Skip to main content

Understanding Fluid-Filled Tires for Traction

5:52
15:40
227.3K views

At 5:52 in

Before I bought the Kubota they Modded it-without telling me...

What happens here

The discussion shifts to the fluid-filled tires on the Kubota R530. Stanley asks if anyone has heard of tires filled with windshield washer fluid. Cory confirms this practice, noting it's common in the farm industry, especially for older tractors without dedicated ballast weights. The purpose is to add weight (ballast) to the tires for increased traction without needing to add external weights. He specifies that each tire holds about 200 pounds of fluid. This additional weight, along with the machine's empty weight of around 10,000 pounds, provides better grip, especially in snowy or icy conditions, and can compensate for lower horsepower.

Goal: Learn the purpose and benefits of fluid-filled tires for increased traction and stability.

Tools and materials

  • Kubota R530 Compact Wheel Loader Kubota — Its tires are filled with fluid for added weight
  • Windshield Washer Fluid — Filling the tires to add ballast for traction

What they say

Hide

industry not so much anymore now that tractors are starting to get faster over time but you still see it a lot in like a residential uh person who's you know putting a loader on a tractor they don't have any ballast weight so we're trying to add weight to that tractor and we're able to put you know fluid into those tires um but obviously you need fluid that's not going to freeze on you either otherwise you're going to be driving around in a in a rock um you'll never notice it it's just one of those things that until you change your tires yeah there's fluid in it yeah how do we fill these tires up when they get low just put air in them just make sure that the yeah yeah yeah don't oh don't check them with it yeah don't don't check them when those are down check them when they're out i'm gonna guess there's a good thing you told me that i mean if there's 200 pounds of windshield washer fluid in each tire that's got to have windshield washer fluid up to there yeah i mean weights usually the name of the game you guys you can usually get by with lesser horsepower if you got more weight yeah it's about traction correct so that's why when i was a i wasn't i mean i was a little nervous about buying this because i'd never seen it i mean i i looked at it and jokingly said i'll buy this machine from you yup but to me corey it had nothing to do with horsepower so the fact that it's 54 horsepower didn't bother me in any way shape or form it's are these tires going to grab enough to help me push the pile to the end of the row the hard part has always been for me in the used market is what are you getting right so we spend money on a machine like this what are we

Auto-generated from the video audio.