East Texas Piney Woods Tire advice

[EddieWalker]

I'm about 10 miles North of Tyler and my soil is mostly red clay with some iron ore in some areas. In winter, when it's wet, it's a snotty mess that's best to avoid. In summer, it's as hard packed as concrete and it really doesn't matter what tires you have, they all work great. I have R1's on my tractor and they work great.

In my opinion, Kubota is the standard that all other small tractors compare to. I would base the size of the tractor on how much land you have, and how big of a mower that you want to use. I have a 6 foot rotary cutter that I pull with my 37 hp 4x4 open station tractor, and it's a little underpowered when I get into thick stuff. If I keep everything mowed, it has plenty of power, but if the grass gets too tall and thick, I really have to slow down when cutting it. I haven't found anything that it wont do, it just takes longer in some areas. I would never buy this small of a tractor again.

I am starting to look for a bigger tractor. As I clear my land, I have more area to take care of, I want a cab and to be able to pull a 15 foot batwing. More hours on the tractor is not my goal, there are way too many other things that I want to do, and new projects never end. Get the biggest tractor possible, and maybe a little bigger. Your first couple of years, it will be fun being out there on the tractor, but then it becomes a chore that you have to do, and the longer you spend doing that chore, the more of a chore it becomes.

 

[RancherGuy]

Howdy y'all. We finally closed on a property in North East Texas. It is mostly trees sitting on sandy loam soil. The plan is to build a small place and 'retire' to manage the property. No lawn planned or desired. We are looking to buy a compact tractor in the 25-45 HP range. Leaning toward Kubota .... Tractor will be used for keeping open areas cut (rotary cutter, methinks), some forestry work (planting, pruning, thinning) and landscape maintenance (dirt/rock driveway, fencing, tilling).

Regarding tires, be aware that you will not be able to exchange tires between R1 & R4/R14 without also changing rims. So start with what you think you will want to live with, even if it means checking inventory with other dealers.

If you are interested in non-tires issues, I have plenty of experience. Of the 7 tractors I've owned, 3 were Kubotas; down to 1 Kubota now. All were/are "L" series. One straight gear, one HST, one GST transmission. FYI, I hated the HST because of the noise and power drain. I love the GST. Suggestion: you really want a loader. Second for your situation would be a rotary shredder (brush/bush hog to some). If you are considering anything else in attachments, you may want to ask the question with a new topic on this website - there are some very experienced people here. You didn't mention acreage, but like many things, one may start with something small and determine that they really need something larger, so they end up trading very soon after buying, so if you can swing it, aim for the high end of your estimate to avoid the trade-in hit. If you keep it shedded and treat it right, it's very possible that you will sell it after 20 years for what you bought it for - regardless of size, thus you don't save anything by buying too small.

 

[oosik]

JAXS - you can keep your pigs, thank you. Our wild turkeys can do enough damage all by themselves.

I started with a brand new Ford 1700 4WD & R-1 tires. Rears were loaded with NaCl - bad mistake. After 27 years I traded the Ford in and got a new Kubota M6040 4WD & R-1 tires. Rears are loaded with RimGuard. Great product.

The Ford got all my smaller projects completed. The Kubota is tackling the larger ones.

 

[jeff9366]

We finally closed on a property in North East Texas. It is mostly trees sitting on sandy loam soil. I am a bit concerned that R1's may tear up the soft soil. R4's or R14's are also options, but not sure if those will have good enough traction when it is wet.


The plan is to build a small place and 'retire' to manage the property.

In my mind R1/ag tires are mud tires. The bars on R1 tires equate to the side-paddles on an old steam powered riverboat.

If your sandy loam has puddles 24 hours after a heavy rain, you might consider R1 tires. But is probably will not puddle that long.

Tractor will be used for keeping open areas cut (rotary cutter, methinks), some forestry work (planting, pruning, thinning) and landscape maintenance (dirt/rock driveway, fencing, tilling).

None of above is time sensitive. In retirement you do not have to plow or seed before a rain front. You do not have to harvest a crop immediately for the best price. If tractor conditions are not right, do something else for a day.

R1 tires are 4-ply tires. R-4 tires are 6-ply tires. R-4 tires are slightly smaller in diameter, therefore they have slightly more pulling power (geared down) than R1s. However, ballasting the rear wheels/tires affects traction more than tire selection.

I maintain a community burn pit limited to yard debris. Many, many times I have been glad for the 10-ply R4 front tires which came standard on my Kubota 'Grand L' when pushing up flaming debris in the pit. I have only 37-horsepower and my tires are inflated with air. If I do not have traction, or if I melt a front tire, it is conceivable the tractor could burn in a flare up.
While tractor tires do not puncture easily, the sidewalls of R1s are more vulnerable to cuts than the sidewalls of tougher R4s.

Attachments

• 
  DSC00071.jpg

  4.9 MB · Views: 336
• 
  DSC00381.jpg

  1.2 MB · Views: 363
• 
  DSC00377.jpg

  1.1 MB · Views: 309
• 
  DSC00420.jpg

  1 MB · Views: 444
• 
  DSC00362.jpg

  1.1 MB · Views: 254

Attachments

• 
  DSC00359.jpg

  1.1 MB · Views: 227

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

My vote is for R-4's. I have pushed 18" of snow down the 2200' long driveway using the loader bucket without any issues. I have run over chola and prickly pear cactus to the point that the tires were "covered" in cactus needles without getting a flat! As Jeff said, R-4's are 6 ply... a lot tougher.

As for tractors, There is an absolutely fantastic LS dealer, RCO Tractor in Spicewood and Greenville. You would probably get a bigger tractor AND some attachments for less than the Kubota. Speak to John, he is one of the owners, tell him Ted referred you.

Good luck with your seach and let us know what you get!

 

[Torvy]

Thanks for the input. Greenville is a bit far, Spicewood is way too far. I'm hoping to have a dealership within about 50 miles. Greenville is almost double that. Tyler has an LS dealer that is about the furthest I would want to tow a tractor.

I am still trying to decide on the tires. They make 6 ply R1s. Also could get R14 6 ply.

 

[K5lwq]

The Tyler LS dealer had a few fires not long ago. One then another about a month later. I have wondered what that was about.

 

[WM75Guy]

The Tyler LS dealer had a few fires not long ago. One then another about a month later. I have wondered what that was about.

Ex-employee. He was arrested and charged.