Foam-filling skid steer tires is considered a safe option as doing so gives more durability, traction, and strength to the tires. To fill foam in the tires, you can either take the DIY approach or get a mechanic to do it for you.
The better option is to go to a mechanic. But if you want to do it yourself, pay attention to the tire and closely observe till the point foam starts to leak out from the valve stem portion.
What's In This Guide?
What Are Foam Filled Skid-steer Tires?
Foam-filled tires are a type of pneumatic tires that were introduced to replace air-filled tires.
Because the air-filled tires run the risk of going flat due to a wide gamut of reasons, the foam-filled tires do not go flat. They also provide the same benefits as air tires in terms of traction, performance, and mileage without the part where the tires can get punctured.
Plus, the foam fill tires will also not lose air pressure. We use foam filled tires on skid steers due to their ability to perform well even in harsh conditions. Skid steers will majorly run on rough roads filled with pebbles, rocks, dirt, etc.
So, we prevent changing and repairing any damage caused to the tires due to such terrains using foam fill tires. In addition to these benefits, the foam-filled tires are better at maneuvering, and they bring efficiency into the operations, especially in the kind of work done by the skid steers.
Foam-filled tires give more stability to the skid steer, which is good. But some might argue that they also provide the extra weight, which can lead to mileage issues.
Additional vehicle stability offers better control in rough terrains, which is difficult to obtain with air-filled tires. Hence foam-filled tires provide better footing to the vehicle.
However, the same extra weight on the tires reduces their lifespan relative to the air-filled skid steer tires. Added to this, if the vehicle is working in rough terrains continuously for a longer period with foam fill tires, the speed of tires losing their grooves and tread increases.
To sum it up, foam fill tires bring extra stability that contributes to the driver’s safety, reducing the tire’s lifespan.
Polyurethane is used to create the foam that takes up space inside the tires. Thus, giving the tire puncture resistance plus more stability along with the weight. Due to the usage of polyurethane, foam fill is also called polyfill.
The weight of foam-filled tires depends on the volume of foam added to the tire, which further depends on the size of the skid steer tire.
Two of the most common skid steer tires have the following dimensions;
Based on these dimensions, the weight of one foam-filled 10×16.5 tire will be 130 pounds. So for four tires, the total weight added to the skid steer is 520 pounds, just for the tires. The same for a 12×16.5 tire will be 205 lbs, and for four tires, the total volume of foam required will be 820 lbs. This is what gives extra stability to the vehicle and makes it a better choice for rough terrains.
The short answer would be no. For one, the skid steer tires are nothing like car tires. These are the big boys we are talking about, and handling them is easier said than. We understand that taking the skid steer to the mechanic is also a task, but going to the mechanic is the safer route.
Foam is not bad for tires per se. Yes, it makes the tires heavier, and it won’t bulge or bend under pressure.
In some situations, this can cause some trouble with driving due to gripping issues.
The only downside to filling foam in the tires is that they are practically junk after they wear out. You cannot use them in other places, at least not easily. Plus, the tires will be heavier than other bald tires, which may be used in other places.
But performance-wise, foam is not bad for tires. If anything, it improves the tire’s life span as there won’t be any puncture issues.
Yes, the process is safe. As long as you are following the proper process, things will go smoothly. However, the problem may arise after replacing the tire on the vehicle because we have heard cases when tires went flat right after bringing the vehicle down.
It depends on the tire and the cost of the container, and its capacity. As discussed above, one 10×16.5 tire requires 130 lbs, and one 12×16.
5 tire requires 205 lbs of foam. Depending on the volume required (approximately 24.5 gallons for one 12×16.5 tire), you can calculate the cost.
Yes, the US FMCSA regulations Section 393.75 mandates that the tire can be filled with materials other than air including silicone and polyurethane.
You may have heard of people having their tires filled with foam and wondered – can you foam fill your tires? The answer is yes, you can! And in this blog post, we are going to tell you how.
Foam filling your tires comes in a few different variations and it is important to know what the differences are before you attempt to foam fill your tires. So if you are interested in learning more about foam filling your tires, keep reading!
Yes, filling your tires with foam can provide benefits to your vehicle. Foam filling your own tires is a job that we would recommend your local shop assist you with, as it will require you to remove the tire from the rim to insert the foam and then mount the tire again.
While this can be done at home, it is a difficult job without the proper machinery. For this reason, we would recommend bringing your car to a professional to have this done.
Foam filled tires have been gaining in popularity and many tire manufacturers have recently discovered the benefits of selling tires that are filled with foam.
There are currently 2 different methods of foam filling tires.
The first is where a special layer of polyurethane foam is placed inside the tire.
The second method is where the polyurethane foam is injected into the tire.
Both of these have different uses and benefits. The main benefits include reduced road noise and vibrations inside the cabin, as well as ease of use.
For heavy duty machinery, having foam filled tires helps prevent the tire from being susceptible to punctures and reduce down time to repair any tire related issues from being used on a construction site.
If you are considering foam filling your tires for road vehicles, you will be looking at inserting a layer of polyurethane foam into the tire.
This internal layer of foam has also been called “internal acoustic foam“ as its main benefits include a quieter and more comfortable ride. They achieve this by absorbing vibrations that come from the road.
Manufacturer such as Continental and Pirelli have been using this technology for years in their tires and have seen great success. Their foam filled tires have proven especially popular with electric and hybrid models of cars and now come as standard on new Teslas.
This is because electric and hybrid cars offer a quiet ride due to the fact that they have no engine, and therefore the addition of foam filled tires helps to reduce road noise from the tires intruding into the cabin by up to 10dB. This means that foam filled tires can reduce noise by around 15% on average!
As well as reducing noise, foam filled tires also popular as they do not intrude or impact the vehicles driving performance in any way.
This is because the foam filling does not change the tires weight, rolling resistance or contact patch and require no upkeep.
The tire remains a pneumatic tire and the foam is an additional layer that does not interfere with the tires workings.
There are very few downsides to foam filling your tires. The first downside is the small premium you will have to pay to have this done. This is usually around $30-40 extra per tire. However, we believe that the benefits of a quieter and more comfortable ride are well worth it!
And finally there have been occasions where the layer of foam manages to detach itself from the inside of the tire and is able to freely move around inside your tire. However this is extremely rare and only happens if the tire pressure is not maintained or if there are any punctures in the tire.
If this happens, it is not dangerous and you will be able to continue driving as normal.
The only downside is that your ride quality will be reduced until you are able to have the tire repaired.
This is also an easy repair with minimal costs and a mechanic will use glue to stick the foam back in place. The cost for this and re-mounting the tire should come out to around $30 plus taxes.
If you are looking at foam filling your tires for construction vehicles, you will be looking at the option of injecting polyurethane foam into the tire. This is done through the use of a machine that will inject the foam into the tire.
The main benefit to using foam in construction vehicles is that it helps to prevent punctures. This is different from road going foam filled tires which still remain pneumatic as the tires used on construction sites are completely filled with foam and no air remains inside them.
It also means that the tire is no longer susceptible to blow outs which can be extremely dangerous.
Solid rubber tires are also an alternative option to foam filled tires that fulfil the same purpose.
Therefore the foam filled tires of large construction vehicles helps to support the tire and therefore if there is any sharp objects on the ground, even if it does puncture the tire, the tire will not deflate and the vehicle can continue to be driven.
This is of enormous benefit to those working on construction sites as it helps to avoid any downtime and delays that would otherwise be caused by a puncture.
The only downside to construction vehicle foam filled tires is the cost. The machine that is needed to inject the foam into the tire is not cheap and therefore it can be quite an investment to get started.
Additionally, the tires themselves are more expensive than regular pneumatic construction vehicle tires. However, the benefits of having a tire that cannot be punctured min most cases outweigh the cost for many construction companies.
This makes them popular with all vehicles on a construction site including skid steer vehicles.
While adding a layer of foam is perfectly safe to add to road going vehicles tires, filling them completely with foam is not recommended or common practice. This is because replacing all the air inside a tire with foam makes the tire extremely hard and therefore reduces the contact patch.
This can have a negative effect on the vehicles handling as well as making the ride much less comfortable. Additionally, the foam filling makes the tire heavier which can have a negative effect on fuel economy and vehicles braking and stopping distances.
For these reasons, it is not recommended to completely foam fill road going tires. This is only reserved for construction vehicles who drive at very slow speeds around a construction site and off the road.
So now you know the 2 main types of foam filled tires and the differences between them. For average citizens, purchasing tires or fitting your tires with an additional layer of foam can be beneficial as it will help to reduce noise and make for a more comfortable ride without compromising drivability.
For those working on construction sites, completely filling tires with foam might be a worthwhile investment as it will help to avoid punctures and flat tires. However, this does come at a cost both financially for the initial investment as well as for the tires themselves.
We hope you enjoyed this article on can you foam fill your tires and found it informative. If you have any questions then please leave a comment below or get in touch via email or through social media and we will read and respond to every comment, email or question. Thanks for reading!
While you are able to put expanding foam in your tires, we would not recommend driving on them.
This is because road tires are designed to be filled with air and filling them with expanding foam will cause your vehicle to handle and react in an unpredictable and unsafe manner.
The polyurethane foam found inside tires is specially designed and cut to a very specific size to ensure that it fits properly and is then able to adhere to the inside of your tire.
While it is possible for you to DIY this, you will still need specialist machinery to mount the tire to your wheel. For this reason, we would still advise having a shop carry out the work for you.
Over time, any villager and summer resident gets a lot of various wheeled vehicles that require constant attention and care, including the repair of pneumatic tires and their regular inflation. And it often happens that at the most necessary moment the wheels of turn out to be flat.
And as technology ages, this happens more and more often. For example, these troubles began to haunt me constantly, and especially often in winter, in the most severe frost. And that's even worse.
To fill the wheel tire with foam, you first need to drill several holes in the rim with a diameter of 10 mm ...
Finally, I got tired of it, and I solved the problem radically - I “pumped up” the tire not with air, but with polyurethane foam. I first tried filling the tire with foam through the nipple hole. It turned out, but not entirely successful - in some places, due to traffic jams, air sacs remained unfilled with foam. In addition, a significant part of the foam from the hole of the nipple squeezed back.
But the trouble is the beginning! After trying several different options, I eventually found a way to fill the tire with foam without plugs or air pockets. To do this, I drilled several holes 010 mm around the circumference of the wheel disk in such a way that the tube from the foam can freely enter into them.
Before starting to fill the tire with foam, it is necessary to prepare several wooden plugs-pegs (according to the number of drilled holes in the disk), which should fit tightly into these holes and prevent the foam from breaking free.
Insert the canister tube into any of the holes drilled in the disk and start the foam supply.
As soon as the first traces of foam that have reached it appear in the adjacent hole, we stop the supply from the can and immediately plug the first hole of the plugs tightly with a peg. After that, you can start feeding foam into the next hole. Then to the next...
In the same way, you can fill the tires of any other wheeled equipment, such as a garden cart, with foam.
Fill the tire with foam as follows. We insert the tube of the can into any of the holes drilled in the disk and start the flow of foam. As soon as the first traces of the foam that has reached it appear in the adjacent hole, we stop the supply from the can and immediately plug the first hole tightly with a peg.
After that, you can start feeding foam into the next hole. Then to the next. The last hole, as a rule, no longer needs to be foamed, and as soon as foam appears from it, you just need to plug it with a peg plug. With this sequence of filling, air sacs usually do not remain.
The process of self-vulcanization of the foam inside the tire - in a closed volume without air access - takes a little longer than under normal conditions. The operation of foam-filled wheels can be started no earlier than in a day. And with a large volume of tires, it is better to wait at least two days.
I have been using this technology for filling tires with foam for more than 10 years, and the first foamed tire is still working properly today, although I use it without any discounts both in winter and in summer. For several years, one of the wheels of my old truck was filled with foam. It no longer made sense to repair this wheel in the traditional way, and after filling it with foam, I drove it for quite some time, however, at low speed and for short distances, mainly in the village.
The motorcycle that I use for trips to the forest for mushrooms has been running on foam tires for many years.
Initially, I had doubts about the durability of tires filled with foam, but over the years I have become convinced that without air access, the foam does not break down at all and serves reliably, especially where high speeds are not needed. It is also noteworthy that lugs can be easily fixed on foamed wheels, and using the most common screws with nuts or screws for this. This is especially true when operating equipment in winter for driving on snow-covered roads or off-road.
Author; Vladimir Mikhailovich Legostaev0009
Rate this article:
(26 votes, average: 4.4 out of 5)
Share with your friends!
TC
Tatyana Stogniy
Yesterday my friend and I came up with a crazy idea: Inflate bicycle tires with polyurethane foam and forget about punctures and tire inflation forever! We decided to experiment on this topic, but first I want to ask you if this technology has any chance?
Yu:
Julia :::
is really hard to do, you need to pour a lot of foam under high pressure there.
Zheka
What is the air in a tire for? To dampen vibrations from the road surface. The foam dries - get a shaking grinder. And if you have the patience to ride like this, over time, the foam will begin to crumble and crumble into the sand. The idea is not worth considering.
Nicholas
No chance.
It will be tough and not for long.
ES
Eduard Solod
In our childhood, sausage was inserted into the wheels (something similar to foam, only made of rubber), it is not afraid of punctures, it's true, but it turned out to be a tougher ride.
Andrey Kireev
firstly you will not guess the volume of the foam and will tear it apart!! ! better buy a thick seal (round type of hose) fill in the tire and do not worry!
ТЗ
Tatyana Zapisochnaya
Take off the tires and go for a ride, it will be about the same.
ACH
Anastasia Chirkova
The idea is really crazy!
DM
Dmitry Makarov
Turn wheels out of wood and sheathed with iron 1st)))
MG
Marina Gulko
Still as it is, foam gun bell.
Pump hose and nipple column.
Then calculate the volume, 65 liters stripped x 2/2.5
Pure pistol - blow.
Olesya
most likely nothing will come of it. Foam will not harden without access to oxygen.
KR
Cat Rybka Irka
If you fill an empty chamber with foam, then most likely it will not harden, because there is no air access in the chamber, and the foam solidifies when it interacts with air (probably with oxygen or carbon-oxygen).
Dasha
Well, did you try it in the end or not?)))
Similar questions
Did you, all sorts of goats, foam the doors with mounting foam?
What does mounting foam not stick to? How to coat the object so that mounting foam does not stick to it?
What happens if you put cotton in the tires instead of pumping air?
Which is better: cement or polyurethane foam??
Mounting foam.
