Ask The Editors: Going Tubing
Extra protection.
Someone had mentioned putting tubes in the tires to save the cost of new tires? Is that the proper way of doing things? Should I be worried about the integrity of the tire while riding at high speeds?
Carcass dry rot is a very common occurrence – Contrary to common misconception, it is not an indicator of tire wear and more commonly takes place during storage than as a result of use.
The good news is unless it’s a very extreme case, it really shouldn’t require that you replace the tires. Especially since, in your case, it sounds like the surface cracks aren’t even resulting in the loss of air pressure.
Unless the treat itself is also worn down enough to demand all new rubber, we would absolutely just install tubes as protection against air loss/ additional puncture protection.
Installing tubes on an ATV is a matter of removing each wheel, deflating the tire enough to push the bead inside enough to work the tube inside the carcass, removing the old valve stem and then then pulling tube’s new valve stem through the rim, inflating and repeating the process for each wheel.
If this process seems beyond the scope of your mechanical comfort zone, most any shop (including small engine repair on up to automotive) should be able to do it for you for a few dollars per wheel.
