Tires Selection criteria of ag or industrial tires

[ArtMech]

Fellows,
I've noticed some of You in North America select industrial tires if even a tractor is used for similar to agricultural purposes. OK, if a tractor is a second hand one, you purchase as it is. Or if a brand new tractor will be used for special projects, eg. deep ground works...
But do some of You treat industrials as an advantage against agricultural ones? Or what is a criteria of tire selection other than special purposes?

 

[TripleR]

I keep it simple, Ag for Ag type stuff and Industrial for everything else. It works well for me on my types of soil. I was in the mud for the past two days and surprised how well the Industrials on my L5030 worked, but no doubt Ags would have worked better. Fortunately we had Ag's on the M8540.

 

[k0ua]

Well, a lot of the guys here are very opinionated about tires, so we may open a can of worms here But some of the reasons to select R4 Industrial tires are: they are more puncture resistant, lower profile, wider, will take more fluid when you fill them for stability, are easier on your lawn, and there may be others. But all that said, the guys who like AG R1 tires or Turf R3 tires will have many reasons to like them as well, Better traction or even less turf damage etc. I guess R4 tires are in the middle and a compromise or do everything well type of tire. Or others would say, a compromise, do nothing well type of tire:laughing:
James K0UA

 

[Verticaltrx]

Fellows,
I've noticed some of You in North America select industrial tires if even a tractor is used for similar to agricultural purposes.

In my case my B3200 was then only one on the lot and it had industrial tires. I needed it quickly and didn't want to pay shipping on getting a set of ag tires in so I just took it as is. I use this tractor for some construction work, but mostly farming.

I quickly found out how terrible the industrial tires were for anything but loader work on hard surfaces, so I ended up spending big $$$ to get a set of ag tires. The tractor actually works up to it's full ability now and I am getting work done much faster with less effort than before.

I think a lot of the reason you see so many tractors in this country with industrial tires is that a) the dealers push them because generally they are the most expensive option, and b) misinformed first time buyers don't really know what their intended purpose is (construction/heavy loader work.) People think they are a combination between a turf tire and an ag tire, which they are not.

 

[dex3361]

I love the looks of R4 tires the way they make the tractor sit. That said I needed traction traction and more traction so I got the R1 Ag tires and they get good traction. For me I need all the traction I can get going up the steep hills.

 

[jonyyuma]

Very good point about the industrial tires, not being a whole lot better.They certainly are proud of them at the time of purchase.I too thought puncture resistance was the main selling point, and carrying capacity? D.

 

[rjkobbeman]

I had to think a lot about which tires to get: R1s or R4s. I went with R4s for the following reasons:

Much greater weight rating. I do a lot of FEL work and wanted/needed tires that can handle the weight. The rear tires didn't matter so much, but the fronts did. I think the front R1 ratings were like 1,300 pounds or so (each). My front R4s are like 3,500 pounds (each). If you add up the weight of the front of the tractor and the FEL, you don't have much left (if any) for material in the bucket with R1s.

Much greater puncture resistance. One of my goals I am working on is clearing several acres of locust trees. The thorns I have been driving through is amazing.

Does not tear up my front and back yards as much as R1s. (This was not a reason I weighed too heavily on, however it is a plus.)

I think that R4s look cool, however I would not base my decision on that. There are negatives going with R4s, and here they are:

Limited sizes. My R4s are shorter than I like.

Limited wheels. I would like to have cast iron wheels, but that was not an option with R4s.

Limited traction. Not NEAR as good of traction as R1s.

 

[Craig B]

How puncture resistant are the industrials? I am planning on purchasing a 3720 or 4120 in the spring and it will be used mainly for bush hogging /mowing. I will also be dealing with down trees in my woods. I think the ability to drive over obstacles will be important. i am VERY careful now with my 850 which has ag tires on the back and turf on the front. It has a mmm and the original ag tires in the front created ruts while mowing. The switch to turf in the front cured the problem. The rears dont seem to harm the yard at all. It looks weird but works well.

 

[rjkobbeman]

How puncture resistant are the industrials? I am planning on purchasing a 3720 or 4120 in the spring and it will be used mainly for bush hogging /mowing. I will also be dealing with down trees in my woods. I think the ability to drive over obstacles will be important. i am VERY careful now with my 850 which has ag tires on the back and turf on the front. It has a mmm and the original ag tires in the front created ruts while mowing. The switch to turf in the front cured the problem. The rears dont seem to harm the yard at all. It looks weird but works well.

I don't have a scientific answer on the puncture resistance between the R1s and R4s. Maybe someone else can help out?

All I know is I had several pieces of equipment (with their operators) working on my property while I was building my house. Almost every time they came out, at least one R1 tire would get a flat. The one guy with industrials never had a problem.

I have torn down (literally dug up and knocked down) about 50 locust trees and have pushed them into a burn pile. There are locust thorns stuck in my tires a lot. If you were to look at my tires, you would see hundreds of little "spots" on my tires where the thorns have stuck in and broke off. I have only had one minor leak so far... and took care of that with some green slime. I am VERY happy I went with R4s... although I do miss the traction of R1s.

R4s suck in the mud and I hear the same about snow... but they are dang tough!

 

[Craig B]

Ok, thanks rjkobbeman. Sounds like the industrials are the best choice for me. I was leaning that way already. I dont get a lot of snow where I live in Ky. and I would rarely have to be out in muddy conditions.

 

[Craig B]

Another tire related question: How far would you drive on the streets with your tractor before you would consider it excessive. I dont have a good trailer to haul mine on and need to drive about 5 miles away. i would be going to my other property 4-5 times per year. No problem? Excessive? I understand that tractor tires are softer rubber compounds so they will wear more quickly on pavement. I just dont have a good measure of how much is too much.

 

[rjkobbeman]

I must add my one leak was in the front tire... which I find really odd. My front tires look WAY tougher than my rears because the tread lugs are very thick and they are pretty close to each other. The room between the lugs are fairly small. (I'm sure this does NOT help with traction!) My rear tires on the other hand look like regular industrial tractor tires. The lugs are fairly big but not real tall/deep like an Ag. The lugs are spaced quite a bit apart. I would have expected the rears to take a beating more than the fronts.

Everyone I have talked to though has said it usually is the fronts that get the leaks.

 

[rjkobbeman]

Another tire related question: How far would you drive on the streets with your tractor before you would consider it excessive. I dont have a good trailer to haul mine on and need to drive about 5 miles away. i would be going to my other property 4-5 times per year. No problem? Excessive? I understand that tractor tires are softer rubber compounds so they will wear more quickly on pavement. I just dont have a good measure of how much is too much.

I would think the R1s would wear much faster than the R4s... but having said that, 5 miles 4 or 5 times a year is probably nothing. The farmers around my area do WAY more than that.

I imagine most of us will replace a tire due to dry rot or punctures... long before the tread is gone! :thumbsup:

 

[Craig B]

I imagine most of us will replace a tire due to dry rot or punctures... long before the tread is gone! :thumbsup:

My 1981 JD 850 has 28 y/o tires! They have been on grass exclusively. There is very little actual wear but, they probably need to be replaced due to rot. Being the cheapo that I am they will have to fail first though!

When looking at the R4's I wondered why the lugs are so close. The pattern could have been opened up a bit and greatly improved traction without sacrificing too much lawn protection. But hey, no one asked me.

 

[tree farmer]

Floatation in our wet coastal climate as well as stability on hillsides were the deciding factors on R4 s for me. I have them on both my tractors. Lots of rocks and woody debris here, and never had a flat with them in 17 years.:thumbsup: Additional load capacity for loader and 3pt. is a bonus. Yeah, they don't dig as well as R1 s in the mud, but around here, digging in the mud in the winter will keep you stuck until next spring. If I need more traction, I'll get the dozer out of the barn. ...Dan.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I guess I am glad I like the R1 since that is all that I could get on my LS P7010. Industrial R4 tires are not an option, but this is a true utility farm tractor, not a compact. I also have R1 tires on my compact Yanmar and as for loading, I can round the FEL bucket up with wet clay/sand mix and the tires stand up with hardly a buldge. I dont think you would have a worry about overloading an R1 with a compact tractor. The R4 will for sure carry more and have a wider foot print and (no basis for the next statement) likely pull more on dry ground than a R1 due to more rubber on the ground, but dont get in the mud too much as they slick over pretty quick. My BIL's T2030 has R4 and it doesnt take much to spin those tires. They do LOOK GOOD though on a tractor which I think is the main reason they are put on most tractors. The wider tires make the tractor look much larger also.

 

[sweettractors]

We think of ag tires for off road and farm type chores and Industrial tires for more use on hard surfaces. Ken Sweet

 

[bp fick]

Like most guys, my tractor chores include too many kinds of work to have bought R1, although they certainly provide the best traction in most situations.

R4s on mine too. Flat out compromise, I admit. Simple as that.

Gotta mow, garden, push snow, move materials, etc. You just live with the compromise and be grateful for 4x4.

 

[MrChris]

One negative I noticed this summer with my R4s was they really layed down more high grass when your bush hogging. After a few days I had to go back and recut.

 

[jinman]

I think if you look at the CUTs on the average dealer's lot, you'll see most of them with R4s. They just look beefier with R4s and most folks don't ask the dealer to change. If I had it to do all over. . . .