I have a mini skid Gehl HL360. Its 36" wide overall and uses 5.70-12 Chevron tires (5x4.5 bolt pattern) which are 22" tall. I only need that WIDTH for one task: cleaning horse stalls or getting in tight places 36" or more due to turning radius. We clean by hand every day so we haven't been using it for that. Those tires are in great shape, although one rim is damaged and I need to replace the valve stems on all of them. For EVERYTHING ELSE they are a liability; make the machine tippy, cut hard into soft turf, and dig hard on frozen ground making turns jerky. On snow, they work okay, but because of the narrow track and proximity of the tires to the side shields, I can't chain up and its real sketchy dumping big buckets of snow when the machine is off level.
I'm looking at 3 options. I'd like to widen the stance to use chains.
Very tough to find 6 ply 12" tires that are that height besides some ATV tires. Down a size, no too. Up a size, 23-8.50-12's are a common skid steer size and 8.50-12 rims with low backspacing are common for zero turn mowers. They will likely work without hitting the loader frame but might hit with chains at max drop on the loader.
The machine is around 2000 lbs with operator with only 500 lifting cap, so I could use select 4 ply lawnmower turf tires and still be within the weight ratings for many tires, and use chains for for mud and snow. Would probably cost the same or a bit less than the actual skid steer tires because I'd also still need to buy rims.
Lowest priced option would be to put the 5.70-12's on some trailer rims which have less backspacing and roughly the same width. This will allow the use of chains but will still have all the drawbacks/cutting of the narrow tires with a bit more stability.
I'm looking at 3 options. I'd like to widen the stance to use chains.
Very tough to find 6 ply 12" tires that are that height besides some ATV tires. Down a size, no too. Up a size, 23-8.50-12's are a common skid steer size and 8.50-12 rims with low backspacing are common for zero turn mowers. They will likely work without hitting the loader frame but might hit with chains at max drop on the loader.
The machine is around 2000 lbs with operator with only 500 lifting cap, so I could use select 4 ply lawnmower turf tires and still be within the weight ratings for many tires, and use chains for for mud and snow. Would probably cost the same or a bit less than the actual skid steer tires because I'd also still need to buy rims.
Lowest priced option would be to put the 5.70-12's on some trailer rims which have less backspacing and roughly the same width. This will allow the use of chains but will still have all the drawbacks/cutting of the narrow tires with a bit more stability.
