Buying Advice Considering used 3320: should I replace the R4 tires? Fill them with water?

[OldNOrnery]

I'm shopping for a used JD 3320 eHydro with ≈ 375 hrs, still under warranty, already posted about my problems:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...5592-advice-replacement-tractor-10-acres.html

Property: 15 acres in California's hilly wine country (no snow), about 6 acres needing tractor work. Nothing is flat here. This is a pretty good representation of the landscape (without the vineyards).
http://www.rereader.com/listman/listings/images/351_5.jpg

Problem: 3320 has R4 tires, not Ag tires. Do I need to swap them out for the Ag tires? $$$ Should I get whichever tires filled with water at the dealer's? My inclination is to give the tractor a go as is and then swap out tires if the need arises.

I mow my hillside pasture lands from April - June for tick and fire safety and again in October to make everything pretty when we green up for winter. I need traction mowing up those hills. Getting a new flail mower instead of the rotary mower I've used in the past.

I also use the loader at least weekly to manage 11 tons of compost/year. My bins are 6 feet wide, so I'm limited to a 5 ft wide loader. I think this combo is a good fit.

My primary problem with my undersized Kubota B7500 has been implements moving the tractor instead of vice versa on my hilly property. I want to use a box scraper to remove terraces from several acres of hilly pasture lands, and I need to grub out a bunch of pasture grasses from several pasture areas. Nothing is flat, and there are lots of obstacles - ditches, trees, holes, fences. I need compact maneuverability but enough weight to turn around without my implements sagging downhill. Given that I don't work soil when it's muddy but have to catch it when the moisture is just right to work the soil, do I need Ag tires?

I'm changing so many variables with this new tractor- much heavier machine, more hp, larger implements - that I don't have a clear notion about traction problems. Can I get by with the R4 tires?

Edited to note the dealer agreed to swap out the R4 tires for Ag tires. Since he'll need the unit back in a couple of weeks to install the loader, I'll have a couple of weeks to decide if traction and ballast are issues. If so, the tires can be filled then.

 

[GreenWannabe]

Using a loader always requires ballast on the back. Filled tires, plus weight on the three point hitch - your manual should tell you how much weight to add. For mowing pastures, R1s give the best traction, and since it is hilly you will benefit from loaded tires moweing as well. If you remove yur loader to mow, be sure to add weight to the front - your manual should tell me how much is needed for that, too.

When I bought my tractor, I got it with R1s since my primary job is mowing 12 acres. I also had the tires loaded since I bought a loader, and carry a heavy implement on the three point as well.

 

[OldNOrnery]

Thanks. So loading the tires may the missing link for me. To state the obvious, attaching implements is been the hardest part of owning a tractor for this silver hair grandmother. I'm looking to buy a pole boom. Why hasn't any dealer recommended that essential piece of equipment to someone who's 140 lbs in combat boots? Most of the rest has been common sense, like using my rotary tiller as ballast when using the loader.

 

[GreenWannabe]

For ease in changing attachments, you may want to consider a quick hitch that hooks onto the truee-point hitch, such as Deere's iMatch, or something like Pat's Easy Change connectors. Pat is an advertiser on the forum, as well as they can be ordered through the forum. Pat's also has models which will replace the optional Telescoping Draft Links, which do not change the hitch geometry like the standard ones do (upper link and pto shafts need to be 4" longer to match the standard Pat's modesl). Either system makes changing implements much easier.

 

[nybirdman]

For lyour uses;do the swap to R1's(Ag) and have them filled.R4's and mud don't work with the smaller/lighter tractors.

 

[OldNOrnery]

For ease in changing attachments, you may want to consider a quick hitch that hooks onto the three-point hitch, such as Deere's iMatch, or something like Pat's Easy Change connectors.

Really? I handled the iMatch at the JD dealership. It has handles that operate like a particularly bad trailer coupler I have, so I sorta walked away, thinking the iMatch was just a different way to pinch my fingers. I'll take another look. The biggest problem here is a shortage of level ground for storing implements.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Just my :2cents: from a fellow Californian. The R4s are a bit more stabil than the R1s. You have said that you don't work in mud, so that should be a non issue. Fill them with fluid of some kind and you will think that you were on a different tractor. On my 3215, I filled all 4 of the tires, not just the rears. Made for a different machine as far as handling and capabilities.

As far as a quick hitch, these are the best IMO, but waaaay to costly. Get an Imatch and A top & tilt system and you can pick up pretty much anything at about any angle.

Good luck with your choices.

 

[OldNOrnery]

"Just my :2cents: from a fellow Californian. The R4s are a bit more stabil than the R1s. You have said that you don't work in mud, so that should be a non issue. Fill them with fluid of some kind and you will think that you were on a different tractor. On my 3215, I filled all 4 of the tires, not just the rears. Made for a different machine as far as handling and capabilities.

As far as a quick hitch, these are the best IMO, but waaaay to costly. Get an Imatch and A top & tilt system and you can pick up pretty much anything at about any angle."

Hey, thanks for the reply. The JD 3320 has already been delivered. I swapped out the R4's for the R1's. I messed around with the box scraper and already know I'm going to want the rear tires filled. I don't work in deep mud, I shoulda said. There are times the only right soils texture is a bit damp, and I guess you could call it mud: it's not mucky but it's slick. Even in 4WD, I had a few moments of slipping.

The eHydro feels like cheating, but in the end, I appreciated the simplicity close to my pasture fencing. I was totally unprepared for how much fuel it uses. I could drive my lil Kubota for hours and weeks before I needed to refuel. This fuel hog burns up the diesel like there's no tomorrow. I guess that goes with the territory of actually having a few horses to work with.

I'm holding off on a quick hitch. After the flail mower arrives, I'm gonna line up my motley crew of 3rd party attachments and take some measurements before I make a decision.