Tyre Selector

How to check second hand tractor tyres?

That's the first question you should ask yourself. And to get the answer, you can measure the wear of your second hand tractor tyres using a simple tool, such as a support bar with a pin perpendicular to the middle. This pin will allow you to measure the depth between the bar and the tyre to get an indication of tyre wear.

Farmers often use a double decimetre or a 30-centimetre ruler with a ruler, which can quickly give an idea of wear. It's not necessarily the millimetres that are important in your analysis, but rather an overall estimate of wear. This will enable you to judge whether the tractor tyres are close to needing replacing, or whether they still have many hours of use left in them.

If, for example, you see that there are only 2 centimetres of tread remaining on the tyre, you can estimate that it is at around 50% of its wear. If, on the other hand, the tread depth is only 20 millimetres, there is a risk of traction problems that would require the tyres to be replaced, and therefore an additional investment for you if you buy the tractor.

The minimum acceptable tread depth depends on the intended use of the tractor. However, generally speaking, when the tread reaches around 20 millimetres, the tyres are considered to be well worn:

If the tractor is intended for light work, such as transporting bales of hay around the yard or similar jobs, this level of wear may be sufficient for a few years.

On the other hand, if the tractor is used for more demanding work requiring a high level of traction, this level of wear indicates that it is time to replace the tyres, since at this stage there is a high risk of excessive wheel slippage, which can compromise the tractor's performance.

In addition to examining the tyres, you can ask the seller the following questions to obtain further information and help you assess tyre wear:

How many hours have the tractor tyres been used?
Are the tyres original or have they been replaced?
Has this tractor been used for high torque work? (For example, ploughing or intensive traction work)
Has the tractor been used mainly on roads or fields?

If the seller mentions that the tractor has mainly been used on the road and that the tyres show uneven tyre wear, this could indicate that the second hand tractor has an alignment problem.

Here are some other useful questions:

How often do you check tyre pressure?
Do you adjust the pressure according to the tool you use?

These questions will tell you whether or not the tractor tyres have been used correctly:

If the owner says that he regularly checks the tyre pressure and adjusts the pressure to correspond to the tool being used, this may indicate that the tyres have been properly maintained.
Conversely, if the owner has neglected tyre pressure and has always driven with under-inflated tyres, this could explain, for example, circumferential cracking, or even, in the absence of visible cracking, mean that the tractor tyres have been poorly maintained and may require early replacement.

How to check second hand tractor tyres?

1 - Are the tractor tyres badly worn?

What is the minimum tyre wear level?

2 - Do the tractor tyres have any cracks or scratches?

3 - What questions should you to ask your seller ?

4 - Ask for advice