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Five ways to make sure your tractor tyres are in top condition
Wed, 13 Jul 2022 | PRODUCTS
With the busiest time of the year now in full swing for many farms, as harvest begins on combinable crop units, root lifting is underway or around the corner depending on crop type, and many livestock units are making hay or silage, it’s never more important ensure your tractor tyres are kept in top condition. No-one wants to spend money unnecessarily, so a few minutes spent looking after your tractor tyres can delay as long as possible that investment time when you next find yourself having to trawl through tractor tyres’ price lists or make those internet searches for ‘tractor tyres for sale’ or ‘tractor tyres near me’.
If fitting tractor tyres yourself, ensure the bead is seated properly
Although it’s not for every buyer, many farms are prepared to fit their own new tractor tyres. If you choose to do this, you must follow all of the correct installation procedures, ensuring particularly that the bed is seated correctly during the tractor tyre inflation process. If this is not the case, the tractor tyres may quickly lose condition through excessive torsion on the sidewalls as they move on the rim. Ensure you use a safety cage and inflate slowly and carefully.
Check pressures before beginning work each day
The correct tractor tyre operating pressures are arguably the most critical factor in keeping your tractor tyres in top condition. Under-inflated tractor tyres will not only be less capable of transferring the tractor’s power to the ground efficiently, but they will also be subject to potential slippage on the wheel rims and sidewall cracking as the sidewalls take more of the tractor’s weight than they are designed to do. Ensure, therefore, that part of your daily servicing regime, beyond checking tractor service details such as oil levels and the radiator, is a check of all four tractor tyre pressures. Even if they are just a little underinflated, invest the small amount of time it takes to top them up. This way you can be assured that their carcases be maintained in top condition through the supported and preservation provided by the amount of air the manufacturer intended.
Clean you tractor tyres regularly when working in muddy conditions
Few need reminding that farms which grow winter-harvested crops such as sugar beet often have to work in less-than-ideal soil conditions, with mud and stones potentially building up between the cleats of the tractor tyre tread. Well-designed tractor tyres are manufactured with a tread and carcase design that gives them an element of self-cleaning ability, but in wet heavy clay soils even this may be challenged. Where possible, if you are having to work in wet conditions on heavy soils, keep an eye on the treads for soil/mud build-up, particularly if that soil also has a high stone/flint content which could pose a puncture risk if sharp stones a pressed into the carcase rubber.
Use your transmission more than your brakes to slow your tractor at speed on the road
Excessive and/or heavy braking on tarmac or concrete can significantly affect the condition of your tractor tyres ’ tread and quickly cause their condition to deteriorate. Where possible, use the tractor’s transmission to progressively reduce speed when you are nearing a junction. This applies whether you have no load or pulling a fully-weighted trailer or implement.
Keep away from potholes and kerbs where possible
Modern tractors with suspended front axles and cabs are capable of high speeds without affecting driver comfort, but on rough roads this does increase the risk of tractor tyre damage. The higher the impact speed with a harmful object, the more likely damage will occur.
Take these five points on board each day when operating your tractor, and your tractor tyres should remain in top condition for as long as possible, delaying that next time you need to search for ‘tractor tyres for sale’ or ‘tractor tyres near me’, or study tractor tyres’ price lists.
