Another tire question

[HubbardRA]

I recently became the owner of a set of 18x11x8 "X" tread ATV tires. What do all of you think of these tires mounted on a set of 8 inch wheels 11 inches wide, and used on the front of a large frame tractor with a loader? I think the wider tires would handle the weight of a loader much better than the narrow tires. I can make them fit the tractor. Do you think it is worth the effort, and will I get a benefit when using a loader on soft or sandy soil? I am interested in hearing the opinions of others about this idea.

[FastPaul]

I would think ATV tires were made more for flotation than weight ,also I would want to keep the weight closer to the king pin,puting all the weight out farther would make it harder to steer ,

[ehertzfeld]

Wow Paul, you made an interesting point. I was thinking of wider tires on my 3310 loader project, but maybe I shouldn't. I am however going to get 4ply all around. Elon

[D-17_Dave]

I'd agree with Paul on the weight capability of the tires from an ATV would be questionable. However I think the size of the footprint being bigger on the wider tires creating more friction would be the culprit when it comes to the differance in steering.

[PeppyDan]

I've never looked for a load rating on a garden tractor type tire but if it has one that would tell you which tire could handle the weight you intend to put on it. I would agree with the others about not going too wide unless you intend to use the loader with light loads and on soft ground where narrow front tires would tend to cut in. Dan

[HubbardRA]

I just want to say that I also have a power steering design on the drawing board, along with the loader design. This topic should make for some interesting conversation at Spring Fling, because I do not totally agree with some of the comments being made. I will save my comments till we can discuss this in person. Dave and Paul, you will probably be interested in the way I evaluated the specific items that you have been pointing out. Hope you are both there.

[D-17_Dave]

LOL, I'll be there Rod, along with my 620 w/ power steering.So we'll have something to comare some of these dyamics to.

[HubbardRA]

I'll try to get a picture of the tires over the weekend. That should give you guys something to think about. They look very wide compared to the regular tires.

[comet66]

What I do know is, the stock two ply tires on my Sunstar would not support the loader, no matter how much air I ran. I had to go to four ply. Front and rear actually, because of the counter weight required.

[HubbardRA]

John, What was happening to the tires? Were you bursting them?

[D-17_Dave]

Stiffer sidewalls will make the tires act diferently under load. Whether it's air or weight, it still applies a load to the tire. Air pushes outward against the sidewalls and tread of the tire. Applying mre load just increases the internal air pressure, to an extent. Since the air doesn't know to push down between the rim and the tread, the sidewall of the tire acts as a guide. The stiffness of the sidewall makes the tire want to be round and hold a cetain diamiter first before it starts pushing the tread out. Therefor if your mashing a tire down w/ any applied load and the tire is filled to it's rated psi then basicly your overloading the tire and you need to increase the tire to one rated at the applied load. That's why the powermax's have a diff. tire recomended for loader use. I hope my wondering vocabulary got my point across. lol

[HubbardRA]

Here are the pictures I promised above. The first is with the ATV tires sitting beside the 16x6.50x8 tires on my 713S:

This next picture is beside the 3.50x8 tri-rib of my 716H:

[StanD]

I would recommend something like a 4.00 X 12 trailer tire, they should easily carry the weight & the taller diameter will roll much easier plus steer lighter, this is providing there is enough clearance for steering. StanD

[comet66]

quote:

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Originally posted by HubbardRA
John, What was happening to the tires? Were you bursting them?

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What Dave said :D The stiffer sidewhalls help the tire maintain their shape.

[HubbardRA]

The sidewalls to those large tires are significantly stiffer than those of the tri-ribs that are shown beside them in the second picture. I haven't had the 6.50s off the wheel so I can't make a comparison to them. The sidewalls on those large tires are so stiff that I can hardly move them at all by hand. Large tires do not require as much pressure as smaller ones. The Force that is required to support a load is equal to the pressure (lb/sq in.) times the area (sq in.). With that much more surface area, the pressure would not neet to be high to support a heavy load. 10 psi max for the large tires. 35 psi max on the tri-ribs. I'm betting the larger tires will carry significantly more load than the tri-ribs. The only thing I would be concerned about is whether they would destroy themselves from flex and internal friction within the tire, when used over a long period of time. I probably will not use the loader much with really heavy loads. It will be more like a motorized wheelbarrow to me. Still considering taking my chances and setting those tires up on a set of wheels for the front of a tractor. At least they would look awesome with 26x12x12 AGs on the rear. I have them, might as well play with them.

[richp]

Those atv tires are designed to be severely punished by rocks and roots. I would think those sidewalls are tougher than a turf tire sidewall that would seldom see rocks and roots. This reminds me of the old Tree Farmer log skidder that would come out of the woods with a tree root sticking out the side of the tire. I never thought those tires could be cut with a piece of wood, but it happened a lot.

[oldone]

Rod, I tryed some 8x12" on the front of my PK. They did not work good in the snow, keeped the front end up and harder to push in the snow. went back to the tri ribs that where on it. and also could not steer.

[Mick14]

The tuffest wide tire i have ever seen were on a J.D. Gator that we used as a dump truck while building a house on an island,that gator was severly abuse,most of the work site had slash cut saplingstumps that never did damage those tires,they are still on it 2 years later,as i recall they were rated as 2 ply-as this gator didn't belong to anyone of the workers they treated real bad,normal loads were 2-3 times the recommened 500lbs.

[comet66]

I just know the 16x6.50x8's, and the 23x12x12's, in 2ply wouldn't even come close to supporting my loader and ballast. The same in 4ply do just fine.

[Tiny]

At one time I had a bad turf tire on a 7016 and I had a brand new Goodyear trailer tire of the same size so I stuck it on for the time being (about 2 years). That tractor pulled so hard to the side that the trailer tire was on that it was a struggle to mow the lawn or even drive it on pavement even with full pressure. Never again. And those extra wide tires? Forget it, they'd rub on your deck and even without a deck the geometry would be so out of kilter you'd be wanting those turfs back in a hurry. They may look cool but I'm sure that front end will be worn out in no time. JMO...

[Simpleton7016]

I was thinking about this thread while driving home from work tonight. I was stuck in traffic next to a semi. The semi had a forklift attached to the rear end- presumably for loading and unloading the 18 wheeler. Now, I am not a tire guy, but is sure looked to be like the AG tires on the fork lift were a size very similar to most of our tractor tires. Is anyone familiar with these tires? They sure looked in the range of 23.5 X 10.5 X 12. The forklift probably weighs several tons. Maybe these tires are solid rubber? If so, I'll bet the tires alone are heavy as all heck! No need for washer fluid, weights, etc! Woohoo! However, I was stuck in traffic enough to count the lugs and I think the rims had 12 lug nuts. So the rims will not be compatible, but has anyone tried these kinds of tires or know anything about them?

[HubbardRA]

Most of those fork lifts that I have seen have the 26x12x12 tires on them. The may have smaller ones with the 23x10.5 tires on them. A 4-ply tire should be good for the loads on the forklift.

[2burning]

Looks like the Tru Power 26X12-12 10 ply are rated at 3110 pounds.