Adjusting width on 4520 rear wheels

[RedHawkRidge]

I had a 4700 which I traded in for a new 4520 with R4's. The new unit came with rear wheels that have fixed dish shape; so they can only be used in 2 ways: convex (narrow) or concave (wide). This was both a big surprise and big disappointment. My 4700's wheels could be adjusted to 8 different widths because the hubs and the inside dish were separate -- they could be combined 8 ways to change the wheel-to-wheel width in 4" increments.
I work land that is sloped, in some places rather steep. My 4700, with rear wheels set up with combo 5 (per the manual) were 80" from outer edge to outer edge. Tractor was very stable on sidehills. The 4520's wheels, mounted in narrow/convex, measure 68.5" Big difference in stability. If I were to turn the wheels to the concave side out, they would be 111" edge to edge. Most certainly very stable, but ungainly in manuvering and too wide for trailering.
I had no idea that JD had substituted the 2 position wheels for the 8 position type --- every picture in their literature, product brochure, etc showed units with the 8 position wheels. Not sure what I'm going to do. I already have 105# wheel weights, 2 mounted on each side, yet I nearly rolled over on a moderate hillside today. So right now I'm faced with high risk work, or turning the wheels around and having a tractor that I can't trailer and barely fit in my shed doors.

 

[arlen4720]

I believe the R1 rims are the only ones that are 8 pos now. I don't know why JD got rid of them for the R4's. You could go with spacers, or buy a new set of rims, or go to R1's.

 

[Zebrafive]

I had a 4700 which I traded in for a new 4520 with R4's. The new unit came with rear wheels that have fixed dish shape; so they can only be used in 2 ways: convex (narrow) or concave (wide). This was both a big surprise and big disappointment. My 4700's wheels could be adjusted to 8 different widths because the hubs and the inside dish were separate -- they could be combined 8 ways to change the wheel-to-wheel width in 4" increments.
I work land that is sloped, in some places rather steep. My 4700, with rear wheels set up with combo 5 (per the manual) were 80" from outer edge to outer edge. Tractor was very stable on sidehills. The 4520's wheels, mounted in narrow/convex, measure 68.5" Big difference in stability. If I were to turn the wheels to the concave side out, they would be 111" edge to edge. Most certainly very stable, but ungainly in manuvering and too wide for trailering.
I had no idea that JD had substituted the 2 position wheels for the 8 position type --- every picture in their literature, product brochure, etc showed units with the 8 position wheels. Not sure what I'm going to do. I already have 105# wheel weights, 2 mounted on each side, yet I nearly rolled over on a moderate hillside today. So right now I'm faced with high risk work, or turning the wheels around and having a tractor that I can't trailer and barely fit in my shed doors.

I think there must be a typo here. Flipping the wheels should not gain you 42.5" in width 68.5" to 111"

 

[RoyJackson]

I think there must be a typo here. Flipping the wheels should not gain you 42.5" in width 68.5" to 111"

I agree...maybe 5 or 6 inches wider, but not near 42.5 inches!

Once RedHawkRidge determines what the actual width increase is, he may be satisfied or he may want to consider spacers. I'd guess 4" spacers plus whatever increase he gets by swapping side to side should come close to 80" or a bit more.

By the way, as a reminder, R-1's and R-4's are unidirectional. They cannot be reversed and must be swapped side to side to ensure correct tire rotation.

 

[arlen4720]

You gain allot more than you think by flipping them. They are dished out waaaaaaaaaay more than the other JD rims that I have seen. I have not measured them, but for sure you would gain 15 inches or so per side. You gain so much that it's basically useless.

Edit: I just looked in my manual, looks like you go from 68 to 92 so you gain 12 inch per side by flipping.

 

[RoyJackson]

You gain allot more than you think by flipping them. They are dished out waaaaaaaaaay more than the other JD rims that I have seen. I have not measured them, but for sure you would gain 15 inches or so per side. You gain so much that it's basically useless.

I took a look at some pictures of the 4720's.
Those hubs are really dished!! Looks like the hub face is on the same plane as the outer edge of the rim.

 

[jenkinsph]

I was curious enough to go outside and look at my R4s' on the 4520, appears that it would add about six inches per wheel. I will measure in the daytime to be sure. With three weights/wheel it is hard to judge.

 

[Zebrafive]

I took a look at some pictures of the 4720's.
Those hubs are really dished!! Looks like the hub face is on the same plane as the outer edge of the rim.
View attachment 344393

Your picture is a tractor with R1 tires and the removable center wheels (8 adjustments?)

 

[Zebrafive]

I was curious enough to go outside and look at my R4s' on the 4520, appears that it would add about six inches per wheel. I will measure in the daytime to be sure. With three weights/wheel it is hard to judge.

Are those 17.5 24s? I am guessing on a 15" wide wheel. Is the wheel width stamped on the wheel? (might be hard to see with the weights on)
The weights appear to extend out past the wheel (may be the camera angle).

Are yours set narrow or wide? What is the overall width (edge of tread to edge of tread)?

 

[RedHawkRidge]

I posted this subject. Sorry for my error on the tire edge to edge width. As a couple posts pointed out, the flipped width is 92". Must have been a "duhhh" for me, while recovering from my "pucker factor" moment earlier.
Thanks for the comments. As arien4720 said, the flip would move each tire out 12" -- still way too much. Sounds like I have a few options other than flipping the wheels.
Spacers sound very interesting; i have them on my Honda Foreman atv, but never thought they were available for large equipment.
Going to R-1's may be possible, although I'd want to do all 4 wheels. And the cooperation of the dealer would be essential.


Just a side note: JD can be infuriating when trying to understand a problem. My unit's rear tires are 16.9L-24. However, my 4700 had 17.5L-24. The dealer's tech manual (dated 9/18/2013) lists the R4 as 17.5L-24. The photo on the tech's Dimensions page shows the 8 position wheels (same as every photo in 3 pcs of related literature). But the tech manual says the overall max width to be 91.9", which I guess must be for the 2 position wheels.
I'm going to address the problem with the dealer today.
thanx again.
jim

 

[newbury]

What's the width of your trailer and how often do you trailer?

The reason I'm asking is I just went thru a similar experience with my Kubota M4700. The tractor is presently in Virginia and see's about 1 hour work per month (it's on a 1/2 acre lot) since we got the lot cleared. I had planned on trailering it down to Mississippi and my trailer is 78" between the wheel wells. The tractor balances best (tongue weight about 12%) when facing backward.

The wheels are LOADED and were set so the outside spacing was about 81". By flipping one tire and rim I ended up with it at about 77.5". One tire is now "backwards". With VERY LIMITED usage (I said 1/2 acre lot) I'm not worried about the transmission. However that made it simple to load and the plan was when I got it down here I'd rotate it back. After that there are no plans for "trailering it" for years, and if I do I've a deck over gooseneck I can borrow in a heartbeat.

My point is if trailering is RARE it might be worth flipping the wheels wide and put up with moving one or more wheels around if and when you trailer.

 

[Zebrafive]

Maybe the dealer will swap you the wheels and tires from you old 4700. you would be getting bigger tires and the 8 position wheels.

 

[eagle107]

I posted this subject. Sorry for my error on the tire edge to edge width. As a couple posts pointed out, the flipped width is 92". Must have been a "duhhh" for me, while recovering from my "pucker factor" moment earlier.
Thanks for the comments. As arien4720 said, the flip would move each tire out 12" -- still way too much. Sounds like I have a few options other than flipping the wheels.
Spacers sound very interesting; i have them on my Honda Foreman atv, but never thought they were available for large equipment.
Going to R-1's may be possible, although I'd want to do all 4 wheels. And the cooperation of the dealer would be essential.


Just a side note: JD can be infuriating when trying to understand a problem. My unit's rear tires are 16.9L-24. However, my 4700 had 17.5L-24. The dealer's tech manual (dated 9/18/2013) lists the R4 as 17.5L-24. The photo on the tech's Dimensions page shows the 8 position wheels (same as every photo in 3 pcs of related literature). But the tech manual says the overall max width to be 91.9", which I guess must be for the 2 position wheels.
I'm going to address the problem with the dealer today.
thanx again.
jim

I am not sure your dealer will be able to help in this situation. It looks like the 16.9L-24 and 17.5L-24 only have 2 wheel positions. The diagram attached shows this and shows that the R1s seem to be the only wheels width 8 positions. You might need to purchase aftermarket unless you are lucky and JD still has special R4 rims with 8 positions still available.

 

[arlen4720]

I think the 8 pos R4 rims are still available though JD parts. They are 17.5L-24's though, so the OP would be on the hook for new tires too. They must have switched to 16.9's just this year??
4inch wheel spacers are sounding like the best option.

 

[RedHawkRidge]

My trailer's bed is 80". And turning the wheels is a big deal for me, so it'll only happen once. Spacers keep coming up as the best fix.
jim

 

[RedHawkRidge]

I ordered the spacer package from skidsteersolutions.com. 4 spacers of 2" width each. It seems to be the best and least expensive solution to a problem that JD created. They switched their wheels to a 2 position rim from an 8 position rim without notifying dealers or changing their literature.
Expect the spacers to arrive this week, and will have to have the JD dealer mount them because I'm not equipped to handle the heavy components. 4 inches on each side should make a big difference.
jim

 

[RoyJackson]

I ordered the spacer package from skidsteersolutions.com. 4 spacers of 2" width each. It seems to be the best and least expensive solution to a problem that JD created. They switched their wheels to a 2 position rim from an 8 position rim without notifying dealers or changing their literature.
Expect the spacers to arrive this week, and will have to have the JD dealer mount them because I'm not equipped to handle the heavy components. 4 inches on each side should make a big difference.
jim

I think you made the best choice...

 

[RedHawkRidge]

The dealer installed the spacers on my 4520's rear wheels. Charged $89, so my total cost was $439 (spacers and delivery $350). I'm satisfied -- it was the best solution to the problem. Dealer said the spacers fit and the installation went without a hitch. I now have a footprint (tire print?) that is 76.5" wide, and the insider edges of the front and back tires lining up nicely.
jim

 

[JFon101231]

Does anyone know if the weights from Lonestar can be used on the inside of the rim to act as a spacer AND weight? The 68" is not wide enough for my liking but 92" is overkill and I figure why spend $400 just for spacers if its only a little more to add weight too? I'm pretty sure people have used factory weights to do it, just not sure if anyone knows whether these would be any different. At 5" thick that would give me about 10" of width which would still easily get it onto any trailer. I'd just have to decide if I want another pair for outside the rim too

Product Details - Lonestar Weights

 

[nebo]

Does anyone know if the weights from Lonestar can be used on the inside of the rim to act as a spacer AND weight? The 68" is not wide enough for my liking but 92" is overkill and I figure why spend $400 just for spacers if its only a little more to add weight too? I'm pretty sure people have used factory weights to do it, just not sure if anyone knows whether these would be any different. At 5" thick that would give me about 10" of width which would still easily get it onto any trailer. I'd just have to decide if I want another pair for outside the rim too

Product Details - Lonestar Weights

Those will not work as a spacer since the tractor hub fits through the center of the weight. I have seen the weights placed inside the wheel. I put mine on the outside and really liked working with Lonestar.