Tractor tires and wheels

[sandman2234]

Recent purchase of a JD 2555 has had me running a comalong more than the tractor itself. The 18.4-26 turfsaver tires don't like the black dirt with all the rain we have had. The grooves fill with mud and the tires simply spin without digging.
I acquired 4 used tires and rims 14.9-24 Ag tires, which will probably do better than the turf's. They are a little shorter, but should still work.
Before actually seeing them, I figured on a piece of solid steel, drilled and longer bolts, to use as spacers so that I can mount 4 tires to the tractor. When I picked them up, I realized that the spacer would need to be about a foot long, (10" between the rims with the tires stacked flat). So an adapter similiar to what I built for the Ford will probably need to be built. I used about a 4" pipe, with welded on 1" flanges at each end, both drilled, and one end tapped. Pipe was maybe 1/4" wall and held up fine with anything I wanted to throw at it.
However, with the addition of 6 times the Horsepower, I get a little nervous designing my own adapters for this new beast. It tends to tear things up without a second thought if they aren't designed heavy enough.
The new wheels are the same bolt pattern (lucky!!!) but use 5/8" holes instead of 3/4". I will need to drill them out, but don't happen to have a 3/4 counterbore with a 5/8 pilot.
Anyone got any ideas on the best way to handle these two problems?
David from jax

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Have gun, will travel.

[wato]

Hi David,
Not sure about the horse power of your tractor but I have dual wheels on Two of my tractors.
On the 125hp they use a flanged tube arrangement. On the 200hp they simply use a spacer between the rims and long bolts to pull the two together. Similar arrangement to dual wheels on trucks.
Never had any probs with either arrangement.

Dual wheels give two benefits greater floatation to prevent sinking and greater traction help with pulling heavy loads with less wheel slip.
I think from your post you are using two different types of tyres. I would want to make sure that they are the same diameter.
If not you will only be driving on one set of wheels, and you wont be benefitting from the greater floatation available from the duals and your turf tyres aren't going to give you much more traction.
I've seen some very big 4x4 tractors on dual wheels even some on rubber tracks sunk well into the ground.
Cheers.

[sandman2234]

Horsepower of a JD 2555 is about 70. All four tires and wheels that I just acquired are 14.9-24 with the agri tread.Two are Goodyear and two are Firestone. The Turfsavers I just took off were 18.4-26 in size.
The 4 ag's are mounted on custom built rims, made by Southern Wheel and Rim. Basically a rim with a flat plate for a center (1/2" plate) with the correct bolt pattern. I went ahead and used a drill to enlarge the 16 holes so I could go ahead and mount one set. All went well with that till I got to the last bolt, and the threads on it didn't feel right, so I backed away and figured I would look at it later. I was late for a dinner date, and didn't want to hurry it. The drilling seems to have gone ok, so I will probably drill the other two on my next day off. The fun part will be building the spacers, which will probably look something like this, if I can find the materials.


Thanks,
David from jax



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Have gun, will travel.

[wato]

I presume the spacers will be bigger diameter than those pictured?
The only other thing that crosses my mind is to make sure the bolts/studs and nuts are of hi quality and keep them torqued up tight. As the out side wheel can put a lot of stress on them if you happen to be operating on uneven ground.
Cheers.

[dhammer]

Hi,

There are a few things to consider here, according to my spec book 14.9X24 tires are 49" in dia with a max load rating of 3000lbs at 20 psi. The 18.4X26 tire is 58" in dia with a max load capacity 3900 [email protected] psi.. assuming they are both 6 ply tires. If the 24 " tires are 4 ply the load rating would be less. Nine inches difference in height is quite a bit. Since you all ready have 26" wheels I would consider trying to find ag tires that size and load them with ballast. Combines use 26" tires..might find them cheap.

[sandman2234]

Wato,
Spacers will be larger, and probably heavier duty, as those pictured are the ones I built for my 13Hp Ford 1100 4wd tractor. It would go just about anywhere with the six wheels pulling, but was a little overkill. I did this to mow a piece of waterfront property over near Destin, Fl that was more mud than land, even at low tide. I will use only the best bolts I can find for the mounting of the adapters on the JD.
Dhammer,
Thanks for taking the time to reseach the tire sizes. 49" is correct for the smaller ones, but the larger ones are only about 53", so the height isn't as bad as it seems. With the two Ag tires on it, the fenders are sitting almost perfectly level.
I was told the 14.9-24 are the correct tires for this tractor, but the person telling me that may be wrong.
The 14.9-24 tires are 6 ply rated.
I plan on removing the Ag tires as soon as I get the property next door cleared, because I generally only do light mowing and want the turfsavers, so as not to chew up the front yard.
May even have to switch them back and forth, depending on how long it takes me to do the acreage next door. The tires were a gift to me from a good friend, and beat even a great deal on ebay.
David from jax

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Have gun, will travel.

[IOWOLF]

Has any one sugested a unibit? your lug nuts will have a bevel on them and unibits are self centering.

[sandman2234]

Thought about a unibit, until I saw the wheels. Custom made for the machine they were on, and have 1/2" plate for a center. Little much for a unibit.
I did one set of wheels with a 3/4" USA made drill bit, and it worked fine. They are mounted except for one bolt. It didn't want to line up, and I was in a hurry, so didn't want to strip it. Probably tomorrow afternoon, I will figure out why, but I figure it is probably the drill bit wandering off center.
The lug nuts do not have a taper, which kind of surprised me.
David from jax

[sandman2234]

I went looking for what "might" be the original tire size on the 2555, but it seems they all take a different tire. None used the 14.9-24, so that must be a "southern thing".
David from jax

[wato]

I realise it doesn't relate to this case but just as a point of interest when changing tyre sizes.
On 4x4 or front wheel assist tractors the rear and front tyres/wheels need to be matched or you end up with a very good chance of damaging the lighter front diff. Even comes into play with 4x4 vehicles.
Cheers.

[sandman2234]

I tore the front up on my Ford 1100 4x4, but it was just an axle planetary type gear. Had to replace half the stuff on that side since it was "outdated" or something. A $50 part ended up costing me $300 to fix it.
Tires are difficult to make sure they are the right ones, due to the numbering and sizes of rims. On 4x4, I replace with what was there,and nothing else.
David from jax

[wato]

Even size between brands is a risk I compared 2 11.00 x 16 tyres for front of my tractor and had 4 inches difference in diameter. One was australian made other chinese. Surprised me.
Cheers.

[sandman2234]

Two of the Ag tires are Goodyear, and the other two are Firestone. They seem to be closely manufactured, except for minor details.
David from jax

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Have gun, will travel.

[sandman2234]

There once was a girl,
Who was known in many lands
Who hated working outside,
Especailly with her hands.

She was getting really tired,
Of working all the time
It even made her so sick
That she wrote this little rhyme.

Her dad got this idea,
He needed some sort of tractor,
Brandi hated helping,
So he knew money wasn't a factor.

He finally found the one,
So perfect it drew a tear,
It was big and yellow and green,
And on the side was painted "Deere".

Brandi was thrilled
With the free time she had
Now that she wasn't outside
Having to help out her dad.

She was having so much fun,
Til her dad came in to say,
He had gotten that Deer stuck,
And he needed it out today!

Brandi drove the chevy,
That trusty old truck.
To help with her dad,
so they could get the Deere unstuck.

They used come-alongs and chains,
And finally pulled it out of the mud.
Then when they thought they had finished,
Well, that's when they heard the "thud!"

Now to get the truck back home,
They had to use the Deere.
Her Dad pushed the truck,
And told Brandi just to steer.

It was over 100 degrees,
and the chevy wouldn't run,
So Brandi sat there miserably,
Having nothing close to fun.

When they got it to the gate,
Brandi sighed cause they were done.
Now Brandi could just rest,
She was too tired to have fun.

So this is to all the kids,
Who's daddy's own a Deere...
Don't let him drive it in the mud!
Tell him to just steer clear!

~A poem written by Brandi Mizell. This is a true story!

Just in case anyone was wondering why I wanted to run duals on the tractor...


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Have gun, will travel.

[Boomer]

Would tire chains work in this stuff? Put 'em on for the goop, take 'em off for the turf.

Bruce