TireBalls equipped the XVII Airborne Corps/525 with John Deere Gator for an excercise in Nevada testing long range surveillance equipment.  Lt. Jeffrey Hughes wrote:  The night tactical 67 mile route consisted of a series of improved roads, unimproved roads, and open terrain (mostly the latter 2). The gators held up tremendously as did the Tireballs. The other three gators without the Tireballs all suffered multiple flat tires each costing us valuable time for repairs. A flat tire on an unloaded gator is not usually a big deal but when loaded with over 2000lbs of pax and gear it can be catastrophic. Having the Tireballs saved us valuable time and energy. In addition to this the Tireballs allow us to air down the tires in order to gain traction on the sand and rocks without breaking the tire bead.