Good Year Tires - Why Tubes?

[AndrewSpencer]

And to keep that wrench in the air, all the reasons for running tubes are the exact reasons for running tubeless on a bicycle; you can run them at lower pressure, more stability on rough ground, less chance of flats...
And the original Firestone ag tires on my '53 are tubeless.

[Waif]

Extracted a generous splinter of wood from under the bead of one tractors tire from a previous owner.
IF a bead was well sealed and no one ever spun a tire or caved a sidewall against something , less tubes might be required.

Have seen rags and gloves sticking out of sidewalls on old tractors moved out of long term barn storage.
That don't work without tubes!

Thorns have not sank me yet on the Cubs. Mattr of time probably.
I've had one through a wheel and tube on a wheelchair before though outback of beyond too many hundreds of miles away from home.
Tube slowed the leak. Despite having to hand pump air often.

[SamsFarm]

To throw a monkey wrench in this discussion, ALL new tractors made in the last 25+ years have come off the assembly line with tubeless tires.

You can't compare today's technology to yesterday's tractors.

Sure I can. We've got two pages of guys saying how tubeless tires won't hold up on tractors because of the terrain they run on and how they are used.

The terrain hasn't changed.

Modern tractors go over the same terrain and are used AT LEAST has hard, and tubeless tires hold up just fine.

I agree 100%! If not used harder!

I have tubless on the tractor I bought new in 2005.

Have tubeless on some hay wagons too.

I think the 336 Deere baler has tubless as well.

I see more rim rot around valve stems on rims with tubes in them too!

[radioguy41]

To throw a monkey wrench in this discussion, ALL new tractors made in the last 25+ years have come off the assembly line with tubeless tires.

You can't compare today's technology to yesterday's tractors.

Sure I can. We've got two pages of guys saying how tubeless tires won't hold up on tractors because of the terrain they run on and how they are used.

The terrain hasn't changed.

Modern tractors go over the same terrain and are used AT LEAST has hard, and tubeless tires hold up just fine.

But with different wheels. Wheels that are designed for modern tubeless tires. You understand the difference? You can't compare modern technology with antique tractors from a different engineering era. I worked in the industry for more than 20 years. We were not allowed to mount tubeless tires on tube type rims due to liability but you guys are certainly free to risk your lives in the field any way you want to, just stay off the roads and highways because if it blows because it's altered you are liable.

[SONNY]

The ACTUAL thickness of tubeless tires are WAY thinner and flimsy and the softer rubber allows them to get punched easier. Tube type,---even today is made from a harder type rubber, then add the good old tube and you have another layer of protection against flats. Plys and ply RATINGS are not the same either. MOST tubeless tires are 2 ply and some advertise a 4 ply tread which is useless if you take a hit on the sidewall! 2 ply is,--- well paper thin!
Aircraft tires have to be 22 ACTUAL plys to hold up and even the smaller ones weigh a ton with all of the rubber and cord in them. We had a couple with the bead cut down from 22 ply to 6 ply on an old beater wagon and never had more than 5 pounds of air in them but with full load they still stood up like they had a hundred pounds in them.
Not all tires are the same either. There is no standard in the manufacture of them and now with third world makers its gotten worse!
A 480x8 from asia and a 480x8 from the usa are totally different in height and width. Other sizes the same deal NOT the same!
As a choice,--- I dont have one. As long as they hold air I use them. --- Biggest problem is that you have to have the right style rim to fit the tire you want to use. --- Dont go putting tubeless tires on tube type rims and visa versa!

[Greenthumbfarms]

Tubeless (Radial) and Tubed (Bias Ply) are made using two different types of construction.

[Glen]

Hi,
Below is a pic of the only style of valve I have seen on Cub rear tires, they are metal, and have a screw on round nut at the base. They are used with the tube type tires, they are made on the tube.
The valve cap is plastic.

The front tires with tubes use a rubber valve.

The 2nd pic is the replaceable part of the rear valves. The collar screws off of the lower part of the valve.

[Clemsonfor]

To throw a monkey wrench in this discussion, ALL new tractors made in the last 25+ years have come off the assembly line with tubeless tires.

You can't compare today's technology to yesterday's tractors.

Sure I can. We've got two pages of guys saying how tubeless tires won't hold up on tractors because of the terrain they run on and how they are used.

The terrain hasn't changed.

Modern tractors go over the same terrain and are used AT LEAST has hard, and tubeless tires hold up just fine.

Rim design is different, they have safety beads and lips on the rims to help keep them on.

[v w]

My cub tires have tubes. Why? Because I like them. My 404 I don't know but if I have to work on one they will have tubes and out with the beet juice! My Cadet came tubeless but when replacing the tires the dealer recommended tubes. I did not need convincing. Vern

[Rick Spivey]

Just to add a little more fuel to the fire here. We have already had explanations in this post that "tubeless" rims are different from "tube-type" rims, which holds (seats) the tubeless tires more securely. And someone mentioned that there are "radial" tires versus "bias-ply" tires, which is a difference in tire construction. A manufacturer could make a radial tire either tub-type or tubeless; the difference would be whether it had an inner lining of "butyl" rubber to hold the air molecules in, thereby replacing the tube function. Butyl rubber is what tubes are made of, you know how different it feels from most other rubbers. It doesn't like to adhere to other rubbers, which causes some of the difficulties in making tubeless tires. It also requires more than one layer of butyl, as a pinhole during manufacturing would render it useless. So the cost of a tubeless tire is higher. Not many bias ply tires are made today, but in farm and aircraft they are still often used. Some inroads have been made converting aircraft and farm over to tubeless, but the cost of engineering those tires, plus the cost of getting them approved for aircraft, has made it only worthwhile for the larger markets. An 8.3-24 is rarely used in true agriculture anymore, with hundreds of horsepower in a tractor. And many of the tires we actually still use were made many years ago. So we are mostly still dealing with bias ply tires that were made before tubeless was a thing, and/or are still made tubeless for all of the reasons listed in this and previous posts.

A post earlier mentioned that "fresh air" was part of what caused corrosion when using calcium chloride; actually, it is the oxygen component that is primarily responsible. So I wouldn't be surprised to find that a manufacturer loading tubeless tires with calcium chloride also aired up the tires using Nitrogen. No corrosion there, until the farmer adds "air" back in when he tops off his tires.

For those that don't know me well, I spent 37 years with Michelin tire, mostly in auto tires, but dabbled in farm and aircraft as well.

[Matt Kirsch]

A post earlier mentioned that "fresh air" was part of what caused corrosion when using calcium chloride; actually, it is the oxygen component that is primarily responsible. So I wouldn't be surprised to find that a manufacturer loading tubeless tires with calcium chloride also aired up the tires using Nitrogen. No corrosion there, until the farmer adds "air" back in when he tops off his tires.

Exactly, "fresh air." When you air up a calcium tire, the corrosion only goes until the oxygen is used up. As long as additional oxygen, i.e. "fresh air" is not introduced, the corrosion stops.

If a farmer is adding air, there is a leak, and it needs to be addressed asap, or corrosion will become a problem.

[AndrewSpencer]

Took 5 of us and a slid steer but we got tires off and what do you know. I could have sworn they didnt have tubes but they sure did!
And now that I have them off, I feel like it was all for naught as the rims are looking really rough.

[Don McCombs]

At least now you know what you’re dealing with. No surprises down the road.

[Clemsonfor]

Knock all that rust off. Beat it with a hammer is the worse places see how strong it is. If it's not super thin I'd knock the rust off treat it with your preferred method paint it and put new tubes tires in there.

[Greenthumbfarms]

Knock all that rust off. Beat it with a hammer is the worse places see how strong it is. If it's not super thin I'd knock the rust off treat it with your preferred method paint it and put new tubes tires in there.

Inside the rim if it is structurely fine I wire brush and primer. The paint isn't necessary if you use a decent primer and it holds fine.