[AT] Spam> Re: tires with tubes

[Steve W.]

Larry Goss wrote:
> There's a second verse to the "tubeless song", Al.  One of the
> penny-pinching techniques done by current lawn mower manufacturers is
> to ship them out to the public with tubeless tires on them -- and no
> bead sealer.  So whenever a customer comes in with a flat tire on
> their lawnmower, I break the bead, coat it with bead sealer, and then
> re-inflate it.  It takes a little more time than just putting air
> into a flat, but it keeps customers from coming back with the same
> problem that they had when they started.  And , you never use Slime
> unless you own locust trees.
> 
> Today, I got a year-old tractor-style mower into the shop and had to
> do the "make ready" service on it that SHOULD have been done last
> year at the Big Box store where the mower was purchased.  So much for
> the quality of our high school graduates.  The steering wheel came
> off in my hands, the hood wasn't hooked correctly at the front, the
> control handles were barely installed......
> 
> Larry


I got REALLY fed up a couple years ago when I kept finding nails, screws 
and assorted sharp things with the tires on my main mower. Finally made 
some major changes. I took a pair of older tires and cut the tread 
portion off about 1 inch up the sidewalls. Ground the sidewalls so they 
had a tapered edge. Cut a small section out so they would just fit 
inside the new tires. Stuck one side of the tire on the rim then coated 
to liner with rubber cement and stuck it in place, then stuck a cheap 
tube in and slid the other bead on and inflated to just a bit over 
normal pressure. Then waited for them to cure. Let out the air and 
loaded the tube with slime and aired back up. Now I don't worry much and 
haven't had a flat even after pulling a few more sharp objects out of 
the tires. One of the BIG problems with having a place that was built on 
top of a foundation where the home burnt down and they just skimmed it 
with dirt....

-- 
Steve W.