tire help

just my thoughts..
yes, you can put tubes into radials, 'they' even sell 'radial tubes'( bet they ain't cheap..)
you may be better with 'trailer' tires NOT radial car tires. Typically trailer tires are 'old school' design , having a tougher,stiffer sidewall. LT ( Light Truck) tires would be a good choice. Radials have a 'fatter' footprint and would be 'mushy' when turning.
The BIG issue I have is steering ! A 3 rib 'tractor' tire  is designed to give you STEERING, kinda important. ANY car or trailer tire won't bite into the ground for you,so you'll float and slide when making turns They are great on the pavement for parades though..
Now I do have car tires on my D-14 with loader,it came that way, loaded it's OK, unloaded it does steeer 'real easy'( aka slides a bit..)
If you're using the B for farming, I'd rather see you go with 3 rib tires. Cheap, 'offshore' 3 ribs will be far better than any 'car' tire.

Now knowing how popular the B is here, I'm sure 'words of wisdom' will soon be posted...

Jay

if you mow, then a 'car' tire is more like a 'turf' tire.won't bite into the ground and leave 1 or 3 grooves. I KNOW my snowblowing rider will NOT steer on snow even with 400# on the front due to the 'turf' tires.
at least mowing dry, warm grass you'll be able to steer...

Jay

Bring your old tires and rims to one of those used tire places. They will get you going.

I have run car tires on my C even for mowing they suck. A temp spare from an s10 blazer bolts right on rim and all. I broke a rim ( it was welded. When I got the tractor) when to the local Junk yard he gave me two temp spares and I used them for about a month. I was very happy when my new rim showed up and I had time to mount the old tire. You'll cut up more lawn mowing with a car tire than you ever would with a proper three rib. I also use Ag tires on the back they never spin and let you slide down the ditch like turf tires do.

Because radial tires flex more than bias ply tires, radial tubes are built stronger to survive the extra flexing. That is surely more of a concern on the road at 70 mph than in the yard and field at 5 mph.

Back before sometime in the 50s if I recall the date correctly, tire sizes were the rim width and rim diameter. The tire was wider than the rim. The industry changed to the width designation being the widest width of the tire, wider than the rim. Then with radial tires the maximum width is metric with a factor of height to width ratio and fractional inches rim diameter. A place on line like Miller Tire should have translation tables. And tire manufacturers have tire handbooks that can be read on line or downloaded with the details and real dimensions and rims that fit all their tires.

Gerald J.

john(MI) wrote: I put the car spare tires, donut tires on the fron of a farmall A with a 5' mower under it.  They steered better than the tri rib, and didn't tear up the turf.  I just bought the cheap tubes at TSC.  They were not for radials, but I figured I wouldn't be driving down the road at 55 so they would probably be okay!   They were great.  oh, and they were a perfect fit for the rims.

Hubnut wrote: Thanks for the comments guys.  I'll look for some donuts.  Usually those are expensive though.

I've seen some people put used motorcycle tires on the front.

I just checked with my old tire supplier, 400x15 3 rib tires should cost you around $45.00 each + tube. That price would be mounted on the rim -
you keep the old tires.

I try to convert my all my fronts to tubeless.  My David Brown (16 inch fronts) rolls on two tires I picked up from the dump.  They were too worn out to run on a pickup  but still fine for my tractor.  Holding air is the main thing!.Converting to tubeless is not hard to do if your rim hoop is decent and the inner sealing flanges and the valve hole in the rim band are good and resonably smooth.  Deep rust pits are a problem, but they don't have to be perfect, especially if you have a nice thick coat of fresh paint on the rim.  My 54 chevy pickup was tube tires when new but has long since been running on tubeless tires.

165 / 80 / 15 is the modern size for old VW beetles.  Tall and narrow and 15 inch wheel.

victoryallis wrote: Is the wolf truly at the door or are you that cheap? If your that cheap I’m not sure you should be a tractor owner.

Ouch!  Just trying to utilize Yankee rules for thriftiness. 

Hubnut wrote: victoryallis wrote: Is the wolf truly at the door or are you that cheap? If your that cheap I’m not sure you should be a tractor owner. Ouch!  Just trying to utilize Yankee rules for thriftiness.

Care for them front tractor tires can last 30 plus years. I'm 41 and willing to bet the fronts on my D17 are older than I am. I'm cheap also but learned mt lesson on pinching pennies on tractor tires.