Combines 25 or 30 1020

Do you like your TrelleborgsIJ I've been looking at them for some time. The biggest tire I see they offer is the same as a 30.5_32. I need at least 35.5 or the new Goodyear 900_65R32. That tire fits on either a 30.5 or 35.5 rim and is much bigger than either. But I like a r1w instead of a full blown R2. The r2 is just crowned too much for me. I like a flat faced tire.

We run the new style curved steel spreader bats on our 2366 w_25' 1020. We had to set the bats in the middle position. Even there they will throw straw into the uncut grain.

The Trelleborg to run on combines is the 900_60-32. It is kind of an odd duck. They put it in the catalog years before they sold it. Seems they couldn't get the bugs worked out of it when mounting on the standard 27" rim. When they finally did hit the market they were made in the US rather than Europe. The carcass on this tire is very tough and the rubber is very hard. It stands up well to stubble. We widened our rims to 30" thinking it would be easier on the tire at low pressures and high loads. The result is a very flat tire. In fact, the outside of the bars actually push down the soil more than the inside. This has the effect of trapping the soil and helping to keep you afloat in muddy conditions. I decided to run them backwards this year, but never ran into any soft ground to see how it works. The biggest drawback to these tires is vibration on the highway. I suspect it comes from the widened rim. If you use the 27" rims, I bet they would run smooth. I have pictures if you are interested.

I'd like to see those photos. What size did you run before the TrelleborgsIJ How much $$$ more than a tire like you were running beforeIJ mail address is oliverobbie @ aol.com

Moving to a 25 or a 30ft is a good move. Gives the knife more time to cut the crop and the header height to respond. If no tracker stay with the 25ft but would recommend tracker on anything 20 and wider in our area. Have to take both headers off to move anyways, go for the 30ft, and yes a tracker is still available to mount on a 1680. Have your dealer order a wholegoods kit for a 1688, the hydraulic connections are slightly different I believe but can be worked around

The Michelin website for the 900_60R-32 states the recommended rim is the 27 inch rim but can also use a 30 inch rim.

We ran 30.5-32 bias ply for many years. Then, we set one machine up with 1050_50-32 radials on 3 piece rims in the front and 750_65R26 radials on the rear. That's the combination I would really like to use, but on the second combine the cost was just too much (over $15K these days). So, we decided to put the Trelleborgs on the second machine and we had a set of GY bias 28lR26's sitting around for the rear. The result was probaby 85% of the performance for about a third of the cost of the Michelin's. I'll send you some pictures of each machine.

I talked to several people in the tire business that have mounted tires on wider rims on combine applications. Everybody seemed to agree that tires are damaged by running on too narrow of a rim, but that a wider rim is completely safe. On the Michelin radials, the outer ends of the bars are rounded off and the carcass is MUCH more pliable than the Trelleborgs. I bet the 900 Michelins on 30" rims would work great! I seriously considered the 900 Michelins, but decided they probably would not stand up to low inflation pressures as well. I have taken the Trelleborgs and the 1050 Michelins down to 12.5 psi to get done with a really wet field. That would make me nervous with the 900 Michelins.

Could you send me some pics too please, thanks

IHman: Since most of your fields are fairly close together I would recomend going with the 25 footer. You could still drive to most of your fields without dettaching the head. As far as the 30 footer, I think your fields are flat enough to not worry about the contour-master, although you may leave some stubble here and there. Contour-master would be just one more thing to work on and you would definately have to unhead the machine every time you transport.