JDgreen227
Super Member
Yep. I work in mud in the summer and snow and ice in the winter. The R4s get caked up real quick with wet clay and turn into slicks.
I've also found that the tires do a whole lot less damage going up grassy hills in 4wd than 2wd (more tires pulling the weight). Then when you go back down the hills, I'm much less likely to start sliding and skidding when in 4wd. Turning on the lawn is obviously better in 2wd though....
No, I haven't loaded the tires. Though it would help in certain tasks, I'd just sink faster in the mud and wreck even more havoc on the lawn.
Only time I ever engage 4wd on my tractor except when moving snow is when I am going upgrade (about a 16% slope) to the upper level of my big barn. Even with the MMM installed, one of the rear turf tires begins spinning on the grass halfway up. And that is moving forward, trying to back up means it loses traction at the bottom instead of the middle. I doubt if there would be much difference if the tires were a different tread.