23x10.5x12 from John Deere dealer.

[mrsilv04]

Sad day this afternoon. Had the first tire on my 1995 John Deere 425 AWS come apart. After nearly 3000 hours, and who knows how many thousands of miles... dry rot and age finally took its toll.

One of the rear tires separated in the sidewall, and split open.

So, for kicks and giggles, I looked up what my John Deere dealer would want for this tire. They charge $185.94. One hundred eighty five dollars, and ninety four cents. Plus tax. Don't forget the 9.5% tax.

So, it is a $200 tire, plus mounting. Don't forget the $15 that they'd probably charge to mount it either.

Then, I looked on Amazon. Exactly 1/3rd the cost. Literally. $61.22. And it is the same exact tread design as the other three tires.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BFGO...d=ATVPDKIKX0DER

The brand is Trac Gard. Best guess is that it is a Nanco/Nankang.

 

[SwedishRider]

Another great place for tractor tires is Miller Tire. I've done business with them and would definitely recommend them.

http://www.millertire.com/

 

[Lubener]

What did you expect? Any smart shopper will avoid a dealer when possible.

 

[Kruse]

Do you think you'd get that much use out of a new tire? I doubt it.
The reason that I ask is that my mom has a wheelbarrow that still has the original Goodyear tire on it. By my best guesstimate, that tire is 60 years old and still holds air.

 

[Wheel]

I would check the number of plys that tire has compared to the old one and make sure they're a match.

I personally like the Carlisle tires, there is a turf-saver with the same tread as well.

Most good tire shops can get tires in that size. It might be worth checking close by.

 

[mrsilv04]

Old tires are 2 ply. Just about everything out there now are 4 ply.

The Carlisle Turf-Master tread design is very close, but not a match.

 

[mrsilv04]

Got the tires on Wednesday (2 days to get them to me) and took them to my mechanic, he has a tire changing machine. I should have used this as an excuse to buy one at Harbor Freight, but was short on time.

He was able to get them changed out, but couldn't get the beads to seat. These are really wide tires (10.5 inches), and the centers of the tread were pooched in. He'd tried all of the easy tricks, but couldn't get the sidewalls out far enough.

Well, I knew what had to be done. I set the rim on a five gallon bucket (the bucket went inside of the rim), soaped up the inside bead and the lip of the rim, and got it set. I then put a ratcheting strap on the shoulder of the tire on that side, just to put on a little pressure to keep it in place.

I then took the rim off of the bucket, and put two ratcheting straps (180 degrees from each other) on the shoulder of the tire, on the outside bead, and tightened them a bit. I then worked the outside bead until it expanded out, and was touching the rim all the way around.

A little air, and the job was done.

The Trac Gard tires look good, the tread design is the same as the OE tires, they looked really good once on the 425.

I'm likely going to buy a pair of the same Trac Gard tires and put them on the front as well.

 

[JTK]

Unfortunately there's no JD dealers left in my area (close by), but when they were here, they'd get you a tire to any price-point you wanted.

I too like Carlisle, but there's import offerings that are quite good as well.

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Got the tires on Wednesday (2 days to get them to me) and took them to my mechanic, he has a tire changing machine. I should have used this as an excuse to buy one at Harbor Freight, but was short on time.

He was able to get them changed out, but couldn't get the beads to seat. These are really wide tires (10.5 inches), and the centers of the tread were pooched in. He'd tried all of the easy tricks, but couldn't get the sidewalls out far enough.

Well, I knew what had to be done. I set the rim on a five gallon bucket (the bucket went inside of the rim), soaped up the inside bead and the lip of the rim, and got it set. I then put a ratcheting strap on the shoulder of the tire on that side, just to put on a little pressure to keep it in place.

I then took the rim off of the bucket, and put two ratcheting straps (180 degrees from each other) on the shoulder of the tire, on the outside bead, and tightened them a bit. I then worked the outside bead until it expanded out, and was touching the rim all the way around.

A little air, and the job was done.

The Trac Gard tires look good, the tread design is the same as the OE tires, they looked really good once on the 425.

I'm likely going to buy a pair of the same Trac Gard tires and put them on the front as well.


Too much work. Just use a can of starting fluid and a lighter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OETdOiUiRBg

 

[The_Eric]

Yeah that Deere dealer was out of line IMO. For reference, I list a Carlisle Turf Saver for $79.84 installed. That's a 2 ply tire. The Turf Master, a 4 ply would list at 88.71 installed. There are other brands that are off brand Chinese imports that would list in the mid thirty dollar range.