I guess I'm the odd man out on this one - no snide remarks, please
DickT I'll join the R4 club with you. Your no longer the odd man out
My usage includes
1. Maintaining 4000+ feet of dirt road with a blade and box blade.
2. Brushhogging.
3. Loader work
4. Pallet work with forks on gravel and concrete.
5. Clearing snow on both gravel and concrete.
6. Pulling a disc for small food plots.
7. Occasional spraying & mowing on large commercial lots.
I don't argue that the R1's are better for ground engaging work and if that's all I was doing I'd own them, it's just that for all of the mixed use I like the R4's. I can work on my property, travel across my yard, spray and aerate, and do work for others if needed with limited damage to turf. I've also never found mud or traction to be a problem. The only problem I've ever had in the winter is on solid ice, and I'm not sure anything but chains would do well there. I have several storage magazines for a fireworks business that are accessed by dirt roads only. When we get alot of rain and I can't make it in my 4wd truck, I hop on the tractor and go without a problem. I pulled a friends 3/4 chevy out of the goo last week easily. I just keep scratching my head at all the "useless" comments about R4's. I think a lot of them come from people who have never used them. I just can't remember a single time that I wished I had different tires.