Taking Inventory

[Heavy Metal]

More on my JD 710J project (is it really a project yet?). This is the part that really has me stuck. I think once I solve this I can get this project moving. I really want tires and wheels of correct scale height, width, rim size and tread pattern and made of nice soft grippy rubber.

I have accumulated maybe a dozen different tires and wheels from die cast, RC monster trucks and crawlers, etc. for this project and nothing is quite right. Either the rubber is hard like plastic or one of the measurements were not quite right (like, diameter perfect but way too wide).

At this point I'm not worried so much about the wheels - if push comes to shove I can turn these myself on my old 7x10 mini lathe or I believe there are one or two on this forum that might be interested in doing on a fee basis. It seems to me the tricky part is the tires. In my files from a couple years ago when I started this I found correpondence back and forth with a German manufacturer who would create rubber tires for RC trucks and tractors to custom spec. That company actually referred me back to PMD for order placement from the U.S. but I never followed through because the costs for two different custom sized tires would have been $500 or $600 total (additional tires were $20 each). This RC model is going to have cost a couple thousand or more upon completion so I'm not opposed to going this route if I have to (assuming it is still and option) but saving $600 would certainly be nice.

Here are the scale specs for the front and rear wheels and tires I am trying to locate:
Front:
Tire Outside Diameter: 2.71"" (69mm)
Tire Width: 1.07" (27mm)
Rim Diameter: 1.43" (36mm)
Rear:
Tire Outside Diameter: 4.14"" (105mm)
Tire Width: 1.5" (38mm)
Rim Diameter: 2" (51mm)

Any suggestions to help me find these would be greatly appreciated. I would be happy with +/- 1/4" (6mm) on any of these measurements. Posting the JD 710J picture yet again to show tread pattern and rim style I'm looking for.



Regards,

Joe.

[Espeefan]

Joe, I can't offer to much advice on tires. That will probably be the hardest part of building this model. I will mention, however, that a lot of the guys into rock crawling have sucessfully narrowed up tires for better performance. This might be something to consider, as Tamiya makes the V-treaded ag type tires for their monster trucks. The Clodbuster and TXT-1. I have seen guys cut these tires in half and narrow them up. They basically glue the tire back together and re-enforce the seam from the inside with a thin piece of rubber, like bicycle inner tube. It works very well, but I am not sure what the diameter is of the Clodbuster tires, right off hand. The same guys also narrow the plastic rims, just as easily, so that could be a very affordable option for rims as well. I know the tread doesn't quite match the industerial v-tread you would need, but it's a good stand in. Front tires might be a little harder, but there options out there as well. HPI makes the Wheelie King monster truck, and it uses smaller v-treaded tires, similar to the Tamiya ones. Pro-Line used to make a tire called the Masher and it's about as nice of a tire as you can find for tractors or construction equipment. They aren't available anymore, so it might be a challenge to find them. Not sure on the tire's over all diameter, but the inside rim is 2.2". There are many other 2.2 and 1.9 sized tire options to consider as well. Not many with v-treads, but if you are okay with a 2wd front tire you might be able to find something.

[Heavy Metal]

Thanks Espeefan. This helps a lot. I have four really nice tires...probably Clodbuster...that are perfect diameter outside and inside and nice rubber but are almost an inch too wide. And now that you mention it I do remember reading about guys cutting these down. Maybe I will give this a try. Do you remember if the tires manufactured in this way held up to real use? Like, if they were part of the Lil Giants construction fleet...would they last any length of time?

Any idea what technique is used to cut these cleanly and accurately? Maybe I can rig up a way to mount them to my lathe and use a razor...hmmm....

[Hos1880]

search for Dakotah toys in Madison SD not sure if they still have there website but will try to find a phone number for you. they specialize in toy farm equipment and parts. (605) 256-6676 i do believe is there number they have a ton of 1/16th scale parts

merritt

[Heavy Metal]

Thanks Merritt. Will definitely give that a try on Monday.

[mtdriver]

As long as you have a tight seam and use good tire glue (I like Team Losi red) they will hold together even without reinforcement. I narrowed and reduced the diameter on some Proline Hammers and they held up to a Traxxas brushless on 3 cell lipo in one of my mud trucks. Was good for 40 mph easy.

[tracksntreadslou]

Hey Joe check the tire tread pattern on these tires ...Not sure about the diamater

[Espeefan]

Ahh, I forgot all about the Tamiya Blackfoot tires! Those might be perfect for the front tires, as I believe they are smaller then Clodbuster tires. Also consider Tamiya TLT-1 or Wild Willy V-treaded tires. They are about the same size as the Blackfoot tires, but standard V-treaded, like the Clod's. While I'm thinking about it, another company named Imex made a Clod tire that is more industerial treaded. Road Hawgs, I believe is the name. Sometimes called Imex Pullers. They are slightly smaller in diameter then the Tamiya chevron tires, but very close, with the proper tread, if not a bit wide spaced.



Also look at this page. The jumbo kongs could work for rear tires, and the chevron standard size for the fronts, maybe? http://www.imexrc.com/servlet/the-Ti...res/Categories

[grumpygrady]

did you say that you found the right size but they are hard plastic?
if this is a yes you can make a RTV mold and pour your own tires in whatever softness of rubber you want
if you don't want to do this send me an e-mail and we we talk about me doing this for you

or i think it was IHhauler just did this for his scrapper

Originally Posted by jbothell

More on my JD 710J project (is it really a project yet?). This is the part that really has me stuck. I think once I solve this I can get this project moving. I really want tires and wheels of correct scale height, width, rim size and tread pattern and made of nice soft grippy rubber.

I have accumulated maybe a dozen different tires and wheels from die cast, RC monster trucks and crawlers, etc. for this project and nothing is quite right. Either the rubber is hard like plastic or one of the measurements were not quite right (like, diameter perfect but way too wide).

At this point I'm not worried so much about the wheels - if push comes to shove I can turn these myself on my old 7x10 mini lathe or I believe there are one or two on this forum that might be interested in doing on a fee basis. It seems to me the tricky part is the tires. In my files from a couple years ago when I started this I found correpondence back and forth with a German manufacturer who would create rubber tires for RC trucks and tractors to custom spec. That company actually referred me back to PMD for order placement from the U.S. but I never followed through because the costs for two different custom sized tires would have been $500 or $600 total (additional tires were $20 each). This RC model is going to have cost a couple thousand or more upon completion so I'm not opposed to going this route if I have to (assuming it is still and option) but saving $600 would certainly be nice.

Here are the scale specs for the front and rear wheels and tires I am trying to locate:
Front:
Tire Outside Diameter: 2.71"" (69mm)
Tire Width: 1.07" (27mm)
Rim Diameter: 1.43" (36mm)
Rear:
Tire Outside Diameter: 4.14"" (105mm)
Tire Width: 1.5" (38mm)
Rim Diameter: 2" (51mm)

Any suggestions to help me find these would be greatly appreciated. I would be happy with +/- 1/4" (6mm) on any of these measurements. Posting the JD 710J picture yet again to show tread pattern and rim style I'm looking for.



Regards,

Joe.

[pumptech]

Glad to see this build ,The backhoe is my favorite machine.Just a all around good machine,able to tackle a lot of jobs with it.
I'll be watching ,good luck with the build,hope all goes well ,looking good so far.

Found this Case backhoe a while back ,emailed a sales rep ,said they had two on hand ,may be sold out,last Oct when I checked on it.http://www.outbacktoystore.com/Anniv...Loader-Backhoe

[Snochaser]

Originally Posted by pumptech

Glad to see this build ,The backhoe is my favorite machine.Just a all around good machine,able to tackle a lot of jobs with it.
I'll be watching ,good luck with the build,hope all goes well ,looking good so far.

Found this Case backhoe a while back ,emailed a sales rep ,said they had two on hand ,may be sold out,last Oct when I checked on it.http://www.outbacktoystore.com/Anniv...Loader-Backhoe

That is really nice!!

[Heavy Metal]

Originally Posted by pumptech

Glad to see this build ,The backhoe is my favorite machine.Just a all around good machine,able to tackle a lot of jobs with it.
I'll be watching ,good luck with the build,hope all goes well ,looking good so far.

Found this Case backhoe a while back ,emailed a sales rep ,said they had two on hand ,may be sold out,last Oct when I checked on it.http://www.outbacktoystore.com/Anniv...Loader-Backhoe

Whoa pump tech...that is NICE! Hadn't seen that before. If I bought one of these it would mostly be for inspiration - too small to convert to RC at 1:16.
The JD 710 is a monstor hoe (that's mostly why I picked it)...a 1:14 scale 710 will be same size as a Case 580 and most other hoes in 1:12. Thanks for the link! JB

[ihbuilder]

Originally Posted by grumpygrady

did you say that you found the right size but they are hard plastic?
if this is a yes you can make a RTV mold and pour your own tires in whatever softness of rubber you want
if you don't want to do this send me an e-mail and we we talk about me doing this for you

or i think it was IHhauler just did this for his scrapper

Grumpy , No , I didn't , It was a thought till I saw some on rc machines . They look just like the 1's on the stall komatsu loader . Useing the plastic 1 for a mould is an exalent idea

IHSteve