|
I have never been around mesquite, except for barbecue charcoal, but around here we have a problem with Hawthorn bushes that have thorns that will puncture tires. I have a Ford 641D that had relatively new tires when I got it. After a few years on my property and working in the brush, the front tires started getting flats. I would get them fixed, but this involved taking the tire and wheel off and taking them to town, leaving the tractor out of service for a day or 2. Unfortunately it was always a temporary fix, because thorns already in the tires would continue to work their way through and puncture the tube. The tire shops could never find all the thorns. It got real unhandy and expensive. I was about ready to buy new tires. The boss at the tire shop I deal with suggested that rather than buying new tires, that I have the tires I have filled with plastic foam. This is done at an industrial tire center and is usually done on equipment that is exposed to nails or other sharp objects. The tire man made this reccommendation against the best interests of his shop--he could have just sold me 2 new tires and tubes. Filling the tires with foam is not cheap. I paid a little over $100 to have the 2 front tires filled. But since that time 4 or 5 years ago, I have had no more trouble with flats (and it had gotten to the point where I had to fix a tire every time I used the tractor.) The reliability factor makes it worth it. I was told by the industrial tire place that when I had worn out the tires that they would have to be sawed or burned off the rims, but they will probably now last longer than I will. The hawthorn thorns do not seem to bother the back tires, but I suppose they could be foam filled as well. This would make them very heavy, probably more than with liquid. They also would not "give" much and would ride very rough. I did not price filling the rear tires, but I suspect it would be several hundred dollars. But it might be worth thinking about, if you are having enough problems with flats on a tractor you use. Good luck, I hate flat tires. By the way, I bought the tire man a case of real good beer!
| 
