Foam-filled tires?

[racsan]

Thinking of trying it out, the chinensuim 4.80-8’s on my yard cart wont hold air, only 2 years old and not rotten so tubes must be bad, I first thought of trying to source hubs so I could use some extra golf-cart tires I have but seems like more $ & time than the whole dump cart is worth. Then I had another thought- spray contruction expanding foam. Drill a hole in each tire & exhaust the contents of the can. Maybe $6-8 a can ? so for less than $20 my cart can be useable again for more than 30 min. The cheapest solid wheels from tsc are $54/wheel. That will be my next choice if the foam thing doesn’t work out. Axle shaft size on this cart is 3/4” x 3” long, If it was longer my original wheel horse steer tires would work. Kind of limits me to the narrow “wheelbarrow “ stlye assemblies. Oddly enough I didn’t use my yard cart that often. But now with the chicken house I need it about once a month for clean out.

 

[RobbieD]

Have you tried

?



The expanding foam "might" work, but I just don't know about a whole can. A little expanding foam goes a long ways, and I can see the damn tire exploding (which is why we used to duct tape gerbils, but that's a story for another time . . . ).

The trick will be to get the right amount in, and getting it in evenly.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Might ask around, there is a foam they use for skidloader tires. Having someone do it that knows what they are doing the tires may not explode on you.

 

[snoranger]

Don’t use expanding foam. It will start to break down very quickly in a tire. It’s not designed to take those forces.
A place that replaces forklift tires will be able to urethane fill the tires for you. Or even put a bottle of green slime in the tires. We slimed our handtruck tires at work… they went from holding air for 5-10 minutes to holding air for 2 years.

 

[JoshT]

Or even put a bottle of green slime in the tires. We slimed our handtruck tires at work… they went from holding air for 5-10 minutes to holding air for 2 years.

Worked good on my front lawn mower tires for quite a few years. Eventually put tubes in them, but probably could have pumped in more slime and kept going. Back mower tires are still leaking, but rather than putting in more slime I need to get fresh tires with better traction than the stock turf saver tires.

Recently saw that they now offer slime for tube tires. Wonder if there is really a difference or just a marketing thing?

Edit: The slime, I was talking about the slime. Realized I should probably clarify after @SenorNoob posted. I wouldn't want to try urethane filled tires on my yard. I think the ride is rough enough now with air.

 

[SenorNoob]

I have a lawn mower that had the front tires filled. Not exactly sure how it was done. But, they're heavy. Like 45-50 pounds for front riding mower tires.

 

[snoranger]

Worked good on my front lawn mower tires for quite a few years. Eventually put tubes in them, but probably could have pumped in more slime and kept going. Back mower tires are still leaking, but rather than putting in more slime I need to get fresh tires with better traction than the stock turf saver tires.

Recently saw that they now offer slime for tube tires. Wonder if there is really a difference or just a marketing thing?

Edit: The slime, I was talking about the slime. Realized I should probably clarify after @SenorNoob posted. I wouldn't want to try urethane filled tires on my yard. I think the ride is rough enough now with air.

Speaking of rough ride.
We had a customer ask us to urethane fill the tires on their Polaris Ranger. They used it on large construction sites (They we’re doing the insulation on one of the terminal at Newark Airport… that kind of large.) and had 43 screws and nails in one tire.
We had them filled, put them on, and immediately started looking for replacement rims and tires. This thing rode like an unloaded cement truck. It was painful above a slow walking speed.

 

[19Walt93]

I have a lawn mower that had the front tires filled. Not exactly sure how it was done. But, they're heavy. Like 45-50 pounds for front riding mower tires.

If it's the same as the tires on my Kioti, they're filled with windshield washer solvent. They weigh a lot more than 50 lbs. Do you have to make sure the valve stem is at the top to check the pressure? The Kioti dealer was buying gallon jugs of solvent until I put him in contact with the vendor who sold us bulk solvent.

 

[19Walt93]

Thinking of trying it out, the chinensuim 4.80-8’s on my yard cart wont hold air, only 2 years old and not rotten so tubes must be bad, I first thought of trying to source hubs so I could use some extra golf-cart tires I have but seems like more $ & time than the whole dump cart is worth. Then I had another thought- spray contruction expanding foam. Drill a hole in each tire & exhaust the contents of the can. Maybe $6-8 a can ? so for less than $20 my cart can be useable again for more than 30 min. The cheapest solid wheels from tsc are $54/wheel. That will be my next choice if the foam thing doesn’t work out. Axle shaft size on this cart is 3/4” x 3” long, If it was longer my original wheel horse steer tires would work. Kind of limits me to the narrow “wheelbarrow “ stlye assemblies. Oddly enough I didn’t use my yard cart that often. But now with the chicken house I need it about once a month for clean out.

Just get some new tires and tubes or you'll kick your own butt if you have to work on the tires after they're foamed.

 

[Roert42]

Don’t buy the cheapest Chinese tires you find and they’ll last a while longer.

My wheel barrel has a foam tire on it, it’s not that great a lot weight but I never had to fill it.

 

[racsan]

Going to try the green slime stuff, Then if/when that fails I will look for a solid wheel. Hard to find certain stuff that ain’t chinese junk. Checked my old wheel horse fronts out of curiosity and yep, the axle shaft would need to be longer to work. Messaged a place that does golf cart work to ask about the front spindles & weather or not its tapered roller bearings or just a 3/4 or 5/8 bushing, gave him my yard cart axle specs. All he said back was that anything is possible with a welder, grinder & effort. Well duh- thats not what I was asking. I’ll just get 2 bottles of slime the next time im in town & see how that goes.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I ended up modding my lawn cart to use lawn tractor front tires and rims. Took a little metal massaging but it worked. Actually is kinda nice because it doesn’t rut the yard with heavier loads. Mind you, my lawn tractor is capable of dragging a dead RBV around. I really could stand to have a heavier duty trailer than the flimsy lawn cart, but that is about to be resolved with the hitch/lifting pole thing I’m making for the farm tractor. Hopefully the clutch in that lasts until I can get my garage up.

 

[JoshT]

If it's the same as the tires on my Kioti, they're filled with windshield washer solvent. They weigh a lot more than 50 lbs. Do you have to make sure the valve stem is at the top to check the pressure? The Kioti dealer was buying gallon jugs of solvent until I put him in contact with the vendor who sold us bulk solvent.

I'm thinking about possibly trying that when I put new tires on the rear of my mower. Need tires with better tread for parts of the property even if they are air filled. Some added weight down low would probably help with grip as well, it would definitely help with stability on angles I probably shouldn't be cutting with a mower. With that thought, maybe I shouldn't fill them, might get lead to doing something stupid.

Other option would be trying to find a set of wheel weights that fit and I could just install when needed.

Messaged a place that does golf cart work to ask about the front spindles & weather or not its tapered roller bearings or just a 3/4 or 5/8 bushing, gave him my yard cart axle specs. All he said back was that anything is possible with a welder, grinder & effort. Well duh- thats not what I was asking.

Don't ya just hate those kind of answers.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I'm thinking about possibly trying that when I put new tires on the rear of my mower. Need tires with better tread for parts of the property even if they are air filled. Some added weight down low would probably help with grip as well, it would definitely help with stability on angles I probably shouldn't be cutting with a mower. With that thought, maybe I shouldn't fill them, might get lead to doing something stupid.

Other option would be trying to find a set of wheel weights that fit and I could just install when needed.

So my big lawn tractor is a Craftsman GT (GT was supposed to stand for Garden tractor, the lawn tractors rated for use with a sleeve hitch for pulling a single bottom plow or the like). I bought a set of AG tires for it years ago. Put 5-6 gallons of RV antifreeze in each back tire and bolted 55# wheel weights on each side. It’s a tank. It will drag an RBV along and I’ve used that to move dead vehicles around some. It will go anywhere, but it definitely digs in when the ground is soft. I have to be careful about how dry the yard is. It’s very stable on sloped ground though, that low weight keeps it planted. I really need to fill the front tires. I’ve also noticed that the back tires look nice and black with no dry rot despite years in the weather, which makes me wonder if the RV antifreeze is doing that.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I love my old Craftsman GT, it's a beast and parts are simple... the 3 speed high/low transmission is fantastic... sure stuff gives up but it's from like '94 so I don't blame the thing

For tubed stuff I've been tempted to just fill with water in my location... for the small tubes you get what you pay for though...