Miller Tire Surprise

[tar1962]

You guys might get a kick out of this.

The tires I had purchased simply are a smaller tire. Same size by number as OEMs that were on my 1250. (btw I am well aware of the original OEM tires and NO they are no longer made) The style of Carlisle 4 rib I purchased are, by nature, smaller and this is difficult to determine until you have the tire in hand. Tire sizes can vary once mounted from what is stamped on them according to manufacturers. Mine looked like low riders up front once put on the 1250 and dropped the front of the deck considerably. Wish someone would have mentioned that when recommending the tires.

So...I purchased a set of V-61's and once they arrived I was able to tell they would be a better match height and width wise. I figured the Carlisle's could go on another of my 1250's that only plows snow and is already fitted with older Carlisle's of similar size.

I am not able to do the tire mounting so I took the lot of them to our Cub Cadet dealer to have the Carlisle's removed and the V-61's mounted.

Now, if you do the internet research, you will find that V-61's come in 4 and 6 ply versions at this size (16x6.50-8) and are the most popular Heavy Duty ribbed retro-fitted tires for Cub Cadets, Tri-ribs not withstanding. (these statements are heavily qualified so read carefully before contesting). The V-61 4-ply version is difficult to find. I saw them listed at one dealer in Wisconsin and that was it. The 6-ply are what Miller sell and have sold for many vintage Cubs. If you have a loader 6-ply are mandatory for load ratings anyway. 6-ply also allow the tires under normal use to be run with less psi before affecting ease of steering.

I no sooner get home from dropping the tires off and the Cub Cadet dealer calls saying that they cannot mount the tires on the rims. I drive back there and they say that the V-61's are the toughest front tires they have ever seen. Not only this but, they apologize for scraping-up the paint on the rim they tried mounting. These are OEM rims that I took the time to correctly prep, paint with Rustoleum Appliance Epoxy, and allowed to cure for two weeks before mounting the Carlisle's. Now I have a rim to re-paint and no clue where to take them to have the V-61's mounted. Hard to believe considering how popular the V-61's are but the Cub Cadet dealer was clueless.

This seems crazy to me. If you were to look before commenting you would see V-61's raved about throughout this forum. Pictures and plugs for purchasing them at Miller are found throughout all garden tractor forums. Also, before commenting, think in terms of the fact that you do not know me. Any comments about OEM or my lack of familiarization with what is OEM is short sighted. What I could use are comments from those who have actually mounted or have had mounted Vredestein V-61 6-ply tires on wide OEM Quiet Line rims. My 1250 is equipped with 1" spindles and the rims were taken from a 1650 by the former owner before I owned this tractor.

To be honest, a couple of responses after my first thread were condescending. I believe you guys can do better than that. There are a lot of people who read your forum. These folks can figure out who the experts are over time and they rely on the experienced information you guys can provide.
Hint-that's not a dead horse in this case.



.