Garden Tractor's Tires Filled With Concrete

Garden Tractor s Tires Filled With Concrete TIRES/WHEELS Handling If you’ve got a garden tractor sitting with an unfixable flat tire you might be able to save the cost of a new tire by filling the old one with concrete
    That’s what Jeff Hoard’s stepdad Dick Lane did to the rear tires on his Sears Craftsman garden tractor
    “The tractor had sat idle for a couple of years and Dick said I could have it ” says Jeff “Both front tires were flat and as I was winching the mower onto the trailer to bring it home I noticed the rear tires were filled with concrete
    “The next morning I pumped up the front tires and got the tractor running The whole time I was working on it I was thinking I’d have to change the rear tires but after driving the tractor for a while I decided it wasn’t necessary One of the rear tires was slightly out of round but I really only noticed it while driving in high gear At mowing speed the tractor drove fairly smooth
    “I talked to Dick afterward and he told me one of the rear tires had been damaged too badly to be fixed by a patch or plug It would have cost about $100 to replace each tire so he decided to fill them both with concrete ”
    To make the repair Lane left the tire and wheel assemblies on the tractor He drilled a hole big enough to insert a sabre saw and cut a 2-in dia hole into each tire Then he jacked up the rear end of the tractor and rotated both tires so the holes were on top and inserted a make-shift funnel
    He lowered the tractor until the tires just barely touched the ground to avoid flat spots Then he blocked the tractor so it wouldn’t move and mixed up some wet ready mix concrete and funneled it into each hole until the tire was filled
    “You can use a hammer to tap the tire at various locations to make sure there are no air pockets ” says Jeff “Keep doing this until no more concrete will fit into the hole and then scrape it off even with the tread Let it sit for a few days and you’ll never have to worry about a flat tire again ”
    He notes that you don’t want to try this idea on a car or truck
    Hoard shares his “creative scrounging” ideas and projects on his Hillbilly Heaven CD available at his website
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jeff Hoard HC 61 Box 6108 Austin Nevada 89310 HMfgRanch@gmail com; www hmranch-hoardmfg com

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