quikduk
CTW Life Member
Dog House
Posts: 552
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Post by quikduk on Feb 3, 2009 16:42:13 GMT -5
Too funny. I can change them out with my FIL's tire tools or my larger tire "spoons" but I will have to see how hard it is. I am getting older you know... Actually, with things the way they are now, I probably "could" use the excercise by changing them myself.  I will fill them. I am waiting for my BIL to change out the coolant in his motorhome. He has to dispose of it somehow so I will take it, strain it and re-use it in the fronts and possibly the rears depending on the amount he has available and it's current dilution ratio. I think it would definately help with the traction. I agree that perhaps the increased speed of the wear my fronts have experienced is due to the slippage involved but also the high speed (HA! ;D ) transporting I have done to the neighbors, my FIL's place etc. I really think that the stock fronts are rather soft compared to the rears. |
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Post by bradblazer on Feb 3, 2009 22:35:40 GMT -5
Hey Rob - the new tires do look great. The way the rubber doesn't bulge between the lugs even under pressure gives the impression that they are tougher. Mine are pretty good - a couple of cuts in the outside layer of rubber.
I've always heard that roading a tractor wears the tires faster.
You need the HF manual tire changer at least! I have one from Homier - so far I've changed one trailer tire with it - saved $10 over buying a tire mounted on a new rim. It does come with a pretty beefy bar - I'll have to check whether it will capture the big hole on our fronts but that would be an easy mod anyhow.
So Rob your back must be feeling pretty good nowadays. I see pictures of you carrying tree stumps on your shoulders and now you are changing 6-ply tires bare-handed!
Brad
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3RRL
Administrator 
Huge Kama
Posts: 2,027 
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Post by 3RRL on Feb 3, 2009 23:03:02 GMT -5
Hi Brad, Yeah, the Harbor Freight tire changer sounds good to me now that I know how hard it is to do it by hand. It's definitely NOT a bicycle tire. I looked at their ads but was concerned whether of not it would handle the tractor tires. But living up here, it might not be a bad idea to have one anyway for other tires too. The new tires are 6 ply and seem very good. That price was good no matter what! Over the short use I really like and they perform just like the others. In fact, under a couple FEL bucket full loads, they did not "squish" down as mush as the stock tires did. Maybe I just didn't have it overloaded, but I did notice that. So Rob your back must be feeling pretty good nowadays. I see pictures of you carrying tree stumps on your shoulders and now you are changing 6-ply tires bare-handed!Well, that's not really true. My back has been really bothering me over the last 6 months now. I've been waking up in tremendous pain almost every day. I'm scared with the stress I put on it my spine might snap. It's constantly on my mind now. But once I warm up I'm still strong enough to do a lot of things. Those things I did used to be nothing for me, but now I strain and it pisses me off. Worst of all, any bending over work really hurts me after a couple hours. I have to literally take a break and smoke a Pall Mall and drink a cup of coffee. So it's not the weight of the stuff as much as the awkward position of bending over or being bent over constantly like when you make fun of me.;D Seriously, I told Loretta I was not gonna let my back keep me from doing what I want until it snaps or gives out. Then I'll have no choice but to get that dreaded surgery. Like my Kama, I will most likely push myself to that breaking point, just to see where it is. Hopefully a long ways off yet. The pain I can deal with. Other than that, I still "feel" very fit. But I sure wish I was 21 again.  Thanks for asking Brad. |
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Post by Rich Waugh on Feb 4, 2009 9:25:39 GMT -5
Rob,
I feel for ya with the back, man! I went throught that shit for years until mine finally got so bad I was literally bedridden for a month. I bit the bullet and got the surgery - like a friggin' miracle! Got out of bed four hours after the knife work and walked to McDonald's for lunch. Not a twinge!
Now if I could just afford the down time to get the knee replaced, the bum wrist fixed up and a host of other shit...(grin) Won't happen.
The problem we face is that our mental images of ourselves are never in accord with our physical conditions. In my mind, I see myself as stuck at age 24 and my sorry old corpus knows damn well it's over 60. The damn mind keeps on writing checks that the body just can't quite cash. Makes mornings a bitch, don't it?
Still, better to use it up having fun than to end up looking at roots from a barely-used corpse. (grin)
Rich - rode hard and still not put away.
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3RRL
Administrator
Huge Kama
Posts: 2,027
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Post by 3RRL on Feb 4, 2009 11:12:18 GMT -5
Rich, Amen brother!
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Post by bracabric on Feb 5, 2009 17:01:06 GMT -5
Oh Brother how I empathize (also being over 60 ) hard to get going in the morning with the backache, Knees and elbows won't do anything without complaining, left ankle hates the rest of me, bunion on the right big toe, having to remember to put on all the support bandages.high blood pressure and so on, and so on ! and they tell me it gets worse !! death where is thy sting?
Dick
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Post by Rich Waugh on Feb 5, 2009 21:24:23 GMT -5
Yeah well, I catch a bit of a break because my bride is damn near as old as me and just as creaky. You guys who are married to lower-mileage models have to work a lot harder to keep up with them, I'll bet. Tough choice, hmmmm? (grin)
One of the really great things about modern technology is the amazing inprovements they've come up with in the way of aids for us (impending) geezers - the knee braces, back braces, etc. I've got a shitload invested in some of them, but they're worth every nickel. I can get away with shit that would other wise put me down for weeks, as long as I wear all the gear. I look like a total doofus in shorts and a T with that great gawky big knee brace of carbon fiber, titanium and Velcro, the elbow brace, etc. Look more like a refugee from a disaster area than a working blacksmith, but I can at least get the work done with only medium-strength prescription drugs. :-)
Being a little bit dead is easy. Been there, done that and got the t-shirt. Recovering from dead really sucks, though. If the being dead doesn't kill ya, the damn docs will do their best to remedy that oversight. Especially here in the third-world of medicine. I'm not going anywhere, though - this warm weather is way too good for the old bones!
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