BurroBabe Posted October 21 Posted October 21 I have an IH 574 utility with the swept back front axle. With only about 30% tread left, the cost of new tires is really beyond me and, in the past, I've had just too much trouble with sliding sideways on my hilly land just brush hogging, as well as flats from black locust thorns, as well as leaky rims. The Mennonites near me use metal wheels, or metal with rectangles of rubber stacked on edge for airless rubber tires. Someone within a "reasonable" distance is selling a set of steel wheels and, measuring my hubs, it looks like they are a perfect fit! OMG, and cheap at $500 for a full set, front and back. Please can someone reassure me that I'm not out of my mind considering changing to these? Quote
acem Posted October 21 Posted October 21 I think they would be wonderful for brushoging my thorn trees (honey locust). I am told they are very rough riding. You never see those down here. Amish don't like the hot humid summers we have. Quote
Jacka Posted October 21 Posted October 21 I wouldn't even consider them.Hills would make them devastating killers in my opinion.Plenty of Mennonites around me but all on flat ground and they won't farm on any but almost flat ground. Rubber bends steel doesn't. Rubber will allow more ground contact and traction. They can't pull as much. They need bigger tractors smaller implements.Blacktop roads they can spinout starting and stopping can be exciting. Don't try going down hills with a load pushing ypu unless you are totally sure you know what your doing Plus the ride is horrible on steel, even belted steel wheels and they aren't belted. 5 Quote
Lars (midessa) Posted October 21 Posted October 21 I would explore filling the tires with foam, before converting to steel. 1 Quote
Dirt_Floor_Poor Posted October 21 Posted October 21 If you are operating in hills where traction was already a problem, they will be far, far worse than rubber. That could be extremely dangerous. Rubber tires will out pull steel wheels, it’s not even close. 2 Quote
stronger800 Posted October 21 Posted October 21 If you keep an eye out, you will eventually find good used tires, for about the same money. Quote
766 Man Posted October 21 Posted October 21 Your area can be very hilly and as has been said traction will be a major issue. Rough ride as well. Over time they will be rough on the tractor. Not just no but a hard no on those. 1 Quote
stronger800 Posted October 21 Posted October 21 Although if I seen them for sale here, I might give $500 for them just to try to resell them since I feel like I’ve seen them real wheels listed for a few thousand dollars in the Amish area 1 Quote
ky966boy Posted October 21 Posted October 21 Grandpa said on an h rocks would about buck you off . Quote
hobbyfarm Posted October 21 Posted October 21 There have been some accidents locally when the steel wheel guys try to pull more than they should. On hard surfaces jacknife very easily and no ability to stop. Quote
BurroBabe Posted October 22 Author Posted October 22 20 hours ago, acem said: I think they would be wonderful for brushoging my thorn trees (honey locust). I am told they are very rough riding. You never see those down here. Amish don't like the hot humid summers we have. Yeah, I can't take the heat south of the Mason-Dixon line either. That's my problem, Black Locust, Hawthorn, Cardinal Autumn Olive, huge thorns! I don't care about the rough ride, I finally got the seat springs working and I barely weigh over 115#. Nothing is flat here anyway.😁 Quote
acem Posted October 22 Posted October 22 I haven't a friend who foam filled his tractor tires for thorns. No flats but rode very rough. Tires did not give like they do with air in them. Had to cut them off the rims when they finally failed. Not perfect either but maybe better than steel. Quote
brahamfireman Posted October 22 Posted October 22 56 minutes ago, BurroBabe said: Yeah, I can't take the heat south of the Mason-Dixon line either. That's my problem, Black Locust, Hawthorn, Cardinal Autumn Olive, huge thorns! I don't care about the rough ride, I finally got the seat springs working and I barely weigh over 115#. Nothing is flat here anyway.😁 Why are you trying to fight nature? Sounds like good pasture land, let the goats and cows eat it. Quote
acem Posted October 22 Posted October 22 A big herd of goats will eat down brush! Just buy all Billy Goats ! Quote
BurroBabe Posted October 22 Author Posted October 22 14 hours ago, acem said: A big herd of goats will eat down brush! Just buy all Billy Goats ! Lol, I raised dairy goats for 20 years. They can't eat all the brush in a large area, like 30 acres, especially if it's 20 ft high! Quote
BurroBabe Posted October 22 Author Posted October 22 14 hours ago, 5288IH said: Easier to sell up Sorry mate, I don't speak Kiwi. What's "sell up" mean in English? 1 Quote
acem Posted October 22 Posted October 22 5 minutes ago, BurroBabe said: Lol, I raised dairy goats for 20 years. They can't eat all the brush in a large area, like 30 acres, especially if it's 20 ft high! They can eat 30 acres of brush if you have enough goats. 4 Quote
BurroBabe Posted October 23 Author Posted October 23 On 10/21/2026 at 10:32 PM, brahamfireman said: Why are you trying to fight nature? Sounds like good pasture land, let the goats and cows eat it. I'm not fighting Nature; I'm trying to help Her. Don't get me started on how invasive species can outcompete native species and completely destroy the biodiversity of an ecosystem. Good pasture land? For goats if it wasn't for deer worm (P. tenuous), which cripples and kills them. The hills and wet soils are highly erodable under cattle hooves, My neighbor up the road turned a similar "pasture" to deep gullies grazing cows. I've got a young orchard; it needs mowing. I don't need to add livestock to chew on the bark and branches. I've got enough trouble with the deer herd. 1 Quote
BurroBabe Posted October 23 Author Posted October 23 On 10/21/2026 at 9:58 PM, acem said: I haven't a friend who foam filled his tractor tires for thorns. No flats but rode very rough. Tires did not give like they do with air in them. Had to cut them off the rims when they finally failed. Not perfect either but maybe better than steel. I would like to know more about what kind of foam you can fill tires with. That's a lot of volume to fill. Quote
Matt Kirsch Posted October 23 Posted October 23 5 hours ago, BurroBabe said: I would like to know more about what kind of foam you can fill tires with. That's a lot of volume to fill. It's not something you can do yourself, and is going to be WAY more expensive than those steel wheels or even new tires when all is said and done. This is very dense and heavy foam that takes specialized equipment to install. You need to buy new tires, and send them off with the rims to be foam filled. It's not like there's someone doing it in every town. You would not want to do it to old worn rotten damaged tires. It would be a complete waste of money. 1 Quote
766 Man Posted October 23 Posted October 23 As I understand it the foam forms a solid body and is minimally bonded to the rubber tire. If a tire is not in very good condition the hardened foam will pound a poor tire apart in short order. Quote
Diesel Doctor Posted October 23 Posted October 23 Rough riding and dirty for the operator. They bring up dirt, grass etc that then blow onto the driver. Quote
brahamfireman Posted October 23 Posted October 23 10 hours ago, BurroBabe said: I'm not fighting Nature; I'm trying to help Her. Don't get me started on how invasive species can outcompete native species and completely destroy the biodiversity of an ecosystem. Good pasture land? For goats if it wasn't for deer worm (P. tenuous), which cripples and kills them. The hills and wet soils are highly erodable under cattle hooves, My neighbor up the road turned a similar "pasture" to deep gullies grazing cows. I've got a young orchard; it needs mowing. I don't need to add livestock to chew on the bark and branches. I've got enough trouble with the deer herd. Good luck.... 1 Quote
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