Tractor tires

   / Tractor tires #11  
With that much yard contact.. I guess you are gonna want turfs.. or maybee r4's. I love r-1 but then I don't have a yard.. I have a pasture, and need the agressive tread.

I feel either the r-1 or r-4 are more puncture resistant than the turfs.

Soundguy
 
   / Tractor tires #12  
For what you've indicated your uses are going to be, I'd go with R4's. I've used them for two years now on my lawn for mowing and multitudes of other uses from pushing snow to plowing a garden to pulling trees and a wagon. I used to have a tractor with R1's but was constantly putting dents in the lawn and sometimes tearing it up. Go with the R4's.
 
   / Tractor tires #13  
walt,

the R4's are what you typically see on a bobcat. Depending on your soil conditions they may or may not mark up your turf. I've got sandy loam, when it is wet I mark up the lawn.

R4's are definitely a comprimise, not as much traction as AG's but not as nice to the lawn as turfs. Kind of like all season tires, vs mud & snows or racing slicks.

Some guys emjoy a "putting green" for a lawn, if that's the case, go with the turfs. You can always add chains. If you're less picky about the lawn, get the R4.

There is also a tire known as a "bar turf" tire. Do a search here. It is somewhere between a turf and the R4.

If budget allows, how about buying two sets of tires? Ags for the landscaping / winter work & turfs for the lawn. Something to consider. If it wasn't so darn expensive (~$1,000 extra) I would have done that.
 
   / Tractor tires #14  
My first tractor had Turfs - didn't care for them. Tore up grass on my slopes and got two flats doing FEL work. Current tractor has R4s, wouldn't have it any other way. No turf damage, as long as you are smart(don't turn real sharp and stay off when wet), better in snow and loose soil and no flats in 2 years. Also, they hold their tread longer when driving on hard roads better than a turf does. They cost a little more but are well worth it. Next tractor will be R4s also.
 
   / Tractor tires
  • Thread Starter
#15  
<font color=blue>Draw back to the industrial tires are, they ride rougher. they have load capacities well above what a compact tractor will ever weigh.</font color=blue>

Apparently there are different R4s. I was expecting the ones that came on my B2910 Kubota to be "industrial" and was /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif to find they are apparently a different breed of R4, with only a 4 ply rating and rather soft side walls.

Someone here posted their rear R4s as being...12 PLY.

I run mine loaded with ww fluid at 12 psi and I think I feel a bounce in them. I say "I think" because the suspension seat on the B2910 is pretty good and I am not sure if it is tires or seat I am feeling, but I think it is the tires...

When I stand becide the tractor on a hard surface and shake the roll bar, the rocks back and forth, not as much as the same tractor with turf tires on it, but probably 60~70% as much. Again, that is with 4-ply R4s...

Bill in Pgh, PA
 
   / Tractor tires #17  
Walt53,

I recently purchased a JD4110 and wrestled with the turf or R4 choice. I went with the R4. I figured they would be better for plowing snow in my 400' driften driveway.

I also had over an acre of newly seeded (and very tender) lawn that I mowed for the first time. The day I got my tractor in fact. We had also just got a bunch of rain just before and there were some very soggy spots, even some standing water. The R4s did fine. I just made sure that I didn't turn sharply in the real soggy areas.

I have another acre of well established grass. I could turn as sharp as I wanted in this area with out worry.

I hope this helps any concern you may have with the R4s in regards to mowing.
 
   / Tractor tires #18  
When I purchased my tractor everyone told me to get R4's. The dealer told me to get R4's even though I was going to use the tractor for mostly gading and landscaping. Well when grading i almost aways had to drive over good turf to grade. Even in the most dry hard ground conditions the R4's ALWAYS tore up the grass everytime I made a turn. Even driving stright the R4's left a print in the turf. If you use 4 wheel drive with r4's your going to tear up the turf period! Well when it came time to add another tractor to the fleet we got turf and mainly use that tactor when we have to worry about turf damage when driving on peoples yards.
 
   / Tractor tires #19  
Walt, if you do a search, you will find that we have had many discussions on tires.

For what it's worth, I have R-1's on both my tractors. I use my smaller (25 hp) tractor for mowing, and have never damaged the lawn. I often drive my larger (62 hp) tractor across the lawn, even with a loader full of heavy material, and that has never damaged the lawn either. I don't think R-1's do anywhere as much lawn damage as most people think, and they are by far the best for traction. Unless you have an incredibly fragile lawn, I think R-1's are always the way to go.
 
   / Tractor tires #20  
I think all of the factors have to be included; weight of tractor, soil type, moisture content, etc... when choosing tread type. My lawn is not fragile, but R4s leave depressions in it. R1s are even deeper.
 
 
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