Must be some kind of new record

Eric Patterson

Eric Patterson

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Staff member
Ten flat tires in five weeks. Five flats on my tractor's rear tires from thorns while bush hogging. Had to buy a new tire and several new tubes. Rear tractor tires aren't cheap. Spent so much time at the truck tire center I know all the employees now. Now it's my trailer's turn. Tried plugging the same trailer tire but it came out, three times. Friday night a guy pulled up besides me and tells me I'm running on the rim. Sure enough tire gone and running on the remnants of the tire bead. Another mile and the rim would have been trashed. Sure hope I'm done with flats for a long time. Kind of doubt it though.
 
Ten flat tires in five weeks. Five flats on my tractor's rear tires from thorns while bush hogging. Had to buy a new tire and several new tubes. Rear tractor tires aren't cheap. Spent so much time at the truck tire center I know all the employees now. Now it's my trailer's turn. Tried plugging the same trailer tire but it came out, three times. Friday night a guy pulled up besides me and tells me I'm running on the rim. Sure enough tire gone and running on the remnants of the tire bead. Another mile and the rim would have been trashed. Sure hope I'm done with flats for a long time. Kind of doubt it though.
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I know that I'm due, I've been on borrowed time for a long while!
 
Eric~

I'm glad you learned about the flat tire before it was too late. I once had a flat - apparently - in the snow. I was going gunning and was on the road before most of the plows. I first noticed something was wrong when I saw a "light" in my driver's side mirror at highway speed - having driven about 15 miles - with 20 more to go. The "light" was from my axle - which was glowing yellow hot from dragging on the pavement at 60 MPH for who knows how long. Tire, wheel, hub - who knows where or when they went????

I happened to be near my parents' house - they were away. So, I backed the trailer into their snowed-in driveway as far as I could. Then I borrowed their phone to cancel one hunt and get a slot in another.

All the best,

SJS
 
For personal use, that may be a record. Not to mention a OUCH! in the wallet. Hopefully you'll be good for the next 5-6 years.

May not apply, but the one time I hunted Lake Mattamuskeet, NC. The gentleman who ran the motel was in his 60's, his new wife 20?, and they had a baby. We were there for 3 days, and I got to spend time with him. He had a great attitude about life, and everything in general. He told me, "you folks from up north are always in a hurry, and have little patience. Me, I try to enjoy a Flat Tire".

I have never forgotten his wise advise, and have had to refer to it many times!
 
Vince

Flat tire #9 made my blood boil for the first time. I finally had enough. Flat tire #10 a few hours later became amusing. I mean 10 flats? Really? Albeit a pain it is becoming amusing.
 
Eric

At number 10, if that had not driven me over the Edge, "Serenity Now!". I'd be takin' my heart meds by the fist full, and makin' full use of my well versed western PA Steel Mill Profanity. Ya gotta save those bullets for the proper target, then lettem fly..........
 
"Five flats on my tractor's rear tires from thorns while bush hogging"

You southern boys must have some serious thorns to puncture a rear tractor tire. Only time I have ever puncture a rear was running over a pitchfork (sure made my dad's blood boil).
 
On the tractor tires, have you thought of getting them foam filled? They don't run down the road worth a crap, and if you ever want the change them you'd be better off finding another set of rims, but for bush hogging in nasty spots, its the way to go.

Chuck
 
We have some really bad thorns to deal with. Black Locust, Honey Locust, and yet another nasty invasive called Callery Pear. Foam filling the rear tires is very expensive so I passed on that solution. I did slime my front tires and it completely stopped the flats I was getting. Two summers ago I think I had about 5 flat front tires. Not one since I added slime. I could slime the rear tires but the thought of the slime eating the metal wheels away bothers me. Front wheels are cheap so I don't worry about them. If the slime causes them to rust through I'll simply buy a new pair. Rear wheels on the other hand run $500 and up a piece so no way I'm going to risk the slime eating holes or rusting them through. I think I may buy some reliners from Gemplers the next time I have a flat. They provide a 1/2" layer of rubber that helps protect against thorn punctures. I am 100% convinced letting fields grow up isn't cost effective. Around here if you let a field go fallow trees will take over in under 5 years. Mowing them is hard on basic equipment like a tractor and rotary cutter, and especially on tires since we have so many thorned trees. Let a field go 3+ years and now you are talking bigger most costly equipment to clear them of overgrowth. If you cut a field every other year or so a utility tractor and bush hog is all it takes. Much cheaper.
 
"Five flats on my tractor's rear tires from thorns while bush hogging"

You southern boys must have some serious thorns to puncture a rear tractor tire. Only time I have ever puncture a rear was running over a pitchfork (sure made my dad's blood boil).
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Andrew
You don't have to be in the South to have serious thorns. My driveway is 1000 ft out of my woods and there are several thorn apple trees along one side. In a snow storm the other day, almost out to the highway, my right front tire went completely flat. I mean even off the rim so portable air was of no use. I had to have a tow truck (flat bed) take into auto garage to be repaired. It was a thorn from those little thorn trees. It puts a hole in a tire like a bullet. That's the second time that's happened and you'd think I'd remove them??
wis boz
 
Eric, I've never had Slime mess up a rim, steel or aluminum. Of course I've never gone back and broken down a tire and rim years latert to look for issues.
 
Brad

Slime tubeless has rust inhibitors but my rear tires have tubes and slime for tubes does not have rust inhibitors. I've also been told by Gemplers experts that the tube version is only marginally effective.
 
Brad

Slime tubeless has rust inhibitors but my rear tires have tubes and slime for tubes does not have rust inhibitors. I've also been told by Gemplers experts that the tube version is only marginally effective.
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No calcium chloride then?
 
No calcium chloride thankfully. These days people are using beet juice instead of calcium chloride for ballast. It supposedly doesn't freeze and won't corrode your wheels.
 
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No calcium chloride thankfully. These days people are using beet juice instead of calcium chloride for ballast. It supposedly doesn't freeze and won't corrode your wheels.
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Interesting on the beet juice.

I haven't spent all that much time on a tractor, but what I have has been mostly brush hogging. I've never had a puncture on even really ugly old tires.

T
 
Consider yourself fortunate not to have locust and callery pear trees in the area you were cutting. Many bush hog services won't bid places that have them due to flats. It's best to have tracked vehicles do the work until they are all gone.
 
Our logging equipment has beet juice in the tires. I knocked a valve stem off in the woods and the tire was peeing beet juice all the way back to the landing, but it held enough pressure to make it the 1/2 mile out without running on the rim. When it is cold, that beet juice barely flows, so punctures are a pain, but you'll still get out of the woods.
I took the wheel off and brought it to a guy to replace the stem. The next morning when I went back to the woods, there were deer tracks all over the landing where I had been leaking the beet juice. I guess they really like it, especially when its a beet juice snow cone. I've heard of guys around here having bears come and chew on their tires at night to get any spilled beet juice.
 
I've heard of guys around here having bears come and chew on their tires at night to get any spilled beet juice.

That seems like a major flaw in the "beet juice to prevent flats" technique, unless bear teeth are easier on tires than locust thorns.

Locust is nasty stuff. My grandparents had a pair of black locust trees that reached tree size in their yard, and I got the job of hauling trimmed branches and splitting the logs for firewood when my uncle and grandfather did the chainsaw work. I ended up covered in scratches, and green locust is near impossible for a 13 year old to split.
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