Total Landscape Care Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/85697
equipment matters you've lost the bead," Haynes says. These situations are not easily re- paired on the jobsite, which means more downtime. The flat repair is only the begin- ning. Additional costs include time arranging for the flat repair, down- time for the machine and operator and production interruptions for employees who depend on the work the skid steer performs. Less tangible is the impression a disabled machine makes on a client. Tire sealant, tire liners and foam- filled pneumatic tires are among the solutions landscapers use to combat flats. A spare tire can be useful, but you have to make provisions for handling the high torque lug nuts and getting the rear of the machine elevated for rear-tire changes can be a challenge. 4.5x4.5AD 6/28/07 10:20 AM Page 1 Solid Solutions An alternative option for extreme flat-causing environments is solid tires. They can be punctured, impaled, cut, stabbed, slashed and shot and will keep rolling. Additionally, most solid tires have much better wear characteristics than those of pneumatic tires. This is due to a com- bination of factors including larger tread blocks, tougher materials and the elimination of inflation requirements that affect tire life. Several skid steer manu- facturers and many Google pages of aftermarket com- panies offer solid tires in a variety of tread designs. "The benefits of increased tire life are evident in landscaping operations that use skid steers extensively on paved surfaces such as concrete, asphalt and stone," says Curtis Goettel, market- ing manager for Case Con- struction Equipment. "With recent advances in solid tire design, we've seen customers 56 TOTAL LANDSCAPE CARE / March 2012 Write 368 on Reader Service Card or visit TotalLandscapeCare.net/info