Tires R4s or Turf Tires

[ahenthus]

My new B7610 was delivered yesterday and I promptly put 3 hrs on it. I mowed the whole 3 acre lawn after mowing a fringe around the 7 acre pasture fence. I mowed some work trails to the livestock barn too. It really does it much faster than the old mower and is much more comfortable. Only one drawback so far. The R4s dig into the lawn more than I'd like and the dealer told me he'd switch them to turf tires if I didn't like the R4s. I doubt my loader work will be heavy duty enough for it to matter and we don't often get much snowfall here in SC so I think the turfs will do fine. When I called the dealer he said he'd never had anyone say the R4s had damaged turf. It could be that I was too aggressive with my turns in some places. It also could be that the grass is not fully greened up and full yet. Early in the mowing season my lawn tends to be very weedy and dry. Later, after a few good rains it becomes fairly lush and may accept the R4s better. I'm in a small quandry now because I'd rather keep the R4s but the dealer will only switch during the first few hrs. Any tire advice out there? Thanks, Claude

 

[Tom_H]

The majority of BX owners, including myself, are of the opinion that R4s cause little turf damage under proper conditions, and provide good traction when doing loader or snow work, while turfs do not provide the necessary traction for snow or loader work. I cannot speak with experience about the B series.

I can say that the only time my R4s have had problems on the turf is when the clay soil has been supersaturated by too much rain or irrigation, or when I forgot and left the tractor in 4wd. When turf is not overly wet, and I am in 2wd, I never have problems. (Were you in 4wd? If so, you might go do a couple of turns on the turf in 2wd and see if it differs.)

When I bought the tractor, I got both sets of tires on separate rims. I also bought a hydraulic jack, wheel chocks, and electric impact wrench, all on sale and cheap at Harbor Freight. This allowed me to change tires NASCAR pit stop quickly (actually, more like 4 min.) whenever I thought I needed to change tires for a different application. Thing is, I found I couldn't do loader work with the turfs on, and the R4s didn't harm the sod, so the turfs have been laying under the house for almost 6 years.

The experiences of others may differ from mine so consider the advice that best rings true to your conditions. Good luck with your decision.

 

[bialecki]

I have Turf tires on my B7800 and they are loaded with RimGuard and I have plowed snow on a gravel driveway in the Winter and now doing yard work. The Turf tires performed well on my driveway in the snow as well as grading some newly opened space in my yard while using my FEL moving 60 yards of dirt around. The Turf tires perform well on the grass, however, 4 wheel drive will still chew up the grass when making a tight turn.

 

[KeithInSpace]

I run turf tires, unloaded. I have no problems with an 8" snow using the FEL without chains or any other assistance other than the BoxBlade on the back.

I concede that I run out of traction fairly quickly when doing loader work in clay, but I'm not certain that R4's would make THAT HUGE of a difference in that condition...when you slip, you slip. Certainly R1's (Ag's) would help greatly, but they do a number on fine lawn and are rough riding on pavement.

In the end, if you're willing to make the 'minor' sacrifice in loader traction, turfs work really well for many applications. If your tractor was 2WD, you'd need Ag's, but the 4WD makes up for a LOT of traction defficiency.

Put another way...I've been running turfs for a year. I've pushed my machine to its limits on loader work and stump pulling, where traction is at a premium. I haven't bought different tires and I intend to replace my turfs with turfs when the time comes.

 

[hazmat]

My advice is - if you call it "lawn" - get turfs, if you call it "yard" keep the R4s.

I started with R4s on my TC18 (similar to small B series) and they were tearing up my lawn. I ended up buying some "take off" turfs to remedy the problem. Now I've got both. The R4s are loaded, Turfs are empty. Turfs do surprisingly well in the snow, my biggest complaint is they aren't as puncture resistant as the R4s, but some slime in the fronts has remedied that problem.

My next machine (B3030) will have loaded turfs. For an extra $1,000 you could get both.

 

[kwolfe]

I will second Kieth's comments. I have been running turfs for the past year. I have been using them for mowing, FEL work, snow plowing as well as a good amount of box blade work. If I loose traction I put it in 4WD. I was surprised how well they performed when doing dirt work. Again, since my machine is used to finish mow my 2 acre lawn, I prefer the turfs for a nicer finish.

 

[mozark]

I have a BX2350 with R4's and mow approx 6 acres. The R4's have enough better traction that I don't spin out and have to shift into 4wd on slopes when the grass is a little damp or you're mowing around a tree. The R4's also don't appear to leave tire tracks in the mowed grass as bad as my lawn tractor with the turf tires on it. Just my 2 cents.

 

[crbr]

My new B7610 was delivered yesterday and I promptly put 3 hrs on it. I mowed the whole 3 acre lawn after mowing a fringe around the 7 acre pasture fence. I mowed some work trails to the livestock barn too. It really does it much faster than the old mower and is much more comfortable. Only one drawback so far. The R4s dig into the lawn more than I'd like and the dealer told me he'd switch them to turf tires if I didn't like the R4s. I doubt my loader work will be heavy duty enough for it to matter and we don't often get much snowfall here in SC so I think the turfs will do fine. When I called the dealer he said he'd never had anyone say the R4s had damaged turf. It could be that I was too aggressive with my turns in some places. It also could be that the grass is not fully greened up and full yet. Early in the mowing season my lawn tends to be very weedy and dry. Later, after a few good rains it becomes fairly lush and may accept the R4s better. I'm in a small quandry now because I'd rather keep the R4s but the dealer will only switch during the first few hrs. Any tire advice out there? Thanks, Claude

Same scenario with me. I called the dealer and ask for an even trade for the turfs and he was OK with that. I like the turfs, even with the loader. They work fine for me, as the same thoughts of the yard. Turfs are indeed a bit easier on the grass. For my preferences, I am pleased that I made the trade.

 

[hagman]

I had R4's on my 7610 when I first bought it and just went to turfs this Spring. I couldn't get the R4's off fast enough! I live in Central, IL and the ground gets soft here in the Spring and the R4's were really tearing up my yard. I have a FEL and with the box scraper on the back I can't tell a lot of difference between the two when using the FEL. I suspect that if I was in mud or a lot of loose soil it might be different but I won't be using my tractor in those conditions 90% + of the time.

Hagman

 

[crbr]

I had R4's on my 7610 when I first bought it and just went to turfs this Spring. I couldn't get the R4's off fast enough! I live in Central, IL and the ground gets soft here in the Spring and the R4's were really tearing up my yard. I have a FEL and with the box scraper on the back I can't tell a lot of difference between the two when using the FEL. I suspect that if I was in mud or a lot of loose soil it might be different but I won't be using my tractor in those conditions 90% + of the time.

Hagman

Mud in Decatur is like mud nowhere else. I used to live in Argenta. Worked at the power plant while there. Elam's rootbeer.. Yummmmm.. I think they are gone now.

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