FLU419 SEE HMMH HME Owners group

[General Hood]

View attachment 682570

This is on a popular military tire website:

Why are military tires so inexpensive compared to civilian tires, is there a catch?

The only "catch" is that military tires will almost always be at least 4-6 years old. According to government regulations, all tires over 4 years old are to be disposed of, regardless of quality or tread depth.

 

[The FLU farm]

Why are military tires so inexpensive compared to civilian tires, is there a catch?

Interesting. Especially since I've wondered why military tires are so expensive
compared to civilian ones.

For example, the 11R24s I bought were $306 a piece. Weight wise they are comparable with 12R20s, so they should take about the same amount of oil to produce. Meanwhile, people are paying more for used military tires.
The Super Swampers and Pitbulls I bought for the SEEs were also cheaper than many used military tires I've seen advertised.

 

[Special T]

This is on a popular military tire website:

Why are military tires so inexpensive compared to civilian tires, is there a catch?

The only "catch" is that military tires will almost always be at least 4-6 years old. According to government regulations, all tires over 4 years old are to be disposed of, regardless of quality or tread depth.

I thought it was 7 years regardless of wear. Additionally I saw lots of tires that were nearly new 80%++ come off because equipment was being serviced for deployment.

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[Special T]

Interesting. Especially since I've wondered why military tires are so expensive
compared to civilian ones.

For example, the 11R24s I bought were $306 a piece. Weight wise they are comparable with 12R20s, so they should take about the same amount of oil to produce. Meanwhile, people are paying more for used military tires.
The Super Swampers and Pitbulls I bought for the SEEs were also cheaper than many used military tires I've seen advertised.

I would happen to guess they are more expensive new for a couple reasons. The Mog sizes 12.5,14.5 have never been very common for other use.
1200R20 only common use today is forklifts and specialty heavy equipment. I'm pretty sure they are all usa, Canadian manufacture as well. I'm pretty sure you won't find a Michelin 11R24.5 for $300 new.
14&1600r20 had uses for mobile cranes and such for a long time as well as some heavy truck. I wouldn't be surprised if they used odd ball sizes to reduce thievery and such.

One would think that the common sizes for equiptment 17.5R25 and 11R24.5 would be better because they would be easy to source anywhere in a pinch.

It is fairly common to see one ton 16" pickup tires replacing implement and other rolling tires for farm use because they are much easier to source new used and otherwise.

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[General Hood]

http://www.rallequip.com/

This is the webpage. I noticed the place because it's just down the road from RRAD. They sell a lot of tires at what I would consider a reasonable price. There stock changes week to week

 

[The FLU farm]

I would happen to guess they are more expensive new for a couple reasons. The Mog sizes 12.5,14.5 have never been very common for other use.
1200R20 only common use today is forklifts and specialty heavy equipment. I'm pretty sure they are all usa, Canadian manufacture as well. I'm pretty sure you won't find a Michelin 11R24.5 for $300 new.
14&1600r20 had uses for mobile cranes and such for a long time as well as some heavy truck. I wouldn't be surprised if they used odd ball sizes to reduce thievery and such.

One would think that the common sizes for equiptment 17.5R25 and 11R24.5 would be better because they would be easy to source anywhere in a pinch.

It is fairly common to see one ton 16" pickup tires replacing implement and other rolling tires for farm use because they are much easier to source new used and otherwise.

You bring up some good points there, but what I don't get is why people pay more for used military tires than what new civilian counterparts costs.
That 17.5, 22.5, or 24.5 tires aren't popular for vehicles that go off the beaten path I do understand. With the bead profile they have, they don't stay on the rim any better than the dreaded 16.5s did when run at lower pressures.

But regardless of price, no legitimate tire dealer would sell nine year old tires for a vehicles that potentially could be driven on the road - and they most certainly wouldn't pass them off as new. And no informed consumer would buy them for such use.

I have half a container full of old tires, many of which have little or no miles on them. But I'm not selling them, or giving them, to someone who I even remotely suspect might take them on the road. Instead they slowly but surely get used on trailers and various vehicles I have that stays on the property for the very most part.

On my street driven vehicles (pickups and cars), tires generally get replaced at five years, sometimes six or seven, depending on many factors. They may have 80% tread left, and often 99% (I'm spread between too many vehicles to wear tires out), and then they go into the container. Yep, perfectly good looking tires that I'm not about to let someone else drive on. Or even myself.

 

[The FLU farm]

This is the webpage. I noticed the place because it's just down the road from RRAD. They sell a lot of tires at what I would consider a reasonable price. There stock changes week to week

Six FLU wheels for $1,000 isn't expensive. Too bad they come with crummy old 12.5 Michelins. But, it does say that they've held air for a week.

 

[alpine44]

I wish alpine44 was correct, and that tire age didn't much matter.

I did not say nor mean that age does not matter for a tire. What I said was that I would not worry about a 10 year old tire out of a dark warehouse if its counterparts sitting in the Texan sun for 10 years longer are still holding air. Unless Michelin completely screwed up the rubber blend on a particular batch, I (personally) would not loose sleep over 10 years "on the shelf" for a well made tire - if the price is right. (Your Pete's tires lasted 12 on the rim, in the sun, in proximity of oil and grease, and being rolled for countless miles.)

On the other hand, I had some new tires from one of the the big brands that literally came apart in less than five years because they were junk the day they left the mold.

 

[The FLU farm]

I did not say nor mean that age does not matter for a tire. What I said was that I would not worry about a 10 year old tire out of a dark warehouse if its counterparts sitting in the Texan sun for 10 years longer are still holding air. Unless Michelin completely screwed up the rubber blend on a particular batch, I (personally) would not loose sleep over 10 years "on the shelf" for a well made tire - if the price is right. (Your Pete's tires lasted 12 on the rim, in the sun, in proximity of oil and grease, and being rolled for countless miles.)

Well, we have no idea how those tires were stored, or at least I don't. While the copy mentioned them being stored indoors now, twice, the tires were in the sun when photographed. Which, in all fairness, could've been right after they were delivered.

Yes, those 11R24.5 Toyos lasted a long time, but they were shielded from the sun (except when in use) and I don't think that the proximity of oil and grease matters. If so, small cars with the oil pan closer to the wheels would be in trouble. But you probably meant old grease from king pins, oil from leaky hubs, and such. All of which gets cleaned off when I'm lubing things. I do not like to have oily or greasy undercarriages to work on, so things are kept as clean as possible.
And the "countless" miles are all accounted for - a grand total of 23,262 miles.

 

[The FLU farm]

One more thing, alpine44. While I mean what I have been writing, the way it comes out is courtesy of my **** back.
I'm sick and tired of hurting, and I'm afraid it's really starting to show.

 

[General Hood]

One more thing, alpine44. While I mean what I have been writing, the way it comes out is courtesy of my **** back.
I'm sick and tired of hurting, and I'm afraid it's really starting to show.

We haven't noticed

 

[General Hood]

You bring up some good points there, but what I don't get is why people pay more for used military tires than what new civilian counterparts costs.
That 17.5, 22.5, or 24.5 tires aren't popular for vehicles that go off the beaten path I do understand. With the bead profile they have, they don't stay on the rim any better than the dreaded 16.5s did when run at lower pressures.



But regardless of price, no legitimate tire dealer would sell nine year old tires for a vehicles that potentially could be driven on the road - and they most certainly wouldn't pass them off as new. And no informed consumer would buy them for such use.

I have half a container full of old tires, many of which have little or no miles on them. But I'm not selling them, or giving them, to someone who I even remotely suspect might take them on the road. Instead they slowly but surely get used on trailers and various vehicles I have that stays on the property for the very most part.

On my street driven vehicles (pickups and cars), tires generally get replaced at five years, sometimes six or seven, depending on many factors. They may have 80% tread left, and often 99% (I'm spread between too many vehicles to wear tires out), and then they go into the container. Yep, perfectly good looking tires that I'm not about to let someone else drive on. Or even myself.

I saw some nice civilian tires for you Flu Farm . Just think, you could build the first FLU419 monster truck. You're Steel Soldiers Bigfoot thread should get plenty of action

 

[The FLU farm]

I saw some nice civilian tires for you Flu Farm . Just think, you could build the first FLU419 monster truck.

Hmm. And there's even a spare. Guess the front hydraulic tank would have to go in order to fit it, though, and then some.

But I think I'll pass. But they'd be perfect for Bison, come to think of it. At over 100 inches in diameter those tires should make his HMMH run almost as fast as he'd like it to.

 

[911joeblow]

So what is the widest tire any of us has put on the stock wheel?

 

[The FLU farm]

So what is the widest tire any of us has put on the stock wheel?

I think Couch has run the 39.5x16.50-20LT Pitbull Rockers (which is what I have on the SHEE) on stock wheels without any issues.
Spec rim is 13 inches, and they're only 15.70 inches wide in real life on those wheels.

 

[911joeblow]

I think Couch has run the 39.5x16.50-20LT Pitbull Rockers (which is what I have on the SHEE) on stock wheels without any issues.
Spec rim is 13 inches, and they're only 15.70 inches wide in real life on those wheels.

I just wore off the casting nipples on the 'new'/'old' tires and so tread life is not an issue but they are showing some sidewall and inside tread cracks. I was thinking wider but not taller since I think the loader is already a little short on the down stroke as is and might not even get to the ground if I go taller on the tires. I do hit the road and go to the top speed of the truck so a newer tire is something I should do.

 

[The FLU farm]

I just wore off the casting nipples on the 'new'/'old' tires and so tread life is not an issue but they are showing some sidewall and inside tread cracks. I was thinking wider but not taller since I think the loader is already a little short on the down stroke as is and might not even get to the ground if I go taller on the tires. I do hit the road and go to the top speed of the truck so a newer tire is something I should do.

Finding a tire with sufficient load rating can be a problem. The Super Swampers and Pitbulls I use are rated a bit lower than the Michelins, which are already overloaded.
And with those tires at 40-45 psi (80 max) they're nowhere near their rated capacity.
Of course, I'm not likely to drive down the road with a full loader bucket at speed, so that doesn't bother me. Also, Interco feels that there's a healthy margin in their tire, and that's probably true for the Pitbull as well.

 

[Speedwoble]

I think Couch has run the 39.5x16.50-20LT Pitbull Rockers (which is what I have on the SHEE) on stock wheels without any issues.
Spec rim is 13 inches, and they're only 15.70 inches wide in real life on those wheels.

I know you love your bias ply tires, but I can't get over the weight rating issue. I don't want to experience a blowout at speed, so I will be looking for something with a better rating.

 

[The FLU farm]

I know you love your bias ply tires, but I can't get over the weight rating issue. I don't want to experience a blowout at speed, so I will be looking for something with a better rating.

I don't think it makes much difference whether you overload a bias or a radial, except that the bias tire will inherently build more heat due to the conformability of the tread and the thicker carcass. And it's often heat that causes tire failures.
I would've gone with ag tires, had I only found something suitable and affordable, but obviously those would definitely not be good for speed.

 

[911joeblow]

What about the MRAP tires?