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...

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. The Alliance 551 MultiUse radial excels on tractors working in snow and slush thanks to its block tread, sipes, and special cold-weather compound. 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 fi...

One U.S. Farmers Feeds More than 160 People The number of people fed by a single U.S. farmer has grown steadily over the years. In the 1800s, a U.S. farmer grew enough food to feed between three and five people. According to the website Statista , the number has continued to grow over the decades:1940 ~20 1960 ~45 1980 ~100 2005 ~144 2022 ~165 While the statistic isn’t perfect, it does show a massive improvement in the efficiency and productivity of U.S. farmers. It might surprise you to learn that tires play an important role in helping farmers grow the number of people they feed. How the Number of People Fed by a Farmer Is Calculated In 2014, Bob Young, chief economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation (which has been doing this calculation since the 1970s), explained how the number of people fed by a farmer is calculated . The number is based on a ratio—it’s calculated by taking cash receipts from farm ag products, subtracting the trade balance, and dividing the number back i...

Preventative Maintenance Helps Farm Tires Last Longer Ag tires are built tough—they need to be to handle the numerous challenges they encounter on the farm, from transferring equipment horsepower to the ground to pulling tillage equipment and carrying massive loads of seed, spray, and commodities. The durability and ruggedness of the best ag tires can make it easy to overlook the demands placed on them, but devoting time to tire maintenance can pay off, especially when you consider that the price of a single tire can run hundreds or thousands of dollars. A little preventative maintenance can go a long way to ensuring the long service life of your tire. Below are seven tips for making the most out of your investment in farm tires. Inflation Pressure Ensuring your ag tires are inflated properly is one of the best things you can do for your tires and a simple tire pressure gauge is one of the best investments you can make on the farm. Overinflation can cause excessive tire wear and can...

Radial vs. Bias Farm Tires Farmers today have more options than ever when it comes time to select ag tires. One of the most common ways to differentiate the multitude of farm tires on the market is to divide them by their construction—bias ply or radial. Both bias and radial tires have their advantages, but radials stand apart as there are no real drawbacks to their use in farming applications. Keep reading to learn more about the features and benefits of both types of tires. Bias-Ply Tires Bias-ply tires are nearly as old as pneumatic (air-filled) tires themselves—they’ve been a common sight on farms for almost a century—and still present a viable option for many machines. Bias-ply tires are made by lapping multiple plies of rubber-coated textile diagonally over each other—also called “on the bias”—to create a single working unit. The construction of bias tires allows the sidewall and tread to work together as a single unit. Bias-Ply Tire Pros Bias construction creates a rugged, dura...

Traction and Compaction in Wet Fields  Thoughts of perfect weather and ideal field conditions fill every farmer’s head, but those dreams aren’t always a reality. While we preach patience and believe in biding your time until a field is ready to support equipment, sometimes waiting isn’t an option. In cases when you simply must enter wet and muddy fields, here are some steps you can take to increase flotation, maximize traction, and reduce soil compaction. Find Your Tire’s Optimal Footprint  Operating your tires at lower inflation pressures increases their footprint, consequently spreading the weight of the machine it’s carrying over a larger area and minimizing soil compaction. Reduced inflation has the added benefit of putting more tread on the ground and improving traction as well.  Optimal vs. Underinflated:   An ag tire’s ideal inflation pressure accounts for the weight of the machine, what it’s carrying, and the speed it is traveling at. Knowing these three fact...