Yokohama Off Highway Tires

Tips for Properly Storing OTR Tires Whether it’s a farmer replacing the tires on their tractor or a construction company stocking up on skid steer tires, customers should consider a host of factors when selecting tires. For many, one of the most important criteria when buying new tires is the total cost of ownership (TCO) of a tire, or the overall cost of a tire to a customer from the time of purchase through resale or replacement. Maximizing the TCO of tires begins before they’re ever mounted to a machine, as proper storage plays a pivotal role in a tire achieving the lowest possible TCO. The Importance of Proper OTR Storage OTR tires are designed to work in some of the harshest, least-forgiving terrain imaginable—from stalk-filled far fields to debris-littered construction sites to rock-strewn mines. Tires are built tough, but rubber compounds are sensitive and susceptible to and can be subject to all sorts of physical and chemical damage. Ultimately, the failure to properly store OT...

Improvements Provide Huge Opportunity for Smaller Equipment The federal government recently made a historic commitment to massive infrastructure investment in the U.S. and is just beginning to spend billions of dollars to repair and improve roads, bridges, railways, and airports. These projects will put a lot of machines to work—from massive earth movers to compact loaders—in turn, the role of smaller equipment in day-to-day operations is growing. A lot is riding on equipment (and its tires) as the nation and construction businesses alike make the most of this excellent opportunity. What’s Driving the Need for Smaller Equipment? Unlike past infrastructure projects, many of which were built from the ground up in underdeveloped areas where huge earthmoving equipment could maneuver, most of today’s projects will involve repairing or replacing existing infrastructure in confined urban areas and on existing roads. A good comparison to today’s infrastructure projects is the “last mile” in tr...

Corn, Tires, and Old Adages The saying knee-high by the fourth of July was long used by farmers to judge the success of their corn crops—it means that growing conditions have been favorable, the crops are off to a good start, and big yields are expected come fall—and the adage remains popular today, despite being antiquated. Innovation in everything from seeds and treatments to equipment and tires has enabled earlier planting and faster-growing, higher-yielding corn. Origins of the Adage The roots of knee-high by the fourth of July are debatable. The Farmers Almanac is well-known for sharing old-timey wisdom and folklore and is commonly associated with the popularization of the saying. Many who date the adage to colonial times also commonly claim that the phrase is misinterpreted and that it’s not a measure of corn to a person standing in a field, but rather to that of a person on horseback. Some farmers think the idiom is a more modern invention, and date the saying to the turn of t...

From the innovative two-layered lugs of the Alliance Agri Star II R-1W farm radial to the hybrid tread block design of the Alliance 550 Multiuse radial, the Yokohama Off-Highway Tires America Inc. booth at the 2021 Farm Progress Show (Booth 252) will feature a wide range of farm tires that can help producers find the optimal tire for any tire need across the farm or ranch. "We've gone so far beyond the days where the standard R-1 tractor lug tire and the rib implement tire were the only real options on the farm," says Blaine Cox, National Product Manager-Agriculture for Yokohama Off-Highway Tires America, Inc. "Today's farm tires are optimized for particular soil types, specific kinds of tasks, whether the machinery spends much time on the road—there's a tire designed to deliver the best way to tackle any challenges. Of course, there are also the all-around utility players because we know farmers need versatility. At our booth, people can see a variety of opt...

Best Practices for Safer Winter Ag Tire Inspection In order to ensure everything is ready to roll in the spring, it’s common to inspect the tires of tractors, implements, and other farm equipment in the winter. Farms are filled with potential hazards and winter only ups the ante of something going sideways. Factors like short dark days, bitter cold, slick snow, and treacherous ice all pose additional challenges to farmers, tire dealers, and other ag tire personnel. Ben Franklin famously said, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Follow his sage advice and take a few simple steps to improve your safety while working or visiting the farm this winter. Cold-Weather Accidents According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , there were more than 20,000 ice, sleet, and snow-related injuries in 2017 in the U.S. Whether working in the field, yard, or outbuildings, jobs on the farm are more exposed to these types of injuries compared to those in many other occupations. It’s not just...

Unlike traditional pneumatic tires which are filled with air, solid tires are made entirely from rubber, offering puncture-proof performance to skid steers operating in even the harshest terrain and drastically lowering the likelihood of downtime. The robust construction of solid skid steer tires also allows them to provide long service life—solid tires can last three to five times longer than pneumatic tires and provide better wear characteristics since many of them feature deeper tread.  We even figured out how to pack more rubber onto our  Galaxy Hulk SDS Severe Duty Solid : put it on a 16-inch rim and make up the difference with compound. That means the Hulk SDS has four times more usable rubber to the 60J line and still fits the same skid steers as the 20-inch competition. Simply put, the Hulk SDS has more rubber, lasts longer, lowers the number of time-consuming tire changeovers, and, even in high-intensity applications, delivers a low total cost of ownership (TCO). Soli...