I am new to off road and UTVs and was wondering if most users put flat prevention liquid in tires <like SLIME> or not. What is recommended... ?
We are picking up our new Viking Tuesday.
I bought and installed 8 ply tires (wanted 12 ply, but weight and cost overruled) and put 24oz of Slime in each tire. Has already paid off as I picked up a large mesquite thorn. When I pulled it out, it hissed air initially, and as far I can tell, it lost about 1/2 lb of air. That was three weeks ago and tire pressure has remained steady, and inflated. I don't necessarily like Slime, but on my property with lots of Huisache and Mesquite, it is a necessity.
I live in south Texas and hunt near Laredo. Pretty much everything that grows there has a thorn. The worst are mesquite trees. Tire sealer is a requirement. I ran Slime in my Honda Rincon from the time it was new in 2005 until I sold it last week. The stock tires only made it 2 yrs, but I put Bighorns with Slime on it after that and ran it 7 more years with no flats. When I replaced the stock tires, it was amazing how many thorns were in them that I didn't know about.
When I bought the Viking, the 1st thing I did on the way home from the dealer was stop and pick up some tractor tire sealer- its similar to Slime, but will seal a lot bigger holes. A buddy on our deer lease bought a Ranger 900XP last year and had several flats the 1st week he had it and runs Slime now. Has saved me from walking many times.
Good info TonyJ and SA Doc, like has been said I think it totally depends upon the type of country you run in. I rarely get flats here where I live so I probably won't ever use it (I have occasionally in the past), although I just got a flat in my one week old Kubota RTV500, which has heavy tread turf tires on it!
Thanks everyone for the warm reception and all the informative feedback. There`s not a lot of brutal thorns on my property but a little prevention might well be worth it. Even though you may never know.Thanks!
I took my 3 week old Viking to the deer lease for the 1st time yesterday to fill feeders. Haven't looked at the hour meter, but I'd guess I put about 2 hours on it while there. Was hosing it off when I got back and saw at least 3 big mesquite thorns in the tires. I'd likely have had at least one flat without the sealer. May add a little weight, but it's worth it to me.
I did open her up while I was there. Topped out at 50mph, which was right where it was before adding the Silent Rider exhaust. I was worried it would affect power. Managed to get it stuck this morning with nothing close enough to winch it out. Luckily I was able to get my hunting truck within 3 chain lengths of the rear and pull it out backwards. It was a spot I've crossed in my old ATV several times, but the Viking just sunk and bottomed out. That extra weight is a killer in bad mud. Still had a blast.
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