Tirs - turf vs R4 (industrial) which ones?

[Builder]

Friend of mine put turfs on his Kubota and finally removed them because the traction was terrible in mud. What's worse is that he rolled the front tires off the rims a few times when the bucket was loaded heavy and he made a sharp turn. Pretty scary. Turfs tend to have a very soft sidewall. R-4's have a VERY strong sidewall for rough loader work.

Did you check out those Nokian tires on the thread in the JD forums?

That just might be what you're looking for.

 

[jimmyj]

Seems like the R4's are the way to go. The sidewall strength is a great comment.

I have talked to Callaghan, Doble, Greendale, Lakeridge and Larkin for dealers. Greendale was the one who recommended the turfs, the rest were all R4's.

Thanks

(Sorry for the spelling mistakes in the OP, was in a rush)

 

[nathan812]

From experience my dad had a L3710 with turfs and they would fill up with mud with just a little mud then you had NO traction and the loader work will flatten the tires as mentioned above. We just got a new M6040 and got the R4 tires. I think they would fit your needs alot better then the turfs. Just my 2 cents though.

 

[ray66v]

I have turf's on my GC2310, and I have never wanted to replace them with more aggressive tires. I very much appreciate the light "footprint" the turfs leave on my lawn. I had a tractor here without turfs, never again! If I have work to do, and its muddy, I can put it off until the ground drys out. (A luxury some do not have).

With the weight of the backhoe, and the 4wd, I am able to plow snow with a 6' blade, on a gravel drive, without chains. The turfs do not dig up the gravel while plowing. Even using a grader box on dirt is possible with turfs. However, without the extra weight, I cannot take as big a bite as you probably could with cleated tires. Then, there is always chains as an option, and I have heard they work best with turfs.

I have never had a problem with the loader, either filling the bucket, or with the tires coming off?? And I have moved hundreds of tons of dirt, mulch and gravel.

My dealer tried to talk me out of the turfs, I am so glad I did not listen. For me it was an easy decision, I have soft ground about 2 or 3 months out of the year, and the lawn was more important.

You have to weigh the pros and cons of both, and how you plan to use the machine.

 

[pat32rf]

There is a rason they are called Turfs. If you spend most of your time on turf such as mowing, they are ideal. The R4s are for the heavy work where you don't need the traction of ags and want them to last longer on a hard surface.

 

[canoetrpr]

Jimmy:

I vote for loaded R4s as well. Unless you are actually finish mowing, you've got no business with turfs

My L3400 with loaded R4s does reasonably well in all environments here. If I was negotiating hills in the snow I would need chains. I get by just fine without them on my relatively flat property.

I've wondered if I would look at Ags the next time around but I think that if I needed more traction in the winter, chains would be the way to go.

The offer is still open if you want to come and drive my L3400 on a Saturday. You can negotiate some of the slippery stuff with a round bale on the 3PT to boot I just got three bales out to the horses today - the seem to be eating quite a bit in this cold weather.

BTW. I've heard a lot about Callaghan. How did they seem to deal with?

 

[john_bud]

Go with the R4's, rear loaded with fluid and a set of aggressive ice / mud chains. "H" bar at the least, not straight cross links. But, they will tear up the lawn when wet, so only use them when needed.

jb

 

[plastikosmd]

i just went from r1 to r4 and from a 1700lb machine to the 3320 at 3k lbs plus loader and 800lb ballast box. i have to say...(sorry no turf experience on either of these machines)

1) this winter...r4 do not do quite as well as the r1 did in snow..im sure the weight is helping and if at 1700 lbs with r4 it would be more noticable. however, with all the extra weight...i have been able to do what i needed. it just spins a touch more till it gets down and gets a bite.

2) i drive on my lawn when it is wet, lotta rain here, snow then melt etc. the lighter machine with the r1 was bad but man the r4 have destroyed the lawn. if you run over an area more than 2-3 times..phew what a mess. no big deal as will now be adding a road around property to the shed. im sure when conditions are dry it will be better. but if you drive over your lawn a lot when it is wet it is noticible. im not complaining and it is to be expected going from a SCUT to a CUT at more than twice the weight.

 

[Botabill]

I've had turfs for about 4 years and it's a rare day that I would prefer a heavier thread. usually the heavier thread is useful when using ground engagement equipment in soil or mud. I would like to get some ag tires but not sure if the amount of use they will get makes it worth while. Even if I get them I'll keep the turfs.

 

[sugarmaple]

Since chains have figured in this conversation, perhaps my experience with them may be of use. I have a Kub4330 that I use in the woods clearing, logging, and moving snow, frequently on ice, among other uses and have found that R-4s need chains to work for me. (FWIW, I have been told that turfs are not as puncture resistant in the woods, but I have no hard evidence of this) My first set of chains was the duogrip or trugrip style, but they rode rough on pavement and traction was not what I wished. This year I bit the bullet and sprang for a set of Hakki chains from Union Farm Equip in ME. They are much superior and well worth the price in terms of traction and smoothness of ride. So far very happy with both chains and UFE. Their service, followup, knowledge, and friendliness were exceptional at every turn.
Tellefsdal and Trygg make similar chains that look even nicer, but are just about impossible to find in my experience, I speculate because they are expensive to inventory and buy relative to the demand for them. For my 17.5L-24 R-4's, I had to cut off 25% of the Hakki chain length in the size appropriate for the width of this tire which seems to speak to the difficulty of inventorying this type of chain. One part number must fit many tires.

The other day I pulled a whole 20" dbh maple nearly full length out over snow with soft ground underneath such that I had to use the bucket as a skid to keep the front end from sinking in. On ice, the traction was even better. Uphill, on ice, the load would raise the front end such that steering had to be done with the brakes. Amazing traction.