Garden Tractor Dual Rear Tires

[KB9UDE]

I was thinking about installing a set of tires/rims set up as duals on the rear for more stability of my Simplicity Sunstar. I was going to bolt them on with the 4 all thread rods holding the rear wheel weights on now, with the weights seperating the tires. Any problems with doing this?? Would it give better traction for snow plowing??

John

 

[livincountry]

I suggest not going that route. The all thread is made to hold the wheel weights not the weight of a tire or the torque applied when the tires are called on for traction.

At least fab up something that ties back to the mouting for the factory wheel mount.

 

[jcmseven]

John,

This concept, although sound, never really seems to pan out that well. Probably the best example I can think of would be our hospital, which runs Steiner machines. They have one with dual wheels and one without. According to the property manager, there is no real difference between where the machines can go or what they can do. This statement regarding a machine which has a dedicated kit for said purpose. They do not plow with them, but again according to the manager of grounds the dealer said if they did plow that the dual wheels were a detriment, rather than a help. He sells virtually no dual wheeled machines now for this reason--a poor cost/performance ratio. I am sure on a standard garden tractor, things might be different, but I cannot imagine it would be worth the trouble and they would look silly on an otherwise nice-looking machine. I would maybe go for a wider stock tire or tire-wheel combo and weight it really well and save the trouble and money, and maybe an axle also.

John M

 

[TCBoomer]

I was thinking about installing a set of tires/rims set up as duals on the rear for more stability of my Simplicity Sunstar. I was going to bolt them on with the 4 all thread rods holding the rear wheel weights on now, with the weights seperating the tires. Any problems with doing this?? Would it give better traction for snow plowing??

John

Using the search function, look for a member by the name of Mith. Drop him a PM and ask him about the duals he put on one of his tractors. I think it worked out pretty good for him.

 

[Dusty]

For plowing snow, the narrower the tire, the better the traction. Wide tires tend to ride up on the snow, whereas the narrow tire will move closer to the pavement. I had very wide tires on my plow truck, and it was always getting stuck. When I put narrow tires on it, I had no more problems. When I plowed with my Bolens HT20, I used chains, and it slipped a lot. Now I snow-blow with a BX22, and it has enough weight in the rear, that it doesn't slip at all. If you need extra weigh, consider a weight box or having the rear tires filled with Rim Guard.
Dusty

 

[oliver28472]

Duals will just help the rear float on top rather than dig in the snow. Singles with weights and chains work the best.

 

[Mith]

John, see this link, that give the description of how I put duals on my WH.

As has been said, they make you float over stuff rather that dig through it. In the mud down the garden the tractor would sit on top of much that was too sloppy foe me to stand on without sinking. The stability it offers is great too. 30+ degrees is no problem.

 

[KB9UDE]

Thanks for the info.

John

 

[F100Panel]

I too have a Simplicity Sunstar albeit rebadged as a Duetz Ultima. LOVE the machine. Before I got that I did do a dual wheel get up on my cheapie MTD 19.5 HP tractor. Traction whent down in the wet. Duals as others stated provide floatation. Dry grass traction did increase/I could climb better. Side Hill stability as others here stated increased DRAMATICALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Drawback- I used the method you referenced & used the wheel wheight holes on the wheels with a 6" pipe spacer with studs welded on to go into the wheel weight holes. The inner wheels started cracking around the lug nuts. For the stability alone I'll refabricate to use the lug bolts but were I doing it for traction I would not spend the time. Currently I'm going to post here inquiring about Ag tires versus tire chains for traction versus lawn damage... With the wide tires on the rear of the Sunstar, any moisture to the grass & all I get is wheel spin unless I engage the differential lock. I'm curious which of the 2 provide better traction without killing a nice lawn. I expect damage with wheel spin but I'd like to avoid lawn damage with turning ect.

 

[Mith]

F100, I have no trouble with tearing up the lawn with my AG tyres unles I spin them.

What you say about duals spinning when its wet is true. However, with simgle wheels they tend to sink in, and I have sunk it to the floorboards a couple times, which I might not have done with duals.

 

[F100Panel]

Mith, THANKS for the Ag tire input. I was looking at your picture post & I could not agree more. In soft terrain the increased floatation has to be priceless ..&.. looking at your picture post, it makes an eye catching tractor!

 

[Mith]

Another thing that I dont think has been mentioned, with duals the width of the tractor is obviosly increased, so the track of the tractor may be wider than any attachments. So back to the origional posters question, if you want to plow with duals, watch your plow is wider than your tractor will be with duals on.

F100, with the duals and the bright yellow tow-behind mower it sure catches a few eyes

 

[F100Panel]

Well, I'df be remiss if I did not throw in a pic of mine.....

 

[Mith]

Gotts love duals, looking good!

 

[Joe1]

A few years ago the local Toro dealer was offering a front end loader on the 520i Series Toro and it had a dual wheel setup. They only had one and it sat a LONG time unsold. You might find a dual wheel setup thru them.

 

[LBrown59]

For plowing snow, the narrower the tire, the better the traction. Wide tires tend to ride up on the snow, whereas the narrow tire will move closer to the pavement. I had very wide tires on my plow truck, and it was always getting stuck. When I put narrow tires on it, I had no more problems. When I plowed with my Bolens HT20, I used chains, and it slipped a lot. Now I snow-blow with a BX22, and it has enough weight in the rear, that it doesn't slip at all. If you need extra weigh, consider a weight box or having the rear tires filled with Rim Guard.
Dusty

Found that out back in 71 when I put extra wide tires on my new ford pu.
Wide fronts make perfect wheel chocks out of mud or snow.
Great set up for getting hung up and spinning rear wheels.

 

[LBrown59]

I too have a Simplicity Sunstar albeit rebadged as a Duetz Ultima. LOVE the machine. Before I got that I did do a dual wheel get up on my cheapie MTD 19.5 HP tractor. Traction whent down in the wet. Duals as others stated provide floatation. Dry grass traction did increase/I could climb better. Side Hill stability as others here stated increased DRAMATICALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Drawback- I used the method you referenced & used the wheel wheight holes on the wheels with a 6" pipe spacer with studs welded on to go into the wheel weight holes. The inner wheels started cracking around the lug nuts. For the stability alone I'll refabricate to use the lug bolts but were I doing it for traction I would not spend the time. Currently I'm going to post here inquiring about Ag tires versus tire chains for traction versus lawn damage... With the wide tires on the rear of the Sunstar, any moisture to the grass & all I get is wheel spin unless I engage the differential lock. I'm curious which of the 2 provide better traction without killing a nice lawn. I expect damage with wheel spin but I'd like to avoid lawn damage with turning ect.

No lawn damage from the AGs on my CC gt 2554 garden tractor.
Didn't expect any either since the BX23 with AGs don't hurt the lawn either.

 

[AndyM]

No lawn damage from the AGs on my CC gt 2554 garden tractor.
Didn't expect any either since the BX23 with AGs don't hurt the lawn either.

Disclaimer: This is one user's experience. Your results may vary, based on one's actual conditions, including user's vehicle weight, terrain, and soil type.


I don't have any issues with ag tires on my hilly property south a couple hours south of here, but I won't even think about driving with them on my flat mushy land up here.

 

[sandman2234]

Duals do have their advantages, but sometimes the extra width gets in the way. Mine is 11' 3" so it makes it hard to transport, not that a 10,000 pound tractor is easy anyway! When you get it stuck, it really is stuck!!

David from jax

 

[sandman2234]

Here is the way I made duals work on my Ford 1100 which is a little closer to what this thread is about.

David from jax