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skid steer solutions VS. mclaren nu-air flat proof tire which is better

farmboy555

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Joined
Aug 24, 2006
Messages
191
Location
KY
Occupation
Owner Operator
Ward Equipment sell the Prowler Brand. Just purchased a set. Best price I've found on them, not going to tell the price I paid, but the will deal with you.
They are located in greensburg, IN
 

HillBoy

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Joined
Feb 11, 2008
Messages
87
Location
GA
I have never heard about the other two brands and don't know anyone who has them (they are probably very new on the market), but I'm well familiar with Bullman and NuAir tires (someone on the forum even said they are both made by Mclaren, which is a US based company). Neither Bullman, nor Nu-Air are made in China, which at least for me is a positive sign about their quality.

Anyway, first we got Bullman about 3 years ago and we really liked them because they put the end of our flats once and for all. And, we abuse the tires a lot. The Bullmans have good wear and cushioning. Once we wore them all the way to the holes (if I remember right about 700-800 hours), we upgraded to Nu-Air, which we are still running. The Nu-Air are one class higher than the Bullman -- more rubber, more cushioning, improved lug pattern for better wear, really a great all purpose tire. We got the Nu-Air AT version, which is their premium all terrain tire. They also have another version for slightly less money. The Nu-Air tires also run well with over the tire tracks, as they can absorb the debris that may get stuck between the tire and the track. Overall I think Nu-Air AT offers more value for the money even though they cost more.

So, I think we got our money's worth and they saved us tons of hassle and lost revenues in dealing with flat tires and upset customers. I think we’ll be sticking with the NuAir for quite some time. And one final thing, be careful of any Chinese tires... our regular pneumatics from there were a disaster. :usa
 

rhurst

Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2009
Messages
10
Location
Pensacola, fl
I am looking to replace the rubber tracks on my Bobcat T190 as well as my Bobcat 331 excavator. Any suggestions on brands?
 

digger242j

Administrator
Joined
Oct 31, 2003
Messages
6,628
Location
Southwestern PA
Occupation
Self employed excavator
Don't anybody forget who's a sponsor here. (Hint: Look in the top right hand corner of the page.) ;)
 

HillBoy

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Joined
Feb 11, 2008
Messages
87
Location
GA
Don't anybody forget who's a sponsor here. (Hint: Look in the top right hand corner of the page.) ;)

Ha,ha,ha... I didn't see it until now. Actually, we have been buying Bridgestone and Mclaren for the last 4-5 years not because of the ad above :) but because of their proven quality. McLaren is a first class company and as far as I know, they and Bridgestone are now the main suppliers for track loader and excavator tracks to Bobcat. :usa

The last set we bought from McLaren was the multi-lug TDF tracks for T190 and they have a lot better traction than the OEM track. Plus they do really well in the snow. You can get these from any Bobcat dealer or from McLaren. McLaren is a great company to work with, but definitely not the cheapest. If you are looking for just cheap, then you should go online. There are a bunch of companies there. :beerchug
 
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HillBoy

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Joined
Feb 11, 2008
Messages
87
Location
GA
Let me correct myself. Few times McLaren was quite competitvely priced when compared with the rest. They run promotions now and then... BUt again, for the quality of their products, I can't expect them to be the cheapest.
 

Randy88

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2009
Messages
2,149
Location
iowa
Hillbilly, If I understand you wore a set of solid tires out in under a 1000 hours? I'm looking to put on a set on my NH 190 and they are about 4grand and they are telling me they'll last at least four times as long as a set of tires, we get about 800hours on a set of new air tires, 1400 if they are recapps and they are blowing to me that solids will go 4000hrs or about a buck an hour, am I being fed a line of bull from my tire sales guru, when I ask him who has a set they claim they haven't had anyone wear out a set yet to know how many hours they will actually go, all the guys I've talked to haven't had them long enough to know or else traded them off on the machine or a different bigger machine and got new tires with it.
 

HillBoy

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Joined
Feb 11, 2008
Messages
87
Location
GA
Hillbilly, If I understand you wore a set of solid tires out in under a 1000 hours? I'm looking to put on a set on my NH 190 and they are about 4grand and they are telling me they'll last at least four times as long as a set of tires, we get about 800hours on a set of new air tires, 1400 if they are recapps and they are blowing to me that solids will go 4000hrs or about a buck an hour, am I being fed a line of bull from my tire sales guru, when I ask him who has a set they claim they haven't had anyone wear out a set yet to know how many hours they will actually go, all the guys I've talked to haven't had them long enough to know or else traded them off on the machine or a different bigger machine and got new tires with it.

Hmm, 4,000 hours seems unreal. I can double check our records to let you know the exact hours we put on... I may be wrong with the number I put above, but I'll certianly find out. I can tell you, though, that the Nu-Air AT we got now have more rubber and wear better than the previous brand tires we had. :usa
 

HillBoy

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Joined
Feb 11, 2008
Messages
87
Location
GA
Ok Randy, we got the hours from the machine. Surprisingly, we have put 2,480 hours on the Bullman tires before we took them off - a lot more than what I initially thought. When compared to the current NuAir AT tires wear and thickness of rubber, I can tell that the Nu-Air AT will definitely go over 3,000 hours. Hope this helps you.
 

Randy88

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2009
Messages
2,149
Location
iowa
Thanks for the time you spent looking that up for me I really appreciate it. Maybe the salesman isn't as windy as I had thought. Is most of the work you do on cement or gravel or off hard surfaces in dirt?
 

HillBoy

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Joined
Feb 11, 2008
Messages
87
Location
GA
Thanks for the time you spent looking that up for me I really appreciate it. Maybe the salesman isn't as windy as I had thought. Is most of the work you do on cement or gravel or off hard surfaces in dirt?

I still think 4,000 hours will be very hard to reach, if at all possible. We work mostly on cement, asphalt and dirt; not much gravel here. The older tires were used mostly off-road on dirt (about 65-70% I would say). However, this time we wanted tires that did better on concrete as we have more city work, and this is how we found Nu-Air AT; I think these are the only flat proof tires on the market made specifically for concrete/ asphalt work. They have a very different tread pattern than the other tires on the market -- a lot more rubber touching the ground I would say. Maybe this is one reason why they last longer; plus their better rubber compound and more overall rubber. Hope this helps.

But again, buy what will fit your job the best. These tires certainly work great for us and they are worth the money, but I can't say they are for everyone’s pocket. :usa
 

Randy88

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Feb 2, 2009
Messages
2,149
Location
iowa
Thanks it helps a lot to hear what others are doing and what they think of products they have used, until now we were just planning on buying the cheapest thing on the market to give them a try but the more I ask, peoples opinion seem to be spend a little more for a better quality product which makes sense. I just couldn't see how any solid tire could last any longer than an air filled tire but everone is telling me the quality and hardness of the rubber and thickness make the difference, seems logical so we'll give them a try, even if they only last 2500 hrs with the flat cost and time lost figured in they would probably still pay in the long run and if you figured in anything for agrivation they are probably cheaper in the long run. Thanks for your time and info
 

ClawdaddyRich

New Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
2
Location
Michigan
Occupation
Sales Manager
Clawdaddy skid - steer tire alternative

You may want to try a tire called a Nextire Clawdaddy. It has 3 1/2 inch tread depth and my experience and the experience of many people I have spoken with was very positive. Where it goes seems to be the biggest dictator of wear. Smooth concrete hours of 4000 are more common than not. When you see the tire it really has a wow effect and that wow is justified with its tire life. You can see the tire at www.clawdaddytire.com
 
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