# Wagon Gear Tire Dilemma.



## Vol

I have a old but excellent United Farm wagon gear that has 15" steel rims. The bolt pattern is a 5 on 5 1/2". It has become more and more difficult to buy 15" used tires for this gear. I thought about changing the wheels to 16", but this bolt pattern has become somewhat obsolete. If I change the hubs, wheels, and add tires I will spend a lot more than I intended. So, would the best option be to just buy 2 new 15" tires for the front and be done with this?

Regards, Mike


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## Beav

how bad you need the gear and how far does travel? New tires should not be that big a deal if you are going to use it


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## slowzuki

5 on 5.5 still very common in aftermarket rims. I'm having same trouble with 15" tires and even 16" tires though.

I found some used 31" tires from a jeep that pushed the problem off 4 more flat tires.


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## glasswrongsize

slowzuki said:


> 5 on 5.5 still very common in aftermarket rims. I'm having same trouble with 15" tires and even 16" tires though.


The 5 on 5.5 is not so much the problem as the 4-1/8" (IIRC) hub pilot size ...the hole in the middle is quite a bit bigger than the automotive 5 on 5.5. Having 9 wagons that use it, I just buy all quite a few extra rims. I have 'em in 14,15, and 16". I have been known to take the plasma cutter and cut out the hub pilot hole from a steel rim, but I don't recommend it for serious used and recommend watching the lugs like a hawk!!!

I know 15" used tires are easy to find here in PC tires, but not so much LT tires. The PC tires hold up to rack wagon with 100 bales, but are too light for 125 bu gravity wagon.

Here is not there, but ought to be able to find 16" rims for 15-20 bucks from jockey.

Mark


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## slowzuki

CTD and Wold both make the ag pilot hole rims and are quite reasonably priced.

I've got 6 baskets and 6 wagons on 15" 6 bolt ag rims, I've got almost unlimited free LT load range E 17" tires but the rims are hard to come by.


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## 68cuda

I use 16"Lt TIRES on my tandem axle round bale wagon. I am finding them harder to find used. Tire shop said they don't see a lot on 16 on new trucks


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## 8350HiTech

Vol said:


> I have a old but excellent United Farm wagon gear that has 15" steel rims. The bolt pattern is a 5 on 5 1/2". It has become more and more difficult to buy 15" used tires for this gear. I thought about changing the wheels to 16", but this bolt pattern has become somewhat obsolete. If I change the hubs, wheels, and add tires I will spend a lot more than I intended. So, would the best option be to just buy 2 new 15" tires for the front and be done with this?
> 
> Regards, Mike


I agree with beav that biting the bullet on the new tires will pay off if you use it often and if your source of used has nearly dried up.

I have way to many wagons here to start putting new tires on so I try to stay on top of things with a few extra rims (mostly all standard six lug) so that I can grab a few 31x10.50 or my preference 32x11.50 when I see them. Just bought a pair of 32s a week ago for $30. One of our local tire shops is fairly good about keeping tires around for farmers but those sizes aren't nearly in stock used like they used to be. I also got lucky the other day when I needed a narrower tire (for and old oddball six lug for which I don't have a suitable spare) and they had a 30x9.50 that still had the showroom sticker on it. Had been a Jeep spare since new and never run. $15 and I was on my way and grinning.


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## 8350HiTech

68cuda said:


> I use 16"Lt TIRES on my tandem axle round bale wagon. I am finding them harder to find used. Tire shop said they don't see a lot on 16 on new trucks


Those get gobbled up by guys looking for cheap trailer tires around here. Might be harder to come by than LT 15s. Like slowzuki, it'd be great if it would be easier to utilize 17s but buying the rims is going to get pricey. The other thing about that that would bother me is the way things are going 17s might get scarce next.


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## Gearclash

Vol said:


> I have a old but excellent United Farm wagon gear that has 15" steel rims. The bolt pattern is a 5 on 5 1/2". It has become more and more difficult to buy 15" used tires for this gear. I thought about changing the wheels to 16", but this bolt pattern has become somewhat obsolete. If I change the hubs, wheels, and add tires I will spend a lot more than I intended. So, would the best option be to just buy 2 new 15" tires for the front and be done with this?
> 
> Regards, Mike


I would just buy a set of new 15" ST (trailer) tires and be done with it.


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## mlappin

Have noticed the same thing about 15" tires, broke down and bought four new 9x15' tires this spring.

Getting real hard to come by any 14" tires for like the augers.


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## Vol

Well I got lucky and got two used 15" early this morning....which will delay my decision for a while. I have given it some thought and I have another UF gear that is a 8 ton that has a really good set of big 15" on it. I use it on the highway some. I think I will just buy a new set 11L-15 for it and use the old set for backups. Thanks for everyones thoughts.

Regards, Mike


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## slowzuki

If you were closer I've got 8 brand new 14" tires from dodge caravans sitting in the pile.



mlappin said:


> Have noticed the same thing about 15" tires, broke down and bought four new 9x15' tires this spring.
> 
> Getting real hard to come by any 14" tires for like the augers.


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## Bishop

Last farm auction I was at I was surprised by how many people were looking at tires that were good on equipment that wasn't in great shape, saying if it goes cheap they were gonna buy it for the tires.


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## Lewis Ranch

New 15" implement tires are $80 a piece, I put three on yesterday. Not overly priced compared to used.


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## Vol

Lewis Ranch said:


> New 15" implement tires are $80 a piece, I put three on yesterday. Not overly priced compared to used.


I just bought 2 used 15" for $40 and they had a decent amount of tread left......but I will buy a set of implements soon. The ones I am looking at(11L-15) are about $100 each mounted.

Regards, Mike


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## Lewis Ranch

Vol said:


> I just bought 2 used 15" for $40 and they had a decent amount of tread left......but I will buy a set of implements soon. The ones I am looking at(11L-15) are about $100 each mounted.
> 
> Regards, Mike


If it's something that doesn't get used much I don't mind used tires but if it's something that I rely on I fell better having new rubber on the ground although I've had my share of trouble with new from time to time.


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## swmnhay

I think it's a conspiracy by the tire cos to have so many different sizes its next to impossible to have the right size to re use.3 pickups sitting on yard now and everyone has a different size diameter.They are all hooked to something and that's 3 totally different sized tires.


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## Vol

Lewis Ranch said:


> If it's something that doesn't get used much I don't mind used tires but if it's something that I rely on I fell better having new rubber on the ground although I've had my share of trouble with new from time to time.


Agree...with some of my hay wagon gears, I wouldn't be caught dead with them on the highway....but puttering around on the farms they are just fine....and they are the ones with used tires for the most part.

Regards, Mike


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## luke strawwalker

We were putting a lot of "pull off" tires on our trailers and stuff, but it got to where we were having at least one blowout a year on the hay trailer, so I put new trailer tires on it and no problems in 4 years...

I got a set of 16 inch "delivery truck" steel belted tires with steel belted sidewalls for nearly nothing from a tire guy who was getting a divorce from my wife's friend-- he had a set of them and needed the cash and I got them for nearly nothing, considering, along with some good nearly new 16 inch pull-off LT's and passenger tires that I've been using on my truck. Tried the delivery truck tires but they're WAY too stiff for a pickup-- rode worse than the semi, so I'll use them on the hay trailer when I need to replace the tires that are on there now.

Since the trailer currently has Ford pickup 5x5.5 half-ton 15 inch rims on it and the delivery truck tires are 16's, I recently picked up a set of Dodge 16 inch half ton rims, which also use the 5x5.5 bolt pattern that the trailer hubs use. I wanted a set of Ford rims to match my truck, but they told me that actually the 97-up Ford 5 lug rims (switched to 6 lug on half tons somewhere around 04 IIRC) are actually METRIC and NOT the same as the old 5 lug half-ton Ford pattern-- you CAN make them fit if you hog the holes out a bit with the die grinder, BUT, they use a different flat-faced lug nut as well instead of the old taper-seat centering lug nuts that the older steel and aluminum wheels used. Dodge does it right and hasn't changed all that crap just for the sake of change like Ford did...

Course the 5x5.5 with the larger center holes for implement hubs is something else... I've used Ford pickup rims for those and just torched the hole out bigger to accommodate the larger hub pilot... not exactly "recommended procedure" though... LOL

Later! OL J R


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## SCtrailrider

For later thoughts you could always get wheel adapters for what ever bolt pattern you choose, that way you could find junk yard bigger wheels... that's a thought for when the smaller tires aren't around anymore...


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## mlappin

I always try to have a spare for anything that gets used a LOT. Best investment we ever made was buying a used Corghi for the shop. Supposedly it will do a semi tire as well, have never tried it as I have a Blue Cobra I can pop semi tires of in less than five minutes, besides even the ones that are on aluminum rims are too heavy for me to be placing on any tire machine unless its a dedicated semi machine that you just lean the tire against it.

Something like this for our Corghi. supposedly will handle a 22.5 semi tire, ain't trying it alone. $1200 well spent, had zero issues mounting the 14 ply tires I just installed on the front of our JD401C.

https://jmcautomotiveequipment.com/corghi-a9220ti-economy-tire-changer/

We had a big beefy kid working for us after school for awhile, I gave him an endless rash of sh*t when it couldn't figure out how to use the Blue Cobra, then showed him this video.


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