need tire advice

I'm working on an invention, and need small (about 12") tires capable of carrying about 2,000 Lbs each. I also need the tires to have good traction on all surfaces. Lawn tractor/golf cart tires are perfect, except for the weight. For the prototype, I need to keep the cost low, so I'm thinking about filling the tractor tires with expanda-foam. I know it dries very hard, but will it support that kind of weight? If anyone knows of an existing tire that would meet my needs, that would be great too.

Thanks

Why not forklift tires?
Does speed need to be considered as well?

I had considered that, but I couldn't find any that had any real tread on them. I had also considered using a router to cut my own tread pattern, but I'm not really sure how that would turn out.

Speed is not a consideration.

The foam will eat away at the inside of the tire and eventually cause it to blow. Although, I'm not sure if you're going to be using the tires for an extended period of time... but it's just a reminder. You can get go-cart tires at junkyards... rims and all for pretty cheap. Depending on how your junkyards are. What exactly do you need tires of that size and capability for?

The foam will eat away at the inside of the tire and eventually cause it to blow.

This is a rhetorical question:
If the tire is full of hardened foam, will it really "blow?"

I doubt that expanding foam will be able to support 2000 lbs. Does the can say how much pressure it will exert in psi? You'll have such a small contact patch with that small of a tire it may be difficult to find a pneumatic tire to support it.

Let's see, if we assume such a small tire has a 4 inch by 4 inch contact patch, that's 16 square inches. To support 2000 lbs, the tire would need to be rated for at least 333 psi if I did the math correctly.... I'm pretty sure expanding foam will not exert that much pressure. If the garden tractor tire is 10 inches wide and the contact patch is about 4 inches long, that would be 40 square inches so you're still talking 50 psi to support a 2000 lb load. That's getting closer, but I don't know what a garden tractor tire is rated for.

-Rod

I doubt that expanding foam will be able to support 2000 lbs. Does the can say how much pressure it will exert in psi? You'll have such a small contact patch with that small of a tire it may be difficult to find a pneumatic tire to support it.

I didn't even look at any foam yet, but the pressure it exerts expanding doesn't matter, as I'm not filling the tire from flat while it's under the load. I've seen where people filled in basement windows with it and the glass was still intact, so I'd assume very little pressure. At the same time, I ran over a chunk of it in my truck and it didn't crush at all. I was asking some friends, and one of them suggested filling them with concrete... they don't really need to conform to any irregular surfaces and they'll be turning so slow that weight and balance don't matter.

Thanks for all the ideas everyone.

why not get good ones from cooper tires or mich?

This is a rhetorical question:
If the tire is full of hardened foam, will it really "blow?"

-Rod

Rhetorical or not, yes the tire can still actually "blow." Smartass.

I've been called worse.

-Rod

you should be called worse are you ever going to drop this like i said earlier.your on my not list.

Drop what like you said when? Seriously, I don't know what you're talking about.

-Rod

An observation on this thread:

Shorod is one of our most knowlegeable and helpful participants.

If any participant disagree with his advice, fine. But there is no reason to call him any kind of derogatory name, especially on your third post.

Not only is it uncalled for, but violates the forum guidelines to which you agreed when you signed up here.

So..... lets all keep discussions around here on a civil basis and on the topic at hand.

i know but he started it and wouldn't drop it..even private messages.so look back and see what he called me.

He was talking about me. I was joking. No need to get so hostile. My posts have been valid ones... even if I've only had three.

sorry kept it up and i eply that i think were done with this thread...

sorry kept it up and i eply that i think were done with this thread...
Scrapper1, you must have me confused with someone else. I have my profile set to save sent private messages and I have not sent you any private messages. Feel free to send me a private message with the post where you think I called you a name.

Pornagratherapy, I was not offended by your post, truly I have been called worse, even inaccurately.

MagicRat, thanks for your comments.

-Rod

Pornagratherapy, I was not offended by your post, truly I have been called worse, even inaccurately.



-Rod

Well, nonetheless, I still apologize. I don't need to start off on a bad foot here. I've joined to add my opinions, advice and hopefully gain some knowledge, not start childlike drama. With that said, nice to speak to all of you.

He was talking about me. I was joking. No need to get so hostile. My posts have been valid ones... even if I've only had three.
Thank you for your gracious apology. Smilies help a lot. :wink:

IMO one of the best features of this forum is the generally high level of civility members here show to each other; (which is a nice change from some other fairly hostile automotive sites.) Sometimes the mods have to be tough :frown:

I was also referring to scrapper, just as a reminder to keep on topic.

Winking smilies do it for me... calm yourself.

sorry but that moderator i got you mixed up with he is a p...k

Not much tyre help in this thread.:grinno:

Many forklifts and elevated work platforms (scissor lifts) have urethane filled tyres for stability.
Whether the urethane is a foam or still liquid I'm not sure, but an industrial tyre shop should be able to help you. As far as I know they start with normal tubed or tubeless tyres.

i dono how to get tires like that i seen where bridestone just come out with a new tire like mich. did along time ago think in the 80's they would not punture that never worked so maybe bridestone can help you out.

If you go to a farm tractor dealer or some place that sells industrial tires, they have a neat tire filler. I seen skid steer loaders with this filling. It goes in like "foam" (but not the crap in a can that you find at Home Depot.)
It cures to a rubber, its not rock hard but its not soft.
It handles some weight!
I worked with a guy that spent about 6 hours cutting the tires off the rims (the tires were worn out, no tread left) and putting new tires on.
I cant remember what the stuff was called, but I am sure a Bobcat dealer would know right off.

The stuff I think you're talking about is called calcium chloride. This gives the tire weight and the ability to carry some weight. They use this stuff in farm implement tires. The tire is filled with this stuff as a replacement for air. Skid steer loaders (bobcats) also use it to eliminate their tendency to bounce. I warn you by using this stuff it will make the tire very heavy.... but if weight isn't an issue then use it

The stuff I think you're talking about is called calcium chloride. This gives the tire weight and the ability to carry some weight. They use this stuff in farm implement tires. The tire is filled with this stuff as a replacement for air. Skid steer loaders (bobcats) also use it to eliminate their tendency to bounce. I warn you by using this stuff it will make the tire very heavy.... but if weight isn't an issue then use it

Farm tractor tyres are filled with water, the calcium chloride is added to prevent the water from freezing. It does the same job as salt, but doesn't rust your tyres onto your wheels.

:eek7: I have never heard of tires beig filled with water.... :confused:

:eek7: I have never heard of tires beig filled with water.... :confused:

It's done on slow moving, primarily agricultural, machinery to improve traction and stability. Alternatively or additional to using wheel-weights.
The downsides are the hard ride, the tyres rusting to the wheels and the water freezing in cold weather.

I have heard of wheel weights but yeah nothing about water. I've also seen tires that had a blue type of powder in them... I was told that was calcium chloride but there was no water in there....(Tire seperated that's how I saw the powder)

The stuff I think you're talking about is called calcium chloride.
Nope. I have a tractor that had calcium in the tires, nasty stuff...

I was talking about a rubber tire filler. A solid but not rock hard filler.

The foam will eat away at the inside of the tire and eventually cause it to blow. Although, I'm not sure if you're going to be using the tires for an extended period of time... but it's just a reminder. You can get go-cart tires at junkyards... rims and all for pretty cheap. Depending on how your junkyards are. What exactly do you need tires of that size and capability for?

There's a kind of foam they put in military vehicle tires, which obviously must last a long time, be incredibly reliable, and makes a tire bullet-proof, and blowout proof.

If a tire can take a 303 rifle bullet and not explode, with the weight of a half-track armoured vehicle on it, it might (both the foam and the tire type) hold up for your purposes...