Keeping tyres round without air

[wally]

I have a question that's kind of technical, but doesn't relate necessarily to Land Rovers. Don't worry, I think about Land Rovers almost all of the time but every now and then I'm forced briefly to think about other things. You see I rescued this old trailer from down the paddock:

42515


Isn't she beautiful? Now I want to put it to work on the farm. The trouble is that it only has one tyre out of four that holds air. The other three are beyond repair (at least as far as holding air is concerned), and it seems unlikely that I'll get the wheel nuts off without a struggle, and then separating tyre from rim would likewise not be straightforward. The thing is though, since all it's going to do is cart macadamia husk about 100m every few weeks at slow tractor speed, as long as the tyre stays roughly circular, it could be filled with anything. So I've been wondering whether there's a foam or something that would do the job. I note there are some tyre inflation foams on the market. Any experiences? Any ideas?

[abaddonxi]

On Bush Mechanics they filled a tyre with spinnifex grass, got them to where they were going.:D

[Blknight.aus]

if thats all its going to do why bother keeping air in them?

cut the rubber off and wrap them in rope then weld some sheet metal around the beads.

[rick130]

The 7.50/16's on Dad's old box trailer we have here don't even need air either, they stand up without it. :D

Dad used to say that Pop would pack his '27 Chev truck tyres with straw during the war, that was until a kindly QM took pity on him in one of the army camps he carted gear for and told him to look under a bush a few yards from the front gate.

[harry]

it would probably be cheaper to just put another wheel or tyre on it.

you get nothing for nothing in this world.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

How much weight is involved?
are there huge holes in the sidewalls?
just the sidewalls should provide some suspension--

after the first couple of trips the flat tyres may loosen their grip on the rim,,,

rusted nuts will still be your problem though,,

[wally]

On Bush Mechanics they filled a tyre with spinnifex grass, got them to where they were going.:D

Yep, that would do.

[wally]

if thats all its going to do why bother keeping air in them?

cut the rubber off and wrap them in rope then weld some sheet metal around the beads.

Thanks for that. Only thing is I don't want to lose any height.

[wally]

The 7.50/16's on Dad's old box trailer we have here don't even need air either, they stand up without it. :D

Dad used to say that Pop would pack his '27 Chev truck tyres with straw during the war, that was until a kindly QM took pity on him in one of the army camps he carted gear for and told him to look under a bush a few yards from the front gate.

These ones stand up too, except for the flat bit where they have been on the ground for an unknown number of years. Maybe the flat bit will become less flat.

[wally]

it would probably be cheaper to just put another wheel or tyre on it.

you get nothing for nothing in this world.

Considerably more effort though.

[wally]

How much weight is involved?
are there huge holes in the sidewalls?
just the sidewalls should provide some suspension--

after the first couple of trips the flat tyres may loosen their grip on the rim,,,

rusted nuts will still be your problem though,,

It'll finish up with a couple of tonnes on it. The holes don't appear to be huge.

[lewy]

have a go at getting the old wheels off,if you stuff the wheel studs up you could always weld the wheels back on.

[crash]

I have heard of farmers filling there back wheels with cement, but I would have thought that the bouncing around and over uneven ground would eventually break the cement up inside.
You can get "balls" for ATV tyres that act as individual air cells to help prevent tyre failure.

[Blknight.aus]

Thanks for that. Only thing is I don't want to lose any height.

with no air in them your going to loose the height anyway....

but you could go a tad more advanced with the concept and weld on some expansion bars the wrap the rope around till its standing proud then add the casing...

theres a lot of things you could try but most of them involve getting the beads off of the rims.

you could try stitching and sealing the carcass with canvas then filling the tyre with sand but IMHO with that configuration it would be a lot less effort to lock the brakes up drag it till it spins the rubber then mount up some new rubber and fill them with sand or cold set resin with the vehicle supported off of he ground..

you could also try bolting a strip of metal to the treadface then pulling it forwards to wrap the wheel prior to rebolting it together to make a poormans version of the "energy return wheel"

But Id bet if you sprayed the wheelnuts and studs down with diesel every morning and evening for a week or so with the thing parked in the sun then the wheelnuts would give up with a decent attack from a rattle gun or a no kidding class breaker bar and socket.

[wrinklearthur]

You see I rescued this old trailer from down the paddock:
I've been wondering whether there's a foam or something that would do the job. I note there are some tyre inflation foams on the market. Any experiences? Any ideas?

Some time ago, I had some work around the local district, cutting long grass and rubbish, with my tractor and slasher. Problem was that, a few of these places had trouble with a shrubby tree which has long sharp thorns, [ African boxthorn (Lycium ferocissimum) ]
http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRS2sExNVyG99pjfV0dCnlj4jSvkHmdA TtdPCCiKOVXK1M0hEcZ .

I had more punctures in the tractor tyres, than I care to think about.
I set about what to do to prevent this and looked into fitting steel wheels, solid tyres and a foam that filled the tyre.

The foam is in common use in places where forklifts are used and rubber tyred loaders are used in scrap metal yards.
The problem as far as farm tractors are concerned is, once filled the nominated pressure remains, having a fixed pressure wouldn't be a problem with that trailer IMHO.
.

[superquag]

How much is your time and blood pressure worth ??? :p

--- be easier and cheaper to get some old tyres from a Tyre shop, replace the rims or even hubs/rims if needs be. Tyres should be free...shops charge customers a Disposal Fee...:twisted:

PS, but it IS fun trying to save a dollar :p:p:p

James Mc Scrooge.

[Blknight.aus]

if you want some free rubber for them if they're 16's Ive got some rubber you can have for nix...

get the rims of and I'll even get them mounted.

[d2dave]

How much is your time and blood pressure worth ??? :p

--- be easier and cheaper to get some old tyres from a Tyre shop, replace the rims or even hubs/rims if needs be. Tyres should be free...shops charge customers a Disposal Fee...:twisted:

PS, but it IS fun trying to save a dollar :p:p:p

James Mc Scrooge.

I could not agree more. And if the wheel studs break this is is a cheap and easy fix. In this case you could just use ordinary nuts and bolts with the bolt head tack welded to the hub.

Dave.

[baldivistribe]

For all the time you will spend stuffing around. Fit new nuts and studs they are cheap as chips. And for tyres im sure the local tyre shop would fit you up some second hand tyres.
Jobs done no more stuffing around.
Cheers
steve

[wally]

if you want some free rubber for them if they're 16's Ive got some rubber you can have for nix...

get the rims of and I'll even get them mounted.

Thanks, that's good of you Dave. They're 20" though.

[Blknight.aus]

what profiles on them I may be able to get my hands on some 20r12ish stuff

[wally]

what profiles on them I may be able to get my hands on some 20r12ish stuff

The existing tyres are 7.00x20 and 7.50x20.

[Blknight.aus]

12's arent going to fit....

you could always just weld some rod onto the rims then start dragging it forwards till it winds up to the correct diameter then weld it again.