Hello everyone. So I operate for a construction company and from time to time we work sites with bad surfaces and I've had a few flats from random metal and bad surfaces. The threads on my current pneumatics are almost gone and I was thinking of switching to solid, but I wanted to know if any of you had any opinions between pneumatic and solid tires. From what I have researched, it seems like a good idea since they are flat proof and I would imagine more stable without wobble being solid, but I would definitely appreciate any opinions from any of your experiences. Also do you guys think they last longer for the price? Thanks for any information. -Steven
They will ride much rougher and traction will generally suffer with solids. Some solid tires can be broken loose from the center if they strike curbs too often. For the price most wear well and the added savings of not having to deal with flats is a plus. The ride is really the worst characteristic about them. Depends on what skid steer you have though. I see you say you only have a few flats from time to time. How often is that? A few a year, a few per month or a few per week? If you don't have many flats they may not be worth it to you. Look into the Michelin Bibsteel AT's. They ride very nice and are steel belted so they resist and lot more puctures. They are radials as well so they wear much longer. The Michelin Tweel is another option to look at. Its not really solid, but it is airless. It is pricier but rides much nicer. The wear is very good on them.
If you are serious about solid tires look at those that have the oblong holes in the sides. They ride pretty good compared to completely solid or those with round holes. Just can't come up with the brand name at the moment. Ran a machine with them on a couple years ago and was impressed.
Flexport Tires !
They certainly have a place. My issue with them was terrible traction in loose dirt, gravel and sand (don't even try it). The ride was not bad (they were McLarens). I had them on a CASE 465 which is a big, heavy machine and likely made the traction issues worse. I think the bigger the machine the bigger the traction issues. Mine would hop in gravel, dig holes, tear the heck out of the ground and if the ground is at all wet, you will sink. I only use them now when running OTT's. I went to a L-4/L-5 type tires. I have very few flats (actually none since I put them on), I gained my off road traction back and some floatation. If you never see dirt, the airless might be the ticket, but for me they did not do what I needed them to.
I put the McLaren's on mine and they seemed to do just fine, even in the sand, when comparing to what I had on there. Now I have OTT's and they are really nice with the tires. It's nice knowing that I won't have to take off the tracks because of a flat. I got the McLaren's because I was deep in the woods working one evening and ran over something and blew out the tire. No fears of that anymore!
Thank you for all the responses! I am running 3 CAT 262B's and a Bobcat S250. I get flats on most construction/demo sites due to all the debris. I am getting flats atleast 1 every week or 2. These service calls are killing my budget, and i cannot afford to have my machines down due to a flat. Im shopping on Ebay right now, comparing prices, is there any brands i need to look out for, e.g. poor quality?
From my experience the solid tires are not made to get in the dirt. They sink in loose dirt and mud,, way faster then phneumatic tire. Im with Durallymax,, if your not flats frequently,, ide stay with pneumatic.