Tires Tire spacing

[JerryT]

I have a 4400 with R4's. Dealer did not recommend widest spacing because you gain so little on the rear tires. However I noted in the owners manual that you can pick up 5-6 inches in the front by reversing tires side to side and turning them in. The front will still be slightly narrower than the rear and should be more stable on hills etc. Any reason not to do this. Thanks
Jerry T.

 

[cowboydoc]

Jerry,
I did this on my 4600. There is quite a bit of difference between the narrow and wide setting. The only reason not to do this is because then you make tire tracks where your equipment doesn't reach if your tires are wider than your equipment.

 

[MJB]

I reversed the rear wheels on my 4300 with R-4s. This will gain you about an inch on each side. I would not change the fronts to the wide position for a couple of reasons. With the front tires turned out to the wide position there would be additional load on the front wheel bearings due to the additional leverage that the front wheels would have. This would be especially bad with the weight of a FEL full of rocks pushing down on them. The front tires would also tend to scuff more while turning with the wheels in the wide position because the tires contact patch on the ground would no longer be in line with the kingpins of the front axle. The width of the front axle does not have much effect on the stability of the tractor until the axle pivots enough to hit the stops on the frame anyway. I don't think that it is worth the risk. Hope this helps.

I love the smell of diesel in the morning./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[cowboydoc]

MJB,
According to deere if you run the tractor at the rated specs. then you won't have anymore of a problem with bearings and such than you would at the narrow width. The tractor is rated the same at both narrow and wide. I know it doesn't sound right but that's what I was told anyway. I have to set mine out to the widest as I use the 4600 to bale hay and if it's not out to the widest I run over the rows.

 

[MJB]

I think that there is a difference based on tire type - R1s, R4s, or R3s as well a tractor size. The table for tire widths for a 4200-4400 MFWD shows only a narrow width. Only 2wd tractors are listed with a wide tire spacing in my owners manual. Maybe the 4500-4700s are different. With my fronts in the narrow position and the rears in the wide position the front tires are about centered in the width of the my rear tires so I would not gain any additional "straddling" width by turning the front wheels around. I hope this cleared up any confusion.

I love the smell of diesel in the morning./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[cowboydoc]

Yes you are probably right about the different sizes. I didn't think about that. On the 4600 rim you can change it all around. I take it on the 4400 the rim is solid.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by cowboydoc on 10/02/01 11:15 AM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[MJB]

The rear wheels with R-4s on a 4200-4400 are solid one piece. The R-1 rims are like the larger tractors, where they can be set to several different widths. I think all the front rims, regardless of tire type, are one piece.

I love the smell of diesel in the morning./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[cowboydoc]

yes you are exactly right MJB.