# Flat Tyres on the Front of a Tractor FEL



## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

I have a tractor front end loader and during the busy hay season experienced regular flat tyres on the front.

This is not good for the blood pressure or the hearing health of anyone nearby.

The tractor is a 60 hp MFWA Euroleopard (Chinese tractor made by Foton) and came with 8.3-24 front R1 treaded ag tractor tyres . The 8.3-24 tyres are quite low profile. With a mfwd tractor the relative tyre sizes front to back are critical to prevent lag or wind up when mfwd is engaged. Being a hilly property mfwd is engaged almost all of the time to improve traction and more importantly braking particularly when loaded.

I live and farm in a granite belt with loam soils and a lot of small rocks remaining in the paddock (field).

Hay is mostly baled into small squares and bundled using a Bale Bandit giving bundles of hay weighing about 600 kg (1320 lbs). If I roll any hay then these rolls are usually 350 kg and handled in pairs ie 700 kg (1540 lbs) on the fel.

During hay season moving hay in the paddock I experienced flat front tyres on a far too regular basis, like daily at times.

At first it happened on land I lease and I thought it could be due to wire and other items left in the paddock. The problem persisted even on my own property.

After careful study of the issue, I concluded the problem was caused by pinching the tubes in the low profile tyres when the loaded fel came into contact with a rock or other surface variation while loaded. Further Ag tyres are not really designed to carry weight and that may be a factor contributing to the failures.

A different tyre was needed, either one designed to support weight or one with a higher profile or both.

I cast about and trawled the internet for a solution.

The solution was closer to home than I first imagined.

One day the tractor was parked near my small 5 tonne truck fitted with 8-25-20 truck tyres. My brother saw the truck tyres were almost exactly the same height as the tractor's 8.3-24. Worn truck tyres were within about 1/4 to 1/2 inch the same diameter

That gave the clue and so back to google and more trawling.

First get the diameter of the 8.3-24 tyres.

Next look for ag tyres of the same diameter that would fit 20 inch rims. not many and not readily available locally and as a special imported order very expensive, in the order of $600 each plus rims estimated to be another $600 each.

Compromise settled on, use 8-25-20 truck tyres on split truck rims,coming off a spider hub and fitted with a tailor made centre to fit the tractor. Downside no ag tread for grip. Upside huge carrying capacity and high profile.

Measured the wheel centre and being a chinese tractor, the dimensions were metric, 250mm centre hole with 6 stud 285 mm pitch circle diameter and 125 mm offset.

Then to an engineering workshop with the dimensions, two secondhand open split 20 inch rims ($100 the pair). The centres were laser cut from 10mm (3/8 inch) steel plate and mig welded into the rims for $375.

Two secondhand 8-25-20 truck tyres with tubes, rust bands, and fitting for a further $100.

Total outlay $575 on which some $52 was recovered for goods and services tax. Net cost $523.00 rather than $2400.

I have done a full season on these tyres without a hint of a flat tyre.

Traction is not as good but if I am to do work needing maximum tractive effort then the original tractor wheels can be fitted in 10 minutes or less. Lift the front by th eloader bucket and a rattle gun and hey presto back to standard.

I am very pleased with the outcome.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

I had the very same basic problem several years ago before I bought a skid steer with a little JD950 MFWD. It also pinched tires occasionally when lifting about 800 pounds. I used the little guy alot inside buildings etc. and for stacking some rounds. I went to a size larger tire on the front that was available. I could not do a complete deep turn due to scrubbing of the inside cleat edge, but it was much more manageable than flat tires. I operated it like that for about ten years. When the front cleats would get worn to about 50% it would no longer scrub.

Regards, Mike


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Not sure what you have over there, but when fitting your next set of truck tires on the front, see if you can find our military style tread. Still wouldn't be as good as an ag tire for traction but much better then your standard road tire. Or, around here given the mud and snow see if you can find an open shoulder truck tire, gives much better traction than a strictly over the road tire.


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

Not much snow here, had some about 4 miles away in 1957, but only sleet here at that time.

With a drying climate, the 10 year average is now below 16 inches (the decade in the 1960's near 28 inches), we do not see a lot of mud and mud is rare by the time haying arrives. In our short winter I intend changing back to the ag tyres.

Military bar tread and even open shoulder tyres are not common here. Indeed any 8-25-20 tyre is not common now, usually being on older small 5 tonne capacity trucks. Three tonne trucks used to have 7-00-20 tyres but they and the 8-25-20 tyres are no longer a stocked item even in rural tyre services.

The prevalent trucks in this smaller size are usually of Japanese manufacture here and tend to be on 16 inch or 17.5 inch rims. Those on 20 inch rims tend to have low profile tyres.

Cost and availability were prime considerations in the tyre selection made and I doubt that the tyres on the tractor now will wear out for years.

I had considered cutting the centres in the 24 inch rims down to fit to the 20 inch rims but ruled that out on 2 grounds: 1) I could not then return the tractor to standard for re-sale; and

2) I lost the availability of improved traction when needed.

Thanks for the suggestions, you never know , may be useful for others confronted with the same issue and would have been of use to me before completion of the project.


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