It’s been almost 10 years since I wrote about acquiring a large tractor tire for training. With that in mind, perhaps an updated entry will help the new readers of the site. After all, a large tire is one of the best training tools you’ll find. Tires are inexpensive (mine was free), effective, and extremely durable. I’ve had the same tire since 2008. It gets beaten every week and is still going strong. There’s no doubt it will outlive me. How many other inexpensive tools can you say that about?
Finding a Tractor Tire
The easiest way to find a tire in your area is by doing a local search. For example, start with a google search of tractor tire suppliers or tractor tires near me. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find a supplier in your area. Once you’ve found one, call and ask if they have a scrap pile of used tires. Most large suppliers will have a scrap pile that needs to be disposed of or recycled. Such tires are typically given away for free as long as you have transportation to remove the tire.
Transporting the Tire
The only cost I incurred when acquiring my tire was that of a rental truck. I rented a pickup truck from Home Depot for one hour. The tire company was then happy to load the tire onto the back of the truck for me. The rest is history.
If you plan to do something similar, one tip I suggest is selecting the tire you want from the scrap pile before renting a truck. Once you’ve found a tire, ask an employee when is a good time to collect the tire. Doing so is not only courteous, but will save you time if you’ve rented a truck by the hour.
Training with the Tire
Once you’ve gotten the tire to your gym, I suggest cleaning it thoroughly with a power washer. You can expect a fair amount of dirt and grime from what could be years of previous use.
As for training with the tire, here’s a few of my favorite exercises.
I. Tire Flips
Tire flipping is one of my favorite full body, power exercises. It’s truly a head to toe movement that is explosive from start to finish. And as seen below, you don’t need a lot of room to perform the movement. Simply work back and forth if space is limited.
II. Sledgehammer Rebounder
If you are familiar with me, you know that I’m a fan of the sledgehammer. You won’t find a better rebounding surface for your sledge than a tractor tire. You can literally beat a large tire until your arms fall off and the tire will always be ready for more.
III. Medicine Ball Rebounder
Large tires also work well as a medicine ball rebounder. The tire is more forgiving to the medicine ball than a concrete or brick surface. The tire also deadens some of the rebound, so the medicine ball doesn’t come flying back too fast. Minimizing rebound can be quite useful when working with a massive medicine ball as seen below.
Final Thoughts
In summary, if you’ve ever wanted to acquire a large tractor tire, I hope this entry helps to clarify the process. Don’t let the hassle of renting a truck stop you. It is definitely worth your time and effort. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better tool for the price.
And if you are concerned about storage, the tire doesn’t take up a lot of room when placed upright against a wall. Mine fits perfectly in my garage and is hardly noticed when not in use. I couldn’t be happier with my decision to acquire it. It’s truly one of my favorite training tools.
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“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” – Warren Buffett
Outstanding Ross. My wife and I have always had a tire to train with but have not used it in awhile. You have renewed our training regiment with these 3 exercises. Keep up the great work you do with your blog. You have one of my favorite blogs to read and look forward to better training ideas in the future. Thanks for what you do. Jack and Ruth.
Hi Ross,
Thanks for the article. Finding mine was quite an adventure, but totally worth the search.
I would also suggest that you can do deadlifts and/or farmer’s walks depending on the size and weight of the one you get. You can do it by just grabbing it, or drill some holes and loop some rope on each side to use as handles.
Another thing one can do is drill a couple of holes on the groove face and fix some rope (like with the handles), to which one can tie the end of a longer rope and use to pull the tire.