Tires Turf tires - traction?

[JimS]

I have a Kubota L3600 with Ag tires. Wife complains about the tires on the lawn but have resisted changing them. I try to avoid running it on the grass right around the house when the ground is soft.

I use the tractor for brush hogging, a little pulling of small stumps and some FEL work. Sometimes I need the traction of the Ag tires even with 4 wheel drive and locked differential. I also have some hills that are about at the limit of what I am comfortable going up and down.

How much of a difference am I going to see if I go to turf tires?

 

[RoyJackson]

If you do go to turfs, you'll probably want chains for everything else.
You might consider going to R-4 Industrials. They'll provide more traction then turfs.

 

[JDGreenGrass]

I wish I had 2 sets of tires....I have Ag's and they are great for the winter but, I wish come April I could just change them out and go with turf's through the summer and fall......ding ding ding ding $$$$$$$$$.:laughing:

No question that you will not have the traction that you get out of your Ag's.

Not to hi-jack the thread but.....How many operators have 2 sets of tires on rims for different seasons.??

 

[oldballs]

I kinda like the idea of two sets. Having already bought a "spare" front tire/wheel due to the the leaky front tire problem, it would seem sensible especially for someone who is really in business with their tractor or subject to extremes of operations. I guess there is no "one size" fits all to tractors or tires. Using rear chains could be more convienent or economical. Maybe I'll do that.:confused2:

 

[ramoffroader]

You will get plenty of traction with turf tires. They have a bigger contact patch on the ground than AG tires. Yes they are not great in mud. Plowed snow for 3 winters and they will work better than you think.

 

[MMagis]

You will get plenty of traction with turf tires. They have a bigger contact patch on the ground than AG tires.

That's great for a race car, on concrete. Not good for a tractor in dirt or wet grass.

 

[Doug_D]

With turf you will slip going up a grass covered hill on a damp day. If you work your machine any at all (pushing, loader, pulling, etc.), you will quickly learn to hate turf tires. Trying to find a nice way to say that turf tires will turn your tractor into a mower.

After only 2 weeks of owning an F series mower, I had the turf tires taken off and bar\cleat tires installed. Even on a slight slope I was tearing up all kinds of turf slipping. I still have the turf tires down in the barn...Guess I should ebay them. They will never be on another machine I own.

Sorry, but with 3 kids and a job, I am not always given perfect conditions to mow. Sometimes I just have to get out there and get the job done....Guess I could wait and get out the haybine later :laughing:

 

[TripleR]

Sorry, but for what you describe I don't believe turfs will work well for your use. I have found industrial (R4) to be a fair compromise, but compromise nonetheless.

 

[jdfire]

Lots of valid opinions on here, both for and against turfs. No style of tire will be great at everything. I will just add that I have turfs on my tractor and have been happy with them. I added a set of rear chains this year which made a big difference dealing with snow and mud. I do a variety of tasks with my tractor, including boxblading, disking, brush hogging, FEL work, and backhoe work. When dealing close to the house I like that the turfs don't tear up the lawn.

 

[TripleR]

Smaller tractors don't seem to have as much trouble with traction using turfs as larger tractors. We have used them on both and have compromised on our Massey Ferguson 375 by having turfs on the rear and Ag's on the front, otherwise traction is unacceptable.

 

[brin]

You will get plenty of traction with turf tires. They have a bigger contact patch on the ground than AG tires. Yes they are not great in mud. Plowed snow for 3 winters and they will work better than you think.

I completely agree, I have had turf tires on my TC-29 for 9 years now and had not problem with traction, again it may be because they are so wide and they are loaded. They are sure nice on the lawn and yet I have no problem with using the FEL, bush hogging or grading the road.

 

[brandoro]

That's great for a race car, on concrete. Not good for a tractor in dirt or wet grass.

Turf tires aren't slicks, they have as much or more tread pattern to them as most off road pickup tires.
This is my third tractor with turfs, I like them for having pretty good traction on most surfaces and for not digging deep holes within the first couple of seconds of having less than adequate traction.
As far as turning my tractor into a mower, I would say that less than 10% of my tractor time involves the RFM. The rest of the time I am digging dirt or playing skidder or doing some other job that popular opinion might say turfs can't do.
Having said all that, tires that suit me perfectly might be the worst thing ever for others. Depends on soil type, snow type, terrain, how heavy or light the tractor and attachements is. You pretty well have to decide for yourself what will be best. The answer could be two sets of tires and wheels.

 

[techwrtr2]

I have two sets of wheels/tires for the 855. Fall through early spring I run R4's. They give acceptable traction in the nasty stuff and don't kill the grass in the overlapping period. Summer months I run turfs allround. I've been known to have turfs up front and R4's in back during the transition period in spring/fall.

One drawback I have encounted is that since the rears are loaded... it's rather heavy work.

As long as conditions aren't muddy, I've had really good results using the tractor and FEL with the turfs on. In fact under some conditions they work a bit better for loader work.

 

[TripleR]

Unless you have tried both, it is really hard to give an informed opinion. What you "think" is good traction may not turn out so good in comparison to something else once you try it. I would never have tried R4's on my own, but after using them find they work much better than I would have imagined.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I wish I had 2 sets of tires....I have Ag's and they are great for the winter but, I wish come April I could just change them out and go with turf's through the summer and fall......ding ding ding ding $$$$$$$$$.:laughing:

No question that you will not have the traction that you get out of your Ag's.

Not to hi-jack the thread but.....How many operators have 2 sets of tires on rims for different seasons.??

I did, but found I never wanted to put the turfs back on after the 1st change. Sold em before they dry rotted.
larry

 

[JoeL4330]

I have loaded turfs and lots of steep hills to mow...and not infrequently I mow in the morning dew...great traction and lots better than the R4s they replaced. In the winter I chain all 4, mostly because of ice on my 1/2 mile uphill driveway. Only once did I have a problem and that was in mud: I uncovered a spring inadvertently. I could have dug a much bigger hole for myself quicker with Ags, but why?...as was pointed out, turfs have a tread much like the AT all-terrain tires you might put on a 4x4 truck ...in fact, I know I can pull my F350 out of conditions in which it was stuck. I would say that, except for the romp in the spring, I have never spun the tires (HST) ...

as for two sets of tires, that's out of the question for me...the loaded rears would require a chain hoist to deal with and dangerous to boot ...and, given their size and cost, if I had to run Ags on my 4330, I'd buy a ZTR to mow with !!

 

[bp fick]

I did, but found I never wanted to put the turfs back on after the 1st change. Sold em before they dry rotted.
larry

Did the very same.

 

[fredhargis]

I wish I had 2 sets of tires....I

Not to hi-jack the thread but.....How many operators have 2 sets of tires on rims for different seasons.??

I'm a new compact tractor owner, and concluded early in my learnings that one set of tires won't do everything. I'm not even sure 2 sets will, but I bought my tractor with the R-4's, and then scoured around for a used set of turfs, found them with wheels that will fit for $850....seems like a lot of money, just hope it works as well as I think it will: using the turfs for the mowing and the R-4's for most other stuff.

 

[PHILIP8N]

I have turfs on my Kubota L3940. I was very happy with thier performance this winter using my 7' front blade and 7' rear blade. For finish mowing and bushogging, I have not slipped a tire in wet grass. FYI, Kubota has 3 sets of turfs, standard, deluxe, and galaxy. The standard turfs are sub par. I have the deluxe, very aggressive and deep tread pattern. The galaxy are for golf course duty. If you see the grand L series brochure, they show the deluxe turfs in thier pictues. Philip.

 

[TripleR]

I have turfs on my Kubota L3940. I was very happy with thier performance this winter using my 7' front blade and 7' rear blade. For finish mowing and bushogging, I have not slipped a tire in wet grass. FYI, Kubota has 3 sets of turfs, standard, deluxe, and galaxy. The standard turfs are sub par. I have the deluxe, very aggressive and deep tread pattern. The galaxy are for golf course duty. If you see the grand L series brochure, they show the deluxe turfs in thier pictues. Philip.

Do you have any pictures of your tractor?