Skid steer tires?

[Welder Dave]

I need to replace 1 tire on my skid steer but am thinking of putting 4 new tires on. The sidewalls are cracking bad at the edge of the thick rim guard. I know why they stopped selling Eurogrip tires. LoL I have 1 good tire I replaced a few years ago but I don't if they are still available.

I use the machine on dirt for maintaining an MX track and other stuff on my land. I don't put a lot of hours on it so was thinking of just putting less expensive tires on. Most are from China. Curious what tires others have had success with. I'm looking at Samson, Westlake, Camso and Honour brands. Does it make sense if I buy 4 tires, to have them installed for free or get a discount? I looked at Samson at one place, $182.00/each and $25 to mount. No discount if I bought 4. They said they've had good success with them though. Another place has the same tires (10:00 -16.5) for $151/each so I'm thinking of going there and seeing what kind of a deal I can get for all 4 mounted. Maybe full price including mounting? A discount tool type place has Honour tires for a good price but I've never heard of them and they don't do mounting as far as I know. They also have a lot of bad reviews, not necessarily for tires though. Opinions or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Swannny]

Basically, you get what you pay for, but I have found Camso tires to be the best bang for your buck. Pal-mar has them on their website and eBay store for very good prices. Look at their sks532 for $120 in the 10’s. Or, the sks732 for fifteen bucks more.

Just get a couple tire irons, a can of starting fluid, and mount them yourself.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Basically, you get what you pay for...

That seems to be true. I've noticed many of the low cost tires don't have great tread depth. So just keep an out out for that when buying. On the other hand, while most buyers think they need the meanest and deepest tread on the planet, that may not always be wise. Depending on the use tread can really rip up the landscape, yards, etc and cause more damage than is worth. Sometimes I wish I had a 2nd set of mostly worn-out tires so the machine wouldn't rip up the grass. But then, other times a guy 'needs' the traction too. I guess the only solution is to buy another skid loader! Do you use your loader for snow removal? Prices in general for skid tires have decreased a lot from what they used to be.

They've been making tires in China for a long time. Some of their factories are state-of-the art. The tires on my truck are Japanese brand but purchased by a Chinese company and made in China. They actually run out very smooth with few weights. They were on it when I purchased the truck. I've got a set of Carlisle's on my skid which have worked fine. I'll have to check where the country of origin. They're a US company but worldwide reach. If you have a farm & barn type store in your area, they probably sell Carlisle tires.

 

[Bumpsteer]

I've ran Firestones for years, had good luck with them and their at the lower end of the price range.

Last set was made in Mexico, same tire, same mold, just a different brand name on it. Still got it through my Firestone dealer.

Ed

 

[Rob Gunn]

I ran used truck tires on my old Bobcat 630 for years on the farm. Yea it didn't have the dig-in traction that good tires would give but I could get them from a local tire dealer for $10 each. Just my 2 cents worth...

 

[Bumpsteer]

Mine are "Regency" branded.

Ed

 

[Welder Dave]

I found a good deal on some Neumaster conventional lug tires for $142/each but doesn't include mounting. They also have the heavy duty block tire tread for $215/each which is a really good deal (another discount shop has them for $275/each) but I don't think would work as good in dirt and sand. I'm currently running tubes but am think about putting tubeless stems back in and using a bead sealer on the rims. The rims originally had the pop in rubber valve stems but I'm wondering if the bolt in valves stems are better or it doesn't make a difference. Anyone have experience with Neumaster tires?

 

[Jeepwalker]

That's not a bad price. What skid loader do you have?
IDK your situation but you sound like a handy guy. If you have time and patience, consider dismounting your old ones yourself, sandblasting the rim sealing region and the valve stem, even if it's just with a hand blaster, paint with a couple coats of protective self-etching primer (to prevent future rusting) then repaint. Especially if your loader has some age on it. If you take them somewhere they'll "Maybe" hit the rim with a wire brush if you're lucky. But grinding away 'most' of the rust doesn't remove ALL of the rust and prevent future leaks. I would go with short metal stems, personally. Stainless preferably.

On my 1845C honest to god, the skid tires were the easiest to change on any vehicle I've ever changed tires on. Seriously. There's one I've had on/off a couple times to resolve a bent outer rim (previous owner). There's no 'bead' to fight (on mine at least) like a road tire, and because the rims are large diameter (and wide) it's easy to get the bead over the rim. The first bead as you lay the tire on you can get it over the rim w/o tools. The second side (working from the back of the rim I think) takes minor tools ...like screwdrivers or small pry bars. Way easier than a small mower tire or car tire. You wouldn't think so, but that was the case for me. The only tricky part might be getting the rim to seat. I had to use a ratchet strap around one of mine to get it to seat, but it wasn't that difficult. They're also kind of heavy too, but if you're of average strength, you should be able to manage. If you go about it as listed above, you shouldn't have any leaks forever.

If you've never changed tires by hand or you just don't have time, then it would be better to take them somewhere. I've fought way harder with stupid small mower tires!

 

[Welder Dave]

I've changed some 16" tires on a tandem dually trailer before. I figure the backhoe stabilizer should break the bead pretty easily. The machine is a 1994 Thomas T133 with a V1902B Kubota. A lot of people knock Thomas but 98% of those people have never run or owned one. I've had a few issues but the only major one was a leaking wheel motor that they say was too damaged to be fixed. Wheel motor isn't made by Thomas though. Other than that it's on par with a Bobcat 743 but a little more stable with an empty bucket, a little more breakout force and 7 more HP. It has very fast hydraulics and a larger hyd oil tank. Relatively easy to work on if that's even possible with a skid steer.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Sounds like a good unit. I have nothing against Thomas. I've looked their specs over. Seem fine. You don't see very many of them around here.

Good luck on the tires!!

 

[Welder Dave]

I liked that the Thomas was made in Canada, had good dealer support (at the time) and I liked the salesman. A 743B was about the same price and the 753's were just coming out. The biggest problem I had with Bobcat and Case was the salesmen were too busy knocking the Thomas to tell me what features their machines had. My dad sold equipment for decades and said a good salesman doesn't knock the competition but highlights the features of the machine they're selling. Overall it's been a good machine.

 

[Jeepwalker]

My dad sold equipment for decades and said a good salesman doesn't knock the competition but highlights the features of the machine they're selling.

He was a WISE man!! So true.

 

[Welder Dave]

He would also tell customers if a competitive machine was a good machine and on the odd occasion would recommend the customer buy it because it was that much better. My dad studied the competitions machines too. That's how you get a 75-90% market share but more importantly a great reputation in the industry. He didn't play games with pricing and would give the best price he could the first time. Hated buying a car because you get 6 different prices from 6 different dealers.

Had a customer send a tender for over $200,000 worth of turf equipment. Said he'd buy from my dad if he threw in 2 walk behind mowers. My dad told him he should have put them on the tender if he wanted them. One probably would have been free. My dad said sorry I gave you the best price for what was on the tender. The customer said he knew the owner of the company and would call him to see what he could do. My dad got off the phone and called the owner first. He told the owner, you realize if you throw the 2 mowers in I'm walking out the door. The owner said we can't have that, you're our top salesman. Then he said we might lose the sale and my dad said that's fine, I don't work that way. Two weeks later they got the sale! I asked my dad why and he said the customer wanted what I was selling. They say the relationship with the salesman/dealer is more important than the name or color of paint on the side.