New Tires for 2008 Kubota RTV-900

[mld213]

It's time to replace the worksite tires on my 2008 RTV-900 (1,500 hrs) and I appreciate any opinions / recommendations / experience offered. I have read a lot of prior posts, and have looked at Grim Reapers, Big Horns, and others.

My two main questions are (1) should I go with a narrower tire on the front, and (2) should I go with radial or bias ply?

I currently have 25x10x12 on front and back, on factory wheels. The unit is not lifted and I'm fine sticking with 25 tires or moving up to 26 as it appears I have room.

My property is in northern California, 20+ acres about 1/3 woods, 1/3 pasture, 1/3 orchard. I do get mud during the rainy season (we finally got one of those this past winter) but no swamps or bogs, so I don't need very aggressive tread. I do need some tread in order to make it through freshly disked fields and orchard rows. We have some hills, but nothing serious (a few at 25% grade, most at 15% or less).

This is a work RTV and rarely ever gets faster than 15 mph. We routinely load the bed with a lot of large rocks and concrete so tire load rating is definitely a factor. Ride comfort is not a concern. The only hard surface is about 1,000 feet of asphalt driveway down to the mailbox--I'd say that equates to less than 5% of the miles driven, the rest is hard dirt, soft dirt, adobe clay, woodland floor, pasture and plowed fields.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Matt

 

[DT86]

After my worksite tires wore out on my 900 I bought Sedona Rip-Saw 26x9x12 front and 26x11x12 rear tires. A buddy had these on his 900 on his mountain farm in winter and I was very impressed with them so I ordered the exact same as his.

They have a 1 1/8" of tread, I run them in mud, snow, pasture, gravel and on the paved county road between farms (every day in winter and often in summer) I can't tell they've worn at all over a year later.

They are a bit heavy and I lost some acceleration but the added traction is well worth the trade. They go better in 2 wheel drive than the worksite tires do in four wheel drive. They ride well even on the road and I've regularly hauled more weight than the RTV is rated for with no problems. They are taller than stock but there are no clearance issues, when turning or otherwise.

I realize you said you didn't need a aggressive tire but these wear so well I think you'd like them. I bought a used set of rims and was going to buy a less aggressive tire for summer use but these wear, ride, haul and handle so well I never got any.

If these ever wear out or I trade machines (more likely), I will buy another set.

Edit...

Dug up some pics.















In this last one I had followed her up part of the hill with the tractor expecting to need to push her through these ruts. Nope, she just kept going. I backed up and grabbed my phone to take a pic because I couldn't believe it!

 

[mld213]

I bought Sedona Rip-Saw 26x9x12 front and 26x11x12 rear tires.

Thanks DT86, I will take a look at the Rip-Saws. Great review and photos--thank you!

 

[DT86]

No problem.

I'll add, these came from Amazon and thought the prices there were very reasonable.

 

[mld213]

Yes, I looked at them on Amazon last night and thought the prices looked very reasonable.

Do you like having narrower tires on the front (as compared to the rear)? Or no noticeable difference?

 

[DT86]

There may be a reason for going narrower while going taller, such as body clearance turning sharp. Can't say for sure, I just ordered exactly the same tire and sizes as my friend since his worked well. (His was used and they came on it.)

The only time I ever noticed the rears being any wider is in snow. You can just feel them working to punch a slightly wider track. I don't see it as a problem though.

Other than it might look silly I believe you could go 9" all the way around.

 

[mld213]

Thanks. I'd heard that narrower on the front reduced a tendency for the steering to wander, but that will not be an issue for me with my slow speeds and type of use. 9s on the front and 11s on the rear make sense to me. Even though I'm not a hard-core off-roader I'd probably not go narrower than 10s in the rear.

 

[coobie]

I replaced my 2006 RTV 900 tires with Green Ball Grim reaper tires(8 ply radial) from costco $109 bucks per tire.Love them..

 

[mld213]

Thanks coobie, I'll take a look at those as well.

 

[mld213]

I decided to go with the Sedona Rip-Saws 26x9x12 front and 26x11x12 rear, like your setup, DT. Prices on Amazon were good and they got here the next day. What a world of difference they make! Thanks for the recommendations.