Are you sure they're rubber, as opposed to polyurethane or some other
elastomeric compound? AFAIK most forklift tires have been polyurethane or a
close relative for many decades now. Might make some difference in
adhesion -- rubber is amenable to chemical revulcanization, but most
elastomers are pretty resistant to solvents and will present a real problem.
And in any event, considering the forces and materials involved, I bet
there's not a good way to do this cold. Maybe some sort of giant "rubber
band" installed by a specially-designed stretching tool, or mechanically
attaching a tread to the existing wheel and tire (ie a zillion little
screws) or similarly attaching lots of "track" pieces. Whatever you do, a
finger-style interlocking joint across the tread would probably be far more
successful than either a plain straight joint or a diagonal scarf joint.
You need to remember the tremendous weight of the forklift and the tnedency
for the new tread to try to squirm and squish out from under the wheel.
I bet that remolding is the only really decent answer. Maybe you can make
up your own molds and do it with some sort of super-heavy-duty RTV, and
mechanically keying it into the existing tread - rather than a plain turned
surface. But there are specialty places that do this every day and how
really expensive can it be ??
Karl
> What is the best way to adhere rubber (tire) to rubber (tire).
>
> Here is what I'm trying to do. My forklifts tires are chewed up as that
> previous owner didn't realize that they weren't meant for off road use.
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