New Life for Old Farm Tires

We build all of our tires with performance, durability and long life in mind. Despite using the best engineering and materials, however, even our long-lasting tires will need to be put out to pasture. But just because a tire is no longer useful on your tractor, combine, or spreader doesn’t mean that it can't still provide valuable service.

The internet is full of crafty ways to "upcycle" old tires into useful items around the house and garden - In fact we posted a blog last year about an artist who uses old tires in his monstrous creations. While it's fun to play, some folks will nevertheless want to keep their tires hard at work on the farm rather than in the landfill or tire dump.

Farmers these days need to know how to stretch a dollar, and repurposing your old tires into water troughs for livestock is an excellent way to continue to see a return on your tire investment. The list of benefits of making water holes from old tires is long: they last longer and cost less than concrete or metal troughs, they’re low maintenance, and they help keep the water cool while inhibiting the growth of algae. Here is a great article to get you started building your first tire water trough.   

Photo from http://www.dripwell.com/

Many of the same qualities that make old tires exceptional water troughs on the farm also make old tires fantastic feeders. Old tires work great as feeders thanks to their flexibility, which helps prevent animals injuring themselves. They’re also inexpensive and virtually indestructible. While we like to brag about the low total cost of ownership (TCO) of our farm tires, this is another great way that your tires can help drive cost down on the farm. Just think—if your tires served the farm well on your equipment, this is another way to keep them working for you! This article is a great place to get started on turning your old tires into feeders.

Photo from http://www.axeholmeshires.com/tirefeeder/

Old tires are fantastic for keeping your livestock fed and watered, but you must be wondering if tires can help with the result of all that eating and drinking? They can! Old tires make excellent manure scrapers as they offer numerous advantages over traditional steel blades. Manure scrapers constructed from tires help dampen vibration, are gentle on the surface you’re scraping, and don’t rust. Even better, the rubber acts as a squeegee, letting you clean in one pass, and minimizing your time doing this dirty job. While there are a handful of companies manufacturing manure scrapers made with tires, this article is a great place to learn how to build your own.

Photo from http://www.menschmfg.com/

If you’ve been spending a little too much time in the field or in the barn and your yard is in need of a little love, look no further than your old tires. Turning a no-longer-serviceable tire into a planter is an excellent way to breathe new life into your landscaping. Paint the tires to match your deck or patio, stack two tires on top of one another to accommodate a tree or bush, arrange them to create a tiered effect, or even hang them. Incorporating an old tire into your landscaping is only limited by your imagination. Click here for some great ideas to get you started.

Photo from http://www.hometalk.com/

So far, we’ve shown you how to use tires to take care of your livestock, your barn, and the yard—but what about you? Did you know that worn-out tires can help prevent you from gaining a “spare tire”? Old tires are the perfect workout equipment! Whether you’re flipping them, lifting them, or rolling them, tires are a great tool for getting you in shape. While you probably really appreciated the durability and puncture-resistance of the steel belts found in our IF/VF tires when you were in the field, I’m sure you’ll loathe the weight of them as you “farmer walk” that old tire down the driveway…that’s how you know it’s working. Here are intense exercises that use old tires.

Photo from https://www.onnit.com

We want you to get the most out of your tire purchase. Our tires are purpose-built to meet the demands that they will encounter in the field, on-site, and in the forest, but we’re pretty sure they’ll be great as a water trough, livestock feeder, manure scraper, planter, or workout partner as well.