Urethane Tires Never Crack Or Go Flat
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Flat-free urethane tires for planters, seeders, mergers and balers beat solid rubber and semi-pneumatic rubber tires for most agricultural uses, says Rich Ilg, Forklift Tires, Inc. After years of making and selling rubber tires for forklifts and multiple ag uses, he has become a urethane tire advocate.
“Rubber tires exposed to the sun crack, check and fall apart, and regular plastic tires also get brittle after a few years,” says Ilg. “Urethane tires can lay out in the sun for 10 years and stay as resilient as the day they were made. They are also lighter weight and can handle higher speeds than solid rubber tires.”
Ilg was first exposed to urethane tires at a trade show 3 years ago. While directly competitive with the rubber tires he made, he quickly saw their superiority and started promoting them to customers.
“I saw urethane tires that had been made for other uses, and I immediately realized they’d be great for many ag uses,” he recalls. “Lawn mower tires would fit hay mergers or balers, and hand cart tires would fit a sling auger. We now sell a 16:34 urethane tire for drills. It has an edge that will last at least three times longer than a regular rubber tire.”
Ilg notes that urethane tires don’t go on wheels as easily as rubber tires do. However, with the right tools, they are more versatile and cost less than solid rubber.
“A urethane tire can go on an existing wheel, while solid rubber tires need special wheels,” he says. “Just put your wheel on an 8-ton or greater shop press, slip the appropriate size mounting cone over the wheel and push the tire on over it.”
Ilg points out that the whole process only takes a few minutes, and the mounting cones run around $18. Customers without a press or needing large numbers of tires often find ordering wheels with urethane tires more efficient.
He admits pneumatic tires have an advantage in a couple of respects. They can handle even higher road speeds than urethane tires can, and tire pressures can be adjusted for field conditions. However, he adds, that’s often offset by disadvantages.
“Urethane tires offer 2 to 3 times longer life than pneumatic tires, which are often destroyed when air pressure is not maintained,” says Ilg. “Urethane tires are also less likely to push mud in a wet field than pneumatic tires and won’t go flat in the middle of the busiest part of the season. Where corn stubble will puncture a pneumatic tire, it just turns a urethane tire into a porcupine.”
Ilg does warn that urethane tires are not for high-speed applications. “If you want to go 45 to 50 mph, don’t buy them. They aren’t made for that,” he says.
Urethane tire prices are based on size and tread pattern. Tires for hay balers and mergers run from $85 to $100. Seeder tires are priced around $60, while a gauge tire and wheel assembly is around $195.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Forklift Tires, Inc., P.O. Box 235, Roseville, Mich. 48066 (ph 810 459-5048; toll free 800 323-4152; Rich@flt-online.com; www.flt-online.com).
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Urethane Tires Never Crack Or Go Flat TIRES/WHEELS Miscellaneous Flat-free urethane tires for planters seeders mergers and balers beat solid rubber and semi-pneumatic rubber tires for most agricultural uses says Rich Ilg Forklift Tires Inc After years of making and selling rubber tires for forklifts and multiple ag uses he has become a urethane tire advocate “Rubber tires exposed to the sun crack check and fall apart and regular plastic tires also get brittle after a few years ” says Ilg “Urethane tires can lay out in the sun for 10 years and stay as resilient as the day they were made They are also lighter weight and can handle higher speeds than solid rubber tires ” Ilg was first exposed to urethane tires at a trade show 3 years ago While directly competitive with the rubber tires he made he quickly saw their superiority and started promoting them to customers “I saw urethane tires that had been made for other uses and I immediately realized they’d be great for many ag uses ” he recalls “Lawn mower tires would fit hay mergers or balers and hand cart tires would fit a sling auger We now sell a 16:34 urethane tire for drills It has an edge that will last at least three times longer than a regular rubber tire ” Ilg notes that urethane tires don’t go on wheels as easily as rubber tires do However with the right tools they are more versatile and cost less than solid rubber “A urethane tire can go on an existing wheel while solid rubber tires need special wheels ” he says “Just put your wheel on an 8-ton or greater shop press slip the appropriate size mounting cone over the wheel and push the tire on over it ” Ilg points out that the whole process only takes a few minutes and the mounting cones run around $18 Customers without a press or needing large numbers of tires often find ordering wheels with urethane tires more efficient He admits pneumatic tires have an advantage in a couple of respects They can handle even higher road speeds than urethane tires can and tire pressures can be adjusted for field conditions However he adds that’s often offset by disadvantages “Urethane tires offer 2 to 3 times longer life than pneumatic tires which are often destroyed when air pressure is not maintained ” says Ilg “Urethane tires are also less likely to push mud in a wet field than pneumatic tires and won’t go flat in the middle of the busiest part of the season Where corn stubble will puncture a pneumatic tire it just turns a urethane tire into a porcupine ” Ilg does warn that urethane tires are not for high-speed applications “If you want to go 45 to 50 mph don’t buy them They aren’t made for that ” he says Urethane tire prices are based on size and tread pattern Tires for hay balers and mergers run from $85 to $100 Seeder tires are priced around $60 while a gauge tire and wheel assembly is around $195 Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Forklift Tires Inc P O Box 235 Roseville Mich 48066 ph 810 459-5048; toll free 800 323-4152; Rich@flt-online com; www flt-online com
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