lb) 4x4s at about 12-15psi and get even tread wear and a smooth ride, excellent traction. (Then when they went to a garage for an oil change they would come back with 25-35psi in them.)

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Pat.. i have to agree with Roy.. you must not run a heavilly laden FEL often.

I move round hay bales with my loader.. if I ran anything under max pressure.. the tires' flatten right out and roll of fthe rim as soon as i turned...

And yes.. we've all had sticks poke our tires and had to fix flats... it's just aprt of owning a tractor.

soundguy

Just part of the "fun"......

The way I had it explained to me by the tire guy who fixes our back hoe tires, you need enough pressure so that the sidewall doesn't bow more than 1/4th of it's height under the heaviest of loads. Then, you need a TIRE that's rated for AT LEAST enough pressure to handle that inflated psi. Excessive bowing of sidewalls, even with "enough" pressure will usually lead to premature tire failure.

Loaders are tough on tires. No amount of air changes that.

 

[Soundguy]

Yep.. and the more ply's the better.

I got 1 loader with 6 ply tri-ribs... I have to run the small bales on her.. just not enough tire up there.

The other loader is on a beefier 8 ply quad rib... properly aired.. she runs anything the loader will grunt off the ground..

( and as everything in the world is.. the 8ply quad-ribs are $pendier than the 6ply tri-ribs.. )

Soundguy

Just part of the "fun"......

The way I had it explained to me by the tire guy who fixes our back hoe tires, you need enough pressure so that the sidewall doesn't bow more than 1/4th of it's height under the heaviest of loads. Then, you need a TIRE that's rated for AT LEAST enough pressure to handle that inflated psi. Excessive bowing of sidewalls, even with "enough" pressure will usually lead to premature tire failure.

Loaders are tough on tires. No amount of air changes that.

 

[pat32rf]

Actually I use my loader constantly, sometimes with loads that I have to curl to get off the ground(not often) Bought the tractor new because of the loader and have about 3000hrs on it now. My work is virtually all off road and in the bush.
What I was trying to get accross was that it is OK to have some flex in the front tires with a loaded bucket. You do not have to increase the air so they are rock hard. You may be better off with a bigger(wider)front tire of higher capacity. The amount of flex will of course depend on the load.
I have a "rock fork" that I use for big boulders and sometimes have to run the loaded forks up a hump, then curl the bucket to get the load off the ground. This means that it is well over 1200lbs. (JD 4300) Then my tires squat more than I like to see, to the point that I worry about them but I do everything slowly with these loads.
I don't remember what my tire pressure is but go by what works. My only front flat was when I found a nail and I once knocked loose a rear valve, but made it back to my float to pull the tire, by hooking one corner of the loader under the float to lift the opposite rear off the ground.

 

[Mace Canute]

Has anyone seen a "zipper failure" on a tire? In a nutshell, it is caused by having excessive sidewall flex and then airing up the tire to higher, but normal pressures. The cords in the sidewall are damaged by the excessive flexing when run at a low pressure and they fail when the tire is aired up again.(fyi 20 percent underinflated is considered a run-flat by tire manufacturers). Sidewall zipper failures typically occur during the inflation process. There is almost no way to determine whether a tire is subject to zipper failure. The sidewall of a tire catastrophically fails, often injuring, sometimes killing the inflator and/or bystanders. These failures are referred to as "zipper failures" because of the appearance of the sidewall after the explosion. However, tires are designed to run at a specific inflation pressure. Overinflation reduces a tire's footprint and places more weight on the middle of the tread. Not only will this reduce a tire's life, but ride quality, stability, safety and traction all can be compromised.

 

[daTeacha]

Welcome Aboard Mace! Well put about tires and pressures. I have a compact with FEL on all the time. I run the fronts at the max as listed on the tire. For the rears, I finally settled on 10 lb after driving it on new limestone with various loads and seeing which pressure left the lugs entirely white and yet didn't mark the sidewalls with limestone dust -- the logic being that meant the lugs were in good contact while the sidewalls were not flexing excessively. I carry 130 lb on each rear wheel and either a blade or several hundred pounds on the rear hitch.