Better Farming - October 2016

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54 Farm News First > Better Farming October 2016
Tires and tracks are used to
distribute the weight of the
tractor or implement on the
ground, preferably in such a way that
the soil does not get disturbed and no
evidence of travel is left behind.
Ideally, there is no mud or compac-
tion to damage the soil.
Unfortunately, that does not
happen in most cases. Sometimes we
can’t avoid damage because we have
to get into the field even if the
weather isn’t cooperating. In other
cases, however, we can do a lot to pre-
vent damage if we take some time to
set things up right. Most modern
equipment is fitted with radial tires
and we can adjust tire pressures to fit
the circumstances. Do you know how
low you can go? (I am talking about
the pressure in your tires!)
It is sad to see radial tires pumped
up rock hard. At that pressure, the
tire can’t do its task properly. These
tires should get as much ground
contact as possible and distribute the
machine’s weight over as large an
area as possible. And, in the case of a
driven tire, radial tires should get the
most traction out of the soil-to-tire
contact without disturbing the soil
surface.
A radial tire is meant to flex its
side wall in such a way that the
footprint of the tire becomes as large
as possible. It only can do that when
the tire pressure is adjusted to match
the weight loaded on the tire and
when the tire size matches the vehicle
properly. Then, the tire will hold the
soil together the best it can. It will
only leave behind a crisp indentation
of the lugs and won’t smear the soil
surface or cause soil compaction in
the underlying layers.
Tire specifications need to be top
MACHINERYAT WORK
by JAAP KROONDIJK
Radial tires: your farm equipment’s
secret superpower
Use radial tires properly to spare soil and maximize equipment’s efficiency in the field.
of mind when considering a new
piece of equipment. These specifica-
tions should be discussed with your
sales associate. A tire that is too small
would not work and would be
overloaded all the time. It always
would need too high a pressure to
carry the load.
A tire that is too large does not
always work well either. If the tire is
too big, especially on driven axles, it
cannot put its thread properly on the
ground and slippage occurs, even in
ideal situations. So please resist the
urge to make the equipment look
impressive but not serve you correctly
in the field.
The minimum pressure for a tire
at any given time is around six PSI.
That is the pressure needed to keep
the tire seated on its rim and allow
the friction between tire and rim to
transfer traction power. If the
pressure is too low, then slippage
occurs and you ruin your tire and
take the chance it will roll off of the
rim! A tire that is too large for the
weight of the equipment can only go
down to six PSI and will not flex
enough to lay on the ground. One
tire manufacturer’s recommendation
is that the tire needs three consecu-
tive tire lugs on the ground at all
times. Here is an easy way of check-
ing your tires: drive your equipment
on a flat surface, preferably a flat
paved area, and look! It’s a simple
way of doing a quick check – espe-
cially if you know that everything
else was set up properly.
According to one recommendation, radial tires should have three
consecutive tire lugs on the ground at all times – as pictured here.