be eliminated. But, as would be expected, this peace of mind comes at a cost. Solid rubber tires are expensive. They can run two to three times the cost of air-filled tires. The flip side is that they will generally last three to five times longer than pneumatic tires. Buying solid tires does not provide the suspension that air-filled tires do, sometimes resulting in that beaten-up feeling at the end of the day.
The Right Tire for the Job
We’ ve mentioned that there is a tire out there for every job. Let’ s consider some of those options. Keep in mind that many of these are available in both pneumatic and solid rubber construction.
Probably the most common skid-steer tire is the all-terrain tire. Available in multiple duty ratings, the all-terrain is at home in most work environments, with dirt and slightly muddy surfaces being its forte. It has deep, angled lugs and a high void ratio, providing excellent traction while easily shedding rocks and debris. Note that, although they can operate well on hard surfaces such as concrete and asphalt, the cost for those that do is substantially higher than for those that are used only for dirt.
Hard-surface solid tires have an essentially flat face with shallow grooves molded in for traction. But because of their design, they will last considerably longer than heavily lugged tires. The smooth skid-steer tire is just as its name implies; it has no tread whatsoever. It eliminates the possibility of tread-flexing and premature wear and, because of this, they may seem to last forever. However, traction is not one of their best characteristics. They are best suited for commercial worksites, demolition jobs and junkyards where traction is not a concern.
Like the all-terrain tire, the mud-terrain tire has angled lugs and plenty of self-cleaning void, but they are specially engineered for working on muddy surfaces. These tires
24 • 800-247-2000 • December 2024