Tractor tires are designed to last for years, but when they finally do wear out they can be a pain to replace-not to mention expensive. Fortunately for antique tractor owners, finding antique tractor tires is much cheaper than buying new. Although it takes a little extra work, buying antique tractor tires is a good way to save a little money on maintaining your tractor. Here are a few tips for finding antique tractor tires.

Find an antique tractor dealer
The first step in finding antique tractor tires is to find an antique tractor dealer. A quick internet search or flip through the yellow pages should help you find the one closest to you. Having a good antique tractor dealer in your area will make your search much simpler. If there isn't one in your area, there are several websites you could potentially search.

Buy from a reputable dealer
Research the dealer thoroughly before making a decision to buy. Although the internet is a helpful tool for finding the perfect tires, be skeptical: a spectacular deal could turn out to be a spectacular scam. Look for an experienced antique tractor dealer with a good reputation, even if it means you have to pay a little extra for your tires.

Check out the tire
Like any with any other antique, inspect the tire thoroughly for damage. This is particularly important with a tractor tire. A damaged antique table might be unsightly, but a damaged antique tractor tire is potentially dangerous. Keep your eye out for damaged rubber, for threads that are beginning to show, and especially for worn treads. Using tires with worn or damaged treads increases slippage and decreases efficiency, and ultimately causes you to use more fuel.

Make sure you have the right size
One of the difficulties in finding antique tractor tires is that they are sized differently from new ones, so you have to make sure you have the right fit. There have been essentially three ways of measuring tire size. The first (I) measured the tread width to closest quarter of an inch, the second (II) measured the approximated tread width to the closest inch, and modern tires (III) are measured from sidewall to sidewall to the closet tenth of an inch. To find the correct tire size, you will need to know the width and height of your tractor tire rim. Tires will either have two or three sets of numbers telling you the approximate height, width, and rim size of that tire.