How long do tires last??????

D&D Farm

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Over in the thread on how many hours an RTV can/will run, Mr. Fitch posted statistics and pics that show 2000 hours on work site tires and still looks to have 500 left.........

Thanks for the pics Mr. Fitch.................What in the world is going on with my tires. If I get 600 hours out of work site tires I consider myself lucky.....I: rotate them, keep them inflated, no alignment issues, drive on 1/4 mile of gravel and 1/4 mile of asphalt and then turn around and head for home doing the same distance perhaps 2 times a day (house to barn/mail box), and the machine is parked under a roof most of the time.............I will admit that I am full throttle most of the time coming and going to the barn/mail box........perhaps 1/2 of the distance I travel is going up hill or down.........We are in the pastures maybe 20% of the hours at the most............Can't for the life of me understand how those tires are wearing out...........THOUGHTS?????..........God bless......Dennis
 

avantiguy

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Had 750 hours on my 2004 900 with original knobby tires when I purchased it in 2013. The tires looked like they were about one-half worn but there was a lot of cracking in the side walls.

I replaced them with a set of Grim Reapers.
 

aurthuritis

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when i was in the earth moving business i always figured for a set of tires to last at least 4 years but after the fourth year i better be ready for tire trouble. regardless of how many hours were on them. i would have a set of worn out tires with many many hours on them that weren't four years old yet and have zero trouble with them,and then have a set of tires that were 90 percent but six years old and have blow outs.
 

Fitch

Active member
I hadn't given any thought to it. I thought everybody's tires lasted just like mine. I have no clue why my OEM tires, installed on the machine when I took delivery in 2004, are lasting as well as they are. The picture was from 2013. The machine is stored inside (out of the sun) all the time except when it's out and about working and half of the work time requires lights because it's not sunrise yet (the work day on the farm starts early). I know that sunlight is hard on tires.

I discovered the front end alignment of my RTV was horrible from the factory and realigned it when it was about six months old. The only thing I remember about it is the thing has to be aligned with the weight on the front wheels or it won't be right so I put 190 lbs in the front seat when I did it (3 fifty pound feed sacks and a 40 lb salt block). I only weigh 160 lbs but sometimes we have two people in the seat.

Ours is never driven on asphalt. It spends all it's time on gravel, mud, and grass (horse trails, hay fields and pastures). It almost never goes over 15 mph. It will go 25 mph but it feels rather unstable at that speed. I'm perfectly happy to putt around at 8 to 10 mph (my wife had them install a speedometer), so is everybody else that uses it. The machine is a tool, not a toy. Racing around pastures in the dark isn't gifted even with the work lights on it. It spends 95% of it's time with the transmission in "M", a speed the new ones don't even have. "M" is about perfect for nearly everything we do.

Installing a snow plow with all the added weight might screw up the front end alignment but since I don't have a plow for the RTV, I don't 'know' that.

I'll measure the tread depth on the spare and the tires on the RTV to see if I can get a feeling for the wear they've experienced. I priced new ones and I hope these last several more years. They are as expensive as car tires.

I doubt it matters but mine are mounted on the plain painted steel rims (which I much prefer on farm machinery).

I'll be doing my spring pressure wash, grease job, and tire pressure check (20 psi) in a few days. I'll do the tread depth measurement then. I will be checking my rear u-joints at the same time. I hope they are still good.

One of the tires is running a tube because it got a nail in it back in '07. I bought a spare wheel and tire when that happened. It will be my new tread depth reference. Other than that, they are doing fine. I'll check the air pressure when I do the wash job.

The most damage to them, that I'm aware of anyway, comes when mud gets packed in between the tire and the rear shock and dries out. I have to pick it out of there to keep it from rubbing on the tire.

Fitch (my actual first name)
 

Mark.Sibole

Well-known member
I got a little over 1100 hours on mine and only changed them cause i wanted more traction.You stated you rotated your tired.Did you make sure when rotating them you kept the same roll direction?It does matter on what way they roll.If you flop them around and have them roll in opposit directions they will wear a lot faster.I still have plenty of lug on mine the only thing that gets me here even if i put tire treatment on mine is the side walls split a bit from dry rot.The sand up here is brutal on all tires and it reeks havoc on my boat trailer tires and camper tires.The only way around it I find is to put everything up on blocks to keep them out of the sand when not in use.
 

pepr

Senior Member
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I had to replace a rear tire due to being cut on the sidewall at about 700 hrs. I know this does help towards Dennis' question, but, I found out that you can purchase tires and rim from Kubota much cheaper than buying just the tires. The tires/rims are considered "whole goods". They priced them at $120 each whereas the OEM ATV style tire thru Kubota parts was something like $200. In my case, I called the number on the OEM tire and found that they deliver weekly to our local farmers CO-OP. Bought two rears tires from CO-OP for $126 each installed.
 

Fitch

Active member
The tires on mine have the following on the side wall:

350 MAG OFFROAD
6 Ply Rated
24 psi max pressure

I found them on Amazon: [ame]http://www.amazon.com/Blackstone-OTR-Road-Front-25x10-00-12/dp/B003WRFPXA[/ame]

There is no load rating written on the tire. The tires of this style come in two types that are the exact same size: ATV (Light Duty) and UTV (Heavy Duty, higher load rating).

As best as I can see, the side walls look good but I'll get a better look when I give the machine it's spring wash down.

Fitch
 

D&D Farm

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That is good news pepr...........I need new ones soon and think I paid in the $135 range per tire from a local dealer who can get the "OEM" tires....................

Fitch........those are the same specs/numbers etc that are on my tires.........

Mark you may have something there........I am used to the "arrow" on motorcycle tires and I have read about tractor ag and R4 tires being directional; but honestly I have never noticed that on RTV tires.............Is there an arrow or something??????????
Pretty sure though, when I rotated them it was front to back and back to front, not like you do on a car sometimes with an "X" pattern.............Thanks Guys.......God bless..........Dennis
 

shinnery

Active member
Dennis where I am north of Abilene is pure sand, so much sand I do not have a mesquite on 66 acres. Plenty of shinnery oaks and other trees but no mesquites. So I was looking for maximum traction. The fine used RTV900 I bought had nearly bald tires plus three of them leaked down in 2-3 days. I wound up going to discounttiredirect . com and ordered 4 of the cheapest six ply rated 25x10x12 they advertised. The big brown truck had them sitting on my steps for $331.00. With the tire disposal fee and new metal valve stems $50.00 got them on my RTV on my trailer. These are a lot more aggressive tread than "worksite tires". You may want to look at what others they have, Several of the tires indicate to fit on a 12.5 in. wheel, I think that is an error but not sure.
Bryce
 

Fitch

Active member
I did the spring pressure wash this morning and took a good look at the tires.

They have about 1/8" of tread wear. The sidewalls are all good with just a tiny bit of checkering starting to show on the outside of the right rear tire. Pressure was good in all of them.

I'm hoping they last a few more years. That said, my tire dealer told me once that tires tend to fall apart rapidly once they are 10 years old. These will be eleven in June and going strong.

Fitch
 

D&D Farm

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Shinnery: We have just the opposite condition here in N.W. Georgia..........Our pastures are on 18 or so degree slopes. An aggressive tread tends to really tear up the top soil/grass. I seldom have a traction problem when we fert/herbicide treat with the worksite tires but find that my R4's on the tractor can and will tear out chunks...........

Fitch: 2000 some hours and you have 1/8" of tread wear. Meaning 1/8" of tread has been worn off?????? Golly Boy you are really doing something right. So, I gotta figure what in the world is going on. Did you notice any kind of directional indicators??.......I gave mine a good look over this morning and saw nothing these old eyes could see as to indicate rotation direction...........THANKS Guys.......God bless........Dennis
 

Fitch

Active member
Shinnery: We have just the opposite condition here in N.W. Georgia..........Our pastures are on 18 or so degree slopes. An aggressive tread tends to really tear up the top soil/grass. I seldom have a traction problem when we fert/herbicide treat with the worksite tires but find that my R4's on the tractor can and will tear out chunks...........

Fitch: 2000 some hours and you have 1/8" of tread wear. Meaning 1/8" of tread has been worn off?????? Golly Boy you are really doing something right. So, I gotta figure what in the world is going on. Did you notice any kind of directional indicators??.......I gave mine a good look over this morning and saw nothing these old eyes could see as to indicate rotation direction...........THANKS Guys.......God bless........Dennis

No directional indicators.

I've never rotated the tires. I never even thought about them after I bought a spare until this thread came along. They are just 'there' and work.

Fitch
 

Mark.Sibole

Well-known member
Directional indicators may not be on them but i know on my reapers it wasy this side ut or something to that effect.Even on car tired there is no direction indicated but with that if you wear a tire in in one direction you should always keep the rotation the same direction when rotating them.
 

Fitch

Active member
Directional indicators may not be on them but i know on my reapers it wasy this side ut or something to that effect.Even on car tired there is no direction indicated but with that if you wear a tire in in one direction you should always keep the rotation the same direction when rotating them.

That applies to radial tires, bias ply not so much. For me, on the RTV, it doesn't matter. I don't rotate them. Too lazy and there is no need.

I took pictures of them this morning. They look pretty good.

I just keep them full of air and drive on 'em.

Fitch
 

TRIBUTE100

Active member
They now recommend cross rotating radial tires, except for directional tread. I got some new asymmetrical tires for my wife's SUV and they told me to cross rotate them. Since I had to take it to the dealer for fluid changes for my warranty, I let them rotate my tires at each oil change. The tire started getting noisy and I found out the dealer was only rotating the tires on the same side, a mistake according to the tire dealer. Here's TireRack's rotation diagram:
http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/make-driving-fun/should-i-rotate-my-tires

The sun really works on tires making them crack. I've started spraying the tires that stay outside with silicone spray. I also try to keep all my CV joint boots sprayed with silicone.
My 2010 RTV 900 has just over 100 hours so I don't need to rotate yet but sounds like I need to check the alignment.

BTW, last year one of the front steering tires on my John Deere 218 tractor mower starting leaking so I replaced it. The old tire had been on since the tractor was new - 1983. I've always keep it inside when not in use and only ran it maybe 3 hours a week during the cutting season, April-September.
 

Fitch

Active member
They now recommend cross rotating radial tires, except for directional tread. I got some new asymmetrical tires for my wife's SUV and they told me to cross rotate them. Since I had to take it to the dealer for fluid changes for my warranty, I let them rotate my tires at each oil change. The tire started getting noisy and I found out the dealer was only rotating the tires on the same side, a mistake according to the tire dealer. Here's TireRack's rotation diagram:
http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/make-driving-fun/should-i-rotate-my-tires

The sun really works on tires making them crack. I've started spraying the tires that stay outside with silicone spray. I also try to keep all my CV joint boots sprayed with silicone.
My 2010 RTV 900 has just over 100 hours so I don't need to rotate yet but sounds like I need to check the alignment.

BTW, last year one of the front steering tires on my John Deere 218 tractor mower starting leaking so I replaced it. The old tire had been on since the tractor was new - 1983. I've always keep it inside when not in use and only ran it maybe 3 hours a week during the cutting season, April-September.

I have to agree, sunlight is very hard on tires.

This is a picture of the 'worst' tire on my '04 RTV. It's been on the right rear in that exact location since it came home from the dealer in June of '04.

Fitch
 

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urednecku

Member
I'm still using my late Dad's Kawasaki Mule he purchased in I think 1991, about 24 years ago. Still has the original tires on it, I can't remember ever having a flat. Still plenty of knob left on the tires, but they are showing some weather cracking. It's parked under a carport, no direct sunlight but still exposed to the weather other than direct rain & sun.
I don't have any plans to replace the tires anytime soon. (I realize if they did let go tonight they still don't owe anything!)
I'll try to remember to get a pic in the next day or 2.
 
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