# Foam filled tires



## redman6565 (Jul 14, 2008)

i foam fill my tires, specially my skid steer. adds extra weight which allows the machine to push more. anyone else do the same?


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## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

redman6565;914063 said:


> i foam fill my tires, specially my skid steer. adds extra weight which allows the machine to push more. anyone else do the same?


Do you do that yourself?


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

redman6565;914063 said:


> i foam fill my tires, specially my skid steer. adds extra weight which allows the machine to push more. anyone else do the same?


It does make good_ ballast_.

What does it run ya?


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## redman6565 (Jul 14, 2008)

JD Dave;914066 said:


> Do you do that yourself?


if i did it myself i wouldn't cry at the bill every time i need it done lol


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## redman6565 (Jul 14, 2008)

cretebaby;914069 said:


> It does make good_ ballast_.
> 
> What does it run ya?


i want to say it works out to be $175 per tire, i run a 300-Series 12.5-16 tires. so about $700.00 to have the tires filled


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## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

redman6565;914077 said:


> i want to say it works out to be $175 per tire, i run a 300-Series 12.5-16 tires. so about $700.00 to have the tires filled


We just buy a 45 gallon drum of it for $300 and do it in our shop.


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## redman6565 (Jul 14, 2008)

JD Dave;914084 said:


> We just buy a 45 gallon drum of it for $300 and do it in our shop.


is it an easy process?


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

JD Dave;914084 said:


> We just buy a 45 gallon drum of it for $300 and do it in our shop.


Do you just fill your skidloader or anything else?


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

redman6565;914077 said:


> i want to say it works out to be $175 per tire, i run a 300-Series 12.5-16 tires. so about $700.00 to have the tires filled


Have you ever tried having filled tires retreaded?


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## redman6565 (Jul 14, 2008)

cretebaby;914099 said:


> Have you ever tried having filled tires retreaded?


no, have you? i would question the integrity of the re-tread and durability i guess.


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## redman6565 (Jul 14, 2008)

i tell ya though, if i had the extra dough laying around, i think i'd fill my backhoe tires too. i have a JD 310SE, only run a 10 footer on her, but she still struggles sometimes when its slick out.


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

redman6565;914105 said:


> no, have you? i would question the integrity of the re-tread and durability i guess.


That is all I run. But none have been filled yet.

My tire guy says you can send the filled tire in to have recapped and I am thinking about trying it.


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## redman6565 (Jul 14, 2008)

if you do, definately let me know how it lasts. i just bought a new set, dropped 600 on tires, 700 on foam...quite expensive so if i can cut out having to re-fill them everytime, that would definately be great


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## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

redman6565;914091 said:


> is it an easy process?


Sorry never tried it before, thought I'd get you excited about saving some money. LOL I shouldn't drink beer and post.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

cretebaby;914069 said:


> It does make good* ballast*.


Actually, the rears serve as *counterweight* when you lift the bucket.....


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## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

redman6565;914110 said:


> i tell ya though, if i had the extra dough laying around, i think i'd fill my backhoe tires too. i have a JD 310SE, only run a 10 footer on her, but she still struggles sometimes when its slick out.


Wouldn't filling the tires really effect your ride?


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## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

2COR517;914136 said:


> Actually, the rears serve as *counterweight* when you lift the bucket.....


Oh god, not the counterweight.


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## redman6565 (Jul 14, 2008)

JD Dave;914137 said:


> Wouldn't filling the tires really effect your ride?


backhoe doesn't do much road travel so i'm not too concerned about the rough ride. they did say not to foam fill anything that you want to use for landscaping purposes though, tears up lawns real bad


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

2COR517;914136 said:


> Actually, the rears serve as *counterweight* when you lift the bucket.....


You are absolutely correct.


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## redman6565 (Jul 14, 2008)

JD Dave;914134 said:


> Sorry never tried it before, thought I'd get you excited about saving some money. LOL I shouldn't drink beer and post.


thanks JD...build my hopes up and then cut my legs out from under me :laughing:


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## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

redman6565;914148 said:


> thanks JD...build my hopes up and then cut my legs out from under me :laughing:


That's was the plan. LOL I asked about getting the tires filled on my lawn mower and it was $150/tire.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

cretebaby;914147 said:


> You are absolutely correct.


I KNOW!

Happens alot


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## redman6565 (Jul 14, 2008)

JD Dave;914159 said:


> That's was the plan. LOL I asked about getting the tires filled on my lawn mower and it was $150/tire.


ya i want to say its 25.00 per lb but i got a price break because i bought $4k worth of tires in one week


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## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

redman6565;914165 said:


> ya i want to say its 25.00 per lb but i got a price break because i bought $4k worth of tires in one week


That's your problem.


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## redman6565 (Jul 14, 2008)

JD Dave;914167 said:


> That's your problem.


never have to buy tires till snow season lol


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## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

redman6565;914172 said:


> never have to buy tires till snow season lol


And you never have to buy curbs untill spring. LOL


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## redman6565 (Jul 14, 2008)

JD Dave;914175 said:


> And you never have to buy curbs untill spring. LOL


 not anymore, since out new staking method of every five feet :laughing:


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## heather lawn spray (Mar 11, 2003)

We foamed filled our Bobcat 463 and our outfront Kubota mower. I got tired of phone calls about flat tires from industrial yard plowing and the Kubota had ATV type tires that were just too soft for side hill running in summer. Even these little tires are about $125 a copy to do. Yes it does make for a much harder ride, but that is part of the price to pay for no flats.


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## LoneCowboy (Jan 2, 2007)

redman6565;914105 said:



> no, have you? i would question the integrity of the re-tread and durability i guess.


My tire guy tells me that's the way to go.
Run them down but leave a little tread on them and then they can retread them 2 or 3 times as long as you don't get into the casing.
This makes the foaming much more worthwhile since you only have to pay once.

I just did the fronts on my TC45 (which must have a flat magnent on it, we get more flats on that tractor) but I did it with the ultralight foam (so the tires added about 60lbs of foam each) because my mechanic says all the weight is not good for rolling around and the drives and such, esp on skid steers.

10-16.5's, it was $500 for the pair to be foamed with ultralight.

$4/lb for ultralight
$1.50/lb (or $2? I don't remember) for regular foam. but it takes more lbs to do it. same tire would have added 160lbs of regular foam. so the costs aren't all that far off.


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## xtreem3d (Nov 26, 2005)

thanks for the info on ultralight foam.will ask about it ....just had mine filled with regular..boy are they heavy. our retreader also says to run the tread down just like you do. they also suggested a different tread pattern for working mainly on concrete and asphalt to minimize stress and lengthen tread life,
steve


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## SullivanSeptic (Nov 30, 2008)

I always fill the front tires on my backhoe and my skids. Just be prepared to have some premature wear on the axels/gears. They WILL tear them up due to the extra weight. I snapped an axel 3 years ago on my backhoe and it was due to the foam filled front tires. The good side is that I got nine years out of a set of front tires which is unheard of.

Also, if anyone is interested, I have a front rim off of my old New Holland backhoe, with a torn up foam filled tire still on it. If anyone is interested in it let me know. I have had it sitting behind my shop for 3 years now and I'm about to toss it out. The rim is still in perfect shape.


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## redman6565 (Jul 14, 2008)

LoneCowboy;914647 said:


> My tire guy tells me that's the way to go.
> Run them down but leave a little tread on them and then they can retread them 2 or 3 times as long as you don't get into the casing.
> This makes the foaming much more worthwhile since you only have to pay once.


ya ill have to consider that the next time seeing i just brand new tires on the machine two weeks ago.


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## LoneCowboy (Jan 2, 2007)

redman6565;914890 said:


> ya ill have to consider that the next time seeing i just brand new tires on the machine two weeks ago.


Then you want to foam them now.
You don't want to foam them 1/2 worn thru (then you'll be recapping them quickly)

foam 'em now!

Besides, the tire places are SLOW right now


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## SullivanSeptic (Nov 30, 2008)

I agree ^^^. Foam them while they are new.


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

If you intend to recap them why does it matter if you fill them new or when they are half worn?


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## redman6565 (Jul 14, 2008)

ive already foamed filled them...ive been filling them for a few years now


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## LoneCowboy (Jan 2, 2007)

cretebaby;915180 said:


> If you intend to recap them why does it matter if you fill them new or when they are half worn?


a. cuz it costs money, you only get 2 to 3 recaps out of a casing (according to my tire guy)

b. cuz it costs time. 3 days to foam them the first time., a week to 2 weeks to recap them.

Better to do them now while no holes in them and the casing is in good shape and you can ignore it for quite some time.


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## bike5200 (Sep 4, 2007)

There is a dealer in town, bring in your worn out, filled tires, pay $1,000.00 and leave with a set of recapped filled tires. They keep several sets recapped filled tires there


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

bike5200;916670 said:


> There is a dealer in town, bring in your worn out, filled tires, pay $1,000.00 and leave with a set of recapped filled tires. They keep several sets recapped filled tires there


Seems like an awful lot to have tires recapped. What kind or size are you talking.

As far as I know they can't take a filled tire of the rim so they would have to be swapping rims also.


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## bike5200 (Sep 4, 2007)

cretebaby;916795 said:


> Seems like an awful lot to have tires recapped. What kind or size are you talking.
> 
> As far as I know they can't take a filled tire of the rim so they would have to be swapping rims also.


 10.00 or 12.00 are the two sizes of skid steer tires and I think they have them in stock. If they seam high in price that would be right for his dealer. I called around here a while back and could not find a dealer that recapped tires.

I talk to a guy and he said if you try to take a filled tire off the rim. Get your sawzall and start cutting, it has to be cut and tore off the rim


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## heather lawn spray (Mar 11, 2003)

bike5200;917139 said:


> 10.00 or 12.00 are the two sizes of skid steer tires and I think they have them in stock. If they seam high in price that would be right for his dealer. I called around here a while back and could not find a dealer that recapped tires.
> 
> I talk to a guy and he said if you try to take a filled tire off the rim. Get your sawzall and start cutting, it has to be cut and tore off the rim


 . . . that's what I've been told.


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

bike5200;917139 said:


> 10.00 or 12.00 are the two sizes of skid steer tires and I think they have them in stock. If they seam high in price that would be right for his dealer. I called around here a while back and could not find a dealer that recapped tires.
> 
> I talk to a guy and he said if you try to take a filled tire off the rim. Get your sawzall and start cutting, it has to be cut and tore off the rim


So are the filled recapps, that he has in stock, on rims?


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## Jay brown (Dec 26, 2005)

we had them filled on a set of demo tires and have not had a flat!! lol no i run a set of snow wolf's (speciality tire of america) in the winter and this is by far the best setup i have come across.....jay


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## redman6565 (Jul 14, 2008)

bike5200;917139 said:


> I talk to a guy and he said if you try to take a filled tire off the rim. Get your sawzall and start cutting, it has to be cut and tore off the rim


that's exactly what you have to do, no guess ing about it, had two guys spend three hours cutting rubber, but i was told re-caps didnt last long on skids because of all the turning and off road usage but if you guys are saying different then i will have to give it a shot once these new ones wear down


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## LoneCowboy (Jan 2, 2007)

redman6565;918606 said:


> that's exactly what you have to do, no guess ing about it, had two guys spend three hours cutting rubber, but i was told re-caps didnt last long on skids because of all the turning and off road usage but if you guys are saying different then i will have to give it a shot once these new ones wear down


tire guy told me (so, YMMV) that he could do better than stock tires on a recap skid steer.

Because he could tailor it to exactly what you do and use a harder unidirectional compound which would last longer.

It could be marketing fluff, could be truth, I dunno, but he's been a good tire guy, I use him for everything. so.


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

LoneCowboy;918827 said:


> tire guy told me (so, YMMV) that he could do better than stock tires on a recap skid steer.
> 
> Because he could tailor it to exactly what you do and use a harder unidirectional compound which would last longer.


That is what I have found.

Even if you figure the wear is the same the recaps are cheaper upfront, especially if you can reuse your foam fill.


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## jomama45 (Dec 25, 2008)

LoneCowboy;918827 said:


> tire guy told me (so, YMMV) that he could do better than stock tires on a recap skid steer.
> 
> Because he could tailor it to exactly what you do and use a *harder unidirectional compound which would last longer.*
> It could be marketing fluff, could be truth, I dunno, but he's been a good tire guy, I use him for everything. so.


That's been my limited experience with recaps. I "inherited" a set when I bought a used skid once. Pretty bald when I bought the machine, still pretty bald 6-700hrs. later when I traded the machine in. The tires wear was amazing, BUT the thing could get stuck on a wet noodle.

Now a question for those running or considering running the foamed tires: Are you doing more so for the puncture resistance or for the weight?

And crete, I'd re-consider the foam filled if this is the same skid you run those tracks on. I think it would be a PITA IF you need to run wheel spacers for the tracks & you're taking those wheels on & off more than normal. JMO


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## heather lawn spray (Mar 11, 2003)

jomama45;918906 said:


> That's been my limited experience with recaps. I "inherited" a set when I bought a used skid once. Pretty bald when I bought the machine, still pretty bald 6-700hrs. later when I traded the machine in. The tires wear was amazing, BUT the thing could get stuck on a wet noodle.
> 
> Now a question for those running or considering running the foamed tires: Are you doing more so for the puncture resistance or for the weight?
> 
> And crete, I'd re-consider the foam filled if this is the same skid you run those tracks on. I think it would be a PITA IF you need to run wheel spacers for the tracks & you're taking those wheels on & off more than normal. JMO


Foam filled for puncture resistance,we get into industrial yards


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## LoneCowboy (Jan 2, 2007)

jomama45;918906 said:


> T
> Now a question for those running or considering running the foamed tires: Are you doing more so for the puncture resistance or for the weight?
> O


Punctures/leaks/slow leaks/operator ripping the tire off the rim and destroying it because they didn't notice it was low (and no, it wasn't me)

I spend a TON of money on tires, I'm sick of it (and this year was way better than last)

It's usually in the summer, but lately I noticed one of the ones I had done was leaking down. And that would suck to have it lose the bead at 4 in the morning somewhere on a lot.

I cannot believe what I spend on tires. I have it now as a whole separate expense category to watch.


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## bike5200 (Sep 4, 2007)

cretebaby;917338 said:


> So are the filled recapps, that he has in stock, on rims?


Yes, the filled recaps are on used rims and in stock.


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