Duals... Opinions?

[Marveltone]

What tires are you turning now? R1 - Ag tires?

Maybe a change to R3 - Industrial tires will accomplish what you want.

They're R1. Pretty beefy too!
R3 are next to useless in high-traction applications. They'd never lock up good enough to pull a 12' disc through less than ideal conditions. Add any moisture at all and they turn into slicks.

below image is from... TractorData.com Fordson E27N Major tractor photos information
View attachment 384294

you said you wanted flotation

regardless of 3pt hitch or pull behind. front weight is front weight and needs to be properly ballasted. more so if front tires are coming off the ground or getting rather light in the front.

Correct to a point. Front to rear weight distribution can vary to match the type of load being pulled by the tractor. G1235 Tractor Tire and Ballast Management | University of Missouri Extension
I love the half-tracks, though!:thumbsup:

Agreed, front weight is needed regardless. When you are pulling hard, the weight on the front keeps the tractor pulling instead of trying to rotate on the rear axle. The power is going to go the way of least resistance, when you apply power to the rear wheels it can one of two things, either pull a load or lift on the front of the tractor. When you have the front properly ballasted to prevent the lift up front, it has nothing left it can do except pull or spin. With the weight up front you'll find you don't lose traction as often and won't dig as badly when they do.

I understand what you're saying, but the front end does not feel light at all. In fact, it's digging in pretty good. Front tires dig at least 6" or more into the ground in the soft stuff under full load. Even in the firm ground, they make good contact and very distinct imprints. Definitely feels like the front end is plenty heavy. I'm wondering if the rear end isn't just too heavy? Perhaps I should drain the fluid into a plastic drum and see if it helps. This Major is an absolute beast as it's currently configured.

Please don't think I'm being argumentative... I'm just thinking out loud and recording my thought processes, flawed though they may be.ptimist:

Keep the ideas coming!

Joe

 

[Marveltone]

Agreed, I've seem many smaller tractors wearing duals. Main thing is make sure the outer set is slightly smaller than the main drive wheels. Just running a set with half tread is sufficient. Otherwise you tear the ground up on every turn...

Any idea what a good, slightly smaller companion size to my current 16.9-30 set-up would be?

Joe

 

[Sportsman762]

Here are some fordsons with duals
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3650/13079126624_bd3bd37e6c_o.jpg

This one needed a boat not a tractor
The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

 

[Sysop]

I'd ask whoever I was buying the rims from what they recommend. Personally when I've seen duals on smaller units the tires are the same size, but the outer ones are older and half wore, with the inner ones being new. Most I've seen there was only an inch or so of difference in the sizes.

This is the sort of kit you will need.

 

[Marveltone]

Now this looks promising. The question is where to get them stateside?

Joe

 

[boggen]

i am going to sound like a rear, but... hire someone this year to get the field work done.
cost of 2 more tires, plus rims, plus spacers, and possibly swapping current rear tires around to work better with duals, and then possibly 2nd pair of rims if current rims don't work with spacers, vs hire it out... you might be able to just rent a tractor from a local dealer. or perhaps another local farmer.

from picture, it is hard to tell how much tread is left on the rear tires. tread depth on R1 tires, can be huge. from 50% vs 100%. it is the overall bite and ability for the tread to sink a tad further into the ground to bite and grab into something.

you might try chains on rear tires to keep you going granted leaving ruts. keep them loose so they don't get lost between the treads on R1 tire as the tire rolls down over the chains.

you might want to check how your draw bar is adjusted "up/down" on the 3pt hitch. and make sure the disc / culivator is level when actually down and moving. it may be set at to much of an angle (front to back). once you have it down in the ground. creating some extra pulling forces tractor needs to over come.

 

[Marveltone]

i am going to sound like a rear, but... hire someone this year to get the field work done.
cost of 2 more tires, plus rims, plus spacers, and possibly swapping current rear tires around to work better with duals, and then possibly 2nd pair of rims if current rims don't work with spacers, vs hire it out... you might be able to just rent a tractor from a local dealer. or perhaps another local farmer.

from picture, it is hard to tell how much tread is left on the rear tires. tread depth on R1 tires, can be huge. from 50% vs 100%. it is the overall bite and ability for the tread to sink a tad further into the ground to bite and grab into something.

you might try chains on rear tires to keep you going granted leaving ruts. keep them loose so they don't get lost between the treads on R1 tire as the tire rolls down over the chains.

you might want to check how your draw bar is adjusted "up/down" on the 3pt hitch. and make sure the disc / culivator is level when actually down and moving. it may be set at to much of an angle (front to back). once you have it down in the ground. creating some extra pulling forces tractor needs to over come.

Ryan, no offense taken at all. I'm not worried so much with this year's crops, as it's too late to plant anything by now. I'm just knocking down weeds at this point. I am more concerned with getting set up for what I know is a chronic condition with my soil vs. my equipment. I'm researching to see if it's possible to better set myself up for future operations. It's as educational as anything, and rest assured, I refuse to go into debt over it. If I have a little spare cash saved up, I may invest, or I may not. Right now, I'm just researching and trying to learn. So far, this approach has allowed me to gather many pieces of older "cast off" equipment destined for the scrap man, and with a little welding, grinding, pocket change and elbow grease, set up a nice little operation that has taught me much about what it takes to grow something, as well as a new appreciation for our full-time farmers. This stuff can't be taught in a book.

As far as my current tires go, they're like new. Probably at least 90% tread, as I can still see the molding marks and numbers on top of the tread bars.

Good point about checking the disc. It's pulled by the draw bar, not 3pt hitch, and I checked to see if it's level when raised, and I assumed since it's a transport disc, the angle would not change when lowered. I could very well be wrong on this. Most of the time, it seems to be working just fine. The couple spots where it gets stuck, I can barely crawl out after unhooking the disc. I should check closer when it's lowered next time I hook it up.

Joe

 

[Tx Jim]

Marveltone
After viewing your photo it appears you're trying to operate the disk when the soil is "way too damp"!!!!!!!!!!

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Double check your disk, my tractor was able to pull a 16' transport disc, but i had to keep bumping the hydraulic lift because the front gang was plowing dirt over the axle. I think it was partly due to the tractor sinking so far into the freshly plowed and disced ground. I need to modify or adjust the tongue to correct the problem.


What size are your rear tires anyways? Are they bias or radials? Have you ever checked the air pressure in them? To much pressure and they could act like pizza cutters.

 

[Marveltone]

Marveltone
After viewing your photo it appears you're trying to operate the disk when the soil is "way too damp"!!!!!!!!!!

That's last year's photo after a test run right after a rain shower, but shows part of the problem. Most of the field I'm fighting with is just fine. One end is heavy, rich and moist, the other end is actually a little sandy, dry and dusty, but the middle tends to remain a bit too wet. Maybe it's ground water seeping up, maybe it's just a poorly drained hole, maybe we've just been plagued with too much rain. All I know is every farmer in this area is concerned with flotation. It's just plain wet and soft up here. Lots of swamps and bogs, which means lots of equipment with either duals, triples, or tracks. Waiting for it to dry up can mean entire seasons with no crops whatsoever.

Like I've said earlier, I'm researching solutions, but refuse to buy anything new or spend too much money on it. In the end, I just may end up tilling around the problem spots. But then there's the wet, spongy end of the hay field...

Joe

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