Everything You Need To Know About Tractor Tyres

Looking after your tractor tyres is essential if you want to look after your compact tractor. Ensuring they’re in proper working order improves safety, saves you money long-term, and makes completing tasks on your smallholding much more straightforward. There’s so much to know about tractor tyres, however, it can be daunting. How can you extend your tractor tyre’s lifespan? How do carry loads affect your tyres? Where can you buy high-quality tractor tyres?

At Blacktrac, we have years of experience delivering compact tractors, tractor parts, and tractor tyres. As a family-run business with a background in agriculture and farming, our team understands the ins and outs of tractor tyres. That’s why we’ve put together this helpful guide, so you have a one-stop-shop for everything you need to know.

What’s The Correct Tyre Pressure?

When checking up on your tractor’s tyres, most people immediately check the tyre pressure. This job pops into people’s minds for good reason, when tyres are run at the wrong pressure there is a wide range of problems that often arise. Tractor performance is impacted, tyres wear faster, and soil compaction is affected if you run your tyres at the wrong pressure. Tractors can also lose 20-40% of engine power because of slipping and rolling resistance.

The correct tyre pressure depends on your tractor’s tyres – their size, both width and height – as well as the carry load. To discover the weight supported by each tyre, weigh each axle of your tractor and divide the result by two. Then, using the tyre load and pressure chart you can discover what the best pressure is for the front and rear axle tyres.

When the tyre pressure is too high, grip is reduced which affects traction and makes steering much more challenging. Spinning wheels also increase fuel consumption and can potentially damage the structure of the soil you’re driving across. Low tyre pressure, however, affects stability too, especially when you’re driving at higher speeds. The tyre will also flex and bounce which causes power losses, stresses the sidewalls, and can potentially seriously damage the casing.

How To Extend Your Tyre’s Life

Tractors transmit their power to the ground through their tyres. Over time, this wear and tear can lead to your tractor’s tyres needing replacing. This is normal, however, some simple tasks can extend your tyre’s lifespan. Ensuring the tyres on your tractor are durable can save you money on tyre repairs and replacements, improve your operational efficiency, and extend the life of your tractor.

Here are our three top tips for how to ensure your tractors remain high-quality for as long as possible.

1. Wheel Alignment

One of the most common causes of tyre wear is incorrect wheel alignment. The great thing is, it’s a simple issue to spot and fix yourself without any professional help. When your steering wheel is crooked as you’re driving in a straight line, the tractor pulls left or right, and the tyres and steering make lots of noises, these are signs you need to realign the wheels. 

Once you’ve established the wheels need realigning, to fix the issue you need to adjust the tracking. Firstly, loosen the self-locking nut located on the track control rod and then extract the rod. Once you have the rod, you can screw the end of it into or out of the structure to lengthen or shorten the assembly. From there, reposition the wheel so it’s in alignment, reinsert the track rod end, and secure everything with a new self-locking nut.

1. Regular Maintenance

Look after your tractor’s tyres and they’ll look after your tractor and look after you too. One of the easiest ways to check up on your tractor’s tyres is by monitoring their air pressure; make sure they’re always at the optimal PSI to avoid any unnecessary damage occurring. You can do this by changing the air pressure in the tyres depending on the load you’re transporting.

The tyres must always be the correct match to the rim too. If the rims are too big or small for the tyres, this may lead to excessive wear, as well as transaction issues, sidewall cracking, and a wide range of other damage. You should also make sure that all wheel nuts are securely fastened in place. However, maintenance is also about knowing when a replacement is needed, so if the tyres have had their day, look for the best replacements available.

1. Weight & Loads

Mounting equipment on the rear of the vehicle puts pressure on the rear axle because of the increased load. Any weight added to the rear axle also removes weight from the front axle, which affects the load distribution. To counter this imbalance, you need to adjust the tyre pressure based on the weight and load you’re transporting on the tractor. 

When you set off in your tractor with an incorrect load distribution this puts unnecessary stress on the tyres. Over time, this causes the tyres to wear faster and has the potential to cause a complete tyre failure.

Why You May Need To Buy New Tractor Tyres

Your compact tractor’s tyres will wear down over time. Even if you diligently complete maintenance, such as checking the tyre’s air pressure before every job, eventually your tyres will need replacing. An accident may have caused the tyres to rip or a puncture has occurred. Either way, you will need to invest in new tractor tyres.

If you’re looking for high-quality tractor tyres, at Blacktrac, we offer Solis compact tractor tyres for both Solis 20 and 26 models. With complete sets of wheels and tyres available, our team can set you up with the right tyres for your tractor. Whether you know the specifications you need or need some help, get in touch with Blacktrac today.

Blacktrac Compact Tractor Tyres

Do you need new industry-leading compact tractor tyres available quickly? Call Blacktrac today on 01933 272662 or visit our contact page for more information.