New Holland TC 55 DA tire issues

[millpond]

I would love to hear from all NH TC 55 DA owners on how they set up the rear
tires. I have R1 Ag and needed to have much smaller chains than I would have liked put on, do to the space between tires and rear fenders. Should I flip the tires and worry about HEL being smaller width than rear tires..? Should I use spacers..? Should I flip..What chains are people running on R1's
Thank you...

 

[meledward23]

See this thread in NH/Owning. It illustrates a few ways to change the hubs on the rear wheels for a wider stance.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/nh-owning-operating/99649-tc55da-tire-spacing-pictures.html

As far as the rest of your questions, details like what you are doing with it, what you are trying to achieve and such would be helpful.

 

[millpond]

Thanks for the pictures. I see that those tires were r4 and I have r1. I am doing mostly logging at this point but eventually there will be plowing 3/4 mile driveway and 3/4 fields totaling about 6 acres to mow. I know the AG tires are going to be hard on the fields but dealer really thought ag tires were nessesary in the woods. My question really then is this. Should the proper set up have been. r4 with spacers or flip rims so that a nice aggressive chain could have been put on tires. The dealer never even gave me the thought/impression that that was an option. Before I ware the thin chains, they installed, I want advise on what others have set up. The bottom line I guess at this point is NH TC 55 DA needs to be reconfigured to accommodate
woods chains. What are people doing with their tires to get the chains away from the fender guards, and to allow better movement in 3 point hitch are
you flipping tires/rims or just using spacers...

 

[Ford850]

Millpond,
Are you having an issue due to the outside edge of the fenders? I have R1's and they are set according to position 'C' in the manual, 56.6" tread. This spacing keeps the outside edge of the tires slightly narrower than my bucket and my 6' mower. I have about 4.5" clearance on the inside of the tires, but as little as 2.25" from the tire tread to the closest point on the rear outside curled corner of the fenders. I think R4's are even a tighter fit, and would definitely require more agressive chains to equal R1's without chains.

 

[millpond]

The issue really at this point is do I need more aggressive chains in the woods than I have. If that is the case I need to get those tires all the way out so that there is clearance between the tire/fender/ and chains flowing
through that narrow space. If I do flip the right tire/hub to the left I'll get that room, but I will be outside that 72 inch FEL width and I guess I'm just
getting view points from all NH TC 55 DA owners on how they have dealt with
what I consider kinda of a design flaw. The chains I have on now are really
for snow plow type work. Maybe with R1 and even those thin chains it's more than enough for all. I also agree with you that R4 are even tighter so how do all you R4's ste up with aggressive chains.

 

[Diesel-ME]

The issue really at this point is do I need more aggressive chains in the woods than I have. If that is the case I need to get those tires all the way out so that there is clearance between the tire/fender/ and chains flowing
through that narrow space. If I do flip the right tire/hub to the left I'll get that room, but I will be outside that 72 inch FEL width and I guess I'm just
getting view points from all NH TC 55 DA owners on how they have dealt with
what I consider kinda of a design flaw. The chains I have on now are really
for snow plow type work. Maybe with R1 and even those thin chains it's more than enough for all. I also agree with you that R4 are even tighter so how do all you R4's ste up with aggressive chains.

I have a TC55 for logging use too. I have R4s and no chains yet. But I'll probably move my wheels out a bit and get some chains. For now, I'm operating on stumpped out skid trails with few wet spots so the R4s w/o chains have been fine. I do mash the diff-lock from time to time.

In any case, based on Ford850's measurements with R1s - it seem like you'd have plenty of clearance from tire to fender for most any chain that would fit on these R1s..?... unless you are putting "real" and agressive skidder chains on. I want to see that if you do

~paul

 

[millpond]

The chains that are on there now are super tight, put on by dealer, so at this point I'll leave'm on and explore maybe just getting the spacers in place.
Check and make sure the wheels/tires get spread just enough to stay in line with FEL width. If I'm going to get stuck with 4wd, R1's, and snow chains
then I'm most likely asking too much of my equipment vs the wet woods I'm in. I'll take a few pictures and post them in June as I'm not at the work site.
Why if you're logging did you go R4 vs R1..?

 

[Diesel-ME]

.... I'll take a few pictures and post them in June as I'm not at the work site.
Why if you're logging did you go R4 vs R1..?

I wanted the all-around utility of R4s as I'm also using the tractor for other stuff. For example I have a camp road that I maintain that I have to drive on the paved road to get to. Plus I'm constantly driving around my "yard" and wanted to go easy on it. I am palletizing my firewood for my outdoor boiler and working that wood up during the summer. So the R4s are working out pretty well for me. This coming winter will be my 1st full winter with the Tc55. So I'll decide on chains once I get fully stuck - hopefully at that point I'll be able to find a tree within 150' to winch myself out with

~paul

 

[millpond]

I was also looking for anybody with info on Millonzi grapples. It would be great to know what weight people are using on the TC 55 when they buy their grapples. I am locked in right now on Millonzi ld 66, which weights just slightly more than the heavy duty bucket. 18la. Have you seen anything on
TC 55 owners who are really pleased with their grapples..? I have a bad feeling that once the forrest has been cleared I'll regret the R1 that will abuse
the new fields I worked so hard to create. Looks like a set of R3's will be coming for Christmas 2009.