R1 or R4?

[Reg]

Wow, I disagree wolc123, I have had both types and there isn't that much difference in traction. On a 4720 with 17.5x24 R4 or 13.6x28 R1 they both pull well. The R4s' will hold a lot of Rimguard.


Steve

I agree, in fact this is a point that I have made more than once.
Around 55 gallons for your 17.5Lx24 R4s about 39 gallons in the 13.6x28 R1s.
Lower ground pressure too, as evidenced by the fact that the recommended pressure for the R4s is about 2/3 of that for the R1s.
I am NOT convinced that R1s give better traction than R4s when loaded, in fact I suspect that they more easily create the ruts in which traction becomes the problem.

Again, lawn/turf ripping is much more about sharp turns on wet ground than tire tread pattern, especially if you have a loaded loader on when you make those sharp turns.
The front wheels just PLOW, whatever their tread.

My compromise is BOTH; loaded R4s and unloaded turfs, I swap at the beginning of summer and right after the gardens are turned under.
I keep saying I will add a set of R1s "one day", but whenever the opportunity comes up (a set available and I have the money ready) I don't feel the need.

 

[Diamondpilot]

R1's hands down give better traction. I pulled out a stuck dozer with my 28HP tractor that a Dmax diesel failed on and then a 48HP R4 equipped tractor.

Like said before how many farmer you see running around on R4's?

Chris

 

[ddivinia]

What kind of soil do you have? We have blackland here. When blackland is wet - R4s ball up into a total mess while R1s clean themselves nicely. I have R4s on my 4520 cab and R1s on my 5525. When it is wet - the 5525 gets used. Cleaning all the mud out of the wheel wells of the 4520 is a serious hassle.

I have never had a lack of traction with my R4s on my 4520 or my old 4720. My issue has been mud.

I was worried about R1s tearing up my yard. I have driven across my yard multiple times with both the R1s and R4s. The reality is if it is wet - either one will screw up the yard.

I recently added wheel weights to my tractors. 2 plates on each side. They make a HUGE difference with loader work, etc. The tractor is much more stable when moving round bales around, etc.

Take your soil into consideration and consider adding weights.

D.

 

[Rob-D]

Farmers are doing mostly Ag work and a lot of us aren't. Farmers aren't mowing lawns or large tracts of finished grass and when my farmer friend got over his head and couldn't get out of his driveway he asked me to blow the snow drifts for him. My tires were R4s.

It's about application. Each has a purpose and its limitations, like any machine. If you do designing you find that out right away as I have.

Basically, you don't eat with a pitch fork and you don't pitch hay with a dinner fork.

Each tire has its pros and cons. Decide what yours are. That's why they sell different tread designs.

Rob

 

[jenkinsph]

One of the first things a newbie should learn is when to stay off the tractor if conditions are too wet. You can do more harm than good.

From what I have surmised of the OP's needs is that if he is using the tractor for add chores both on and off the lawn that the R4's would be good choice. If he is rarely driving over the lawn then R1's would be fine. Neither tire would be a deal breaker for me.


Steve

 

[SFish]

Both tires are excellent, but for different conditions. In West Virginia, where it rains in the summer and the ground was soft, R1s were a must. Especially on steep hillsides. Now in California where it is dry 3/4 of the year and my ground is hard the R4s get better traction. If tire lugs can't sink in and grab the larger R4 tire patch is better. Also the R4 is much tougher and I do a lot of work in the woods where there are hidden tire rippers. If I were working ag land here I would get R1s.

Steve

 

[Reg]

I have sandy loam MOSTLY, the rest is roots and rocks - Oh YEAH I got ROCKS !.
If I had clay, blackland, gumbo, etc. I might have gone for loaded R1s.
I could get a set with rims and RimGuard for about $700 or $800, so it isn't about money.
Around here dealers seem to get asked for R4s the week before or the week after delivery, so R1 "take offs" with 10 minutes to 10 hours of "wear" on them come up quite often.

 

[ddivinia]

I have sandy loam MOSTLY, the rest is roots and rocks - Oh YEAH I got ROCKS !.
If I had clay, blackland, gumbo, etc. I might have gone for loaded R1s.
I could get a set with rims and RimGuard for about $700 or $800, so it isn't about money.
Around here dealers seem to get asked for R4s the week before or the week after delivery, so R1 "take offs" with 10 minutes to 10 hours of "wear" on them come up quite often.

I might want a set of R1 take offs for my 4520. How much are they selling for anyway?

D.

 

[Reg]

I might want a set of R1 take offs for my 4520. How much are they selling for anyway?

D.

My guess is $700 to $800 for something in the 12.4 to 13.6x28 range, but I don't know EXACTLY what size tires go on a JD4520 - or what JD dealer mark-up is, or if they can give them to you at clear out cost, etc.
A lot would depend on your relationship with the particular dealer.

 

[WH401]

Yeah riiiight! Thats why you see R4's on farm tractors. R1's have it hands-down in the traction department.

If you go back and read my post you will see that I said, "R4's are a good compromise between traction and the destruction they leave on the ground", meaning you get more traction and more destruction with R1's, but less traction and less destruction with R4's.

I said R1's are best suited for cultivation work, which 99% of the time that's what farm work is, whether your growing crops, haying, etc, it's mostly spent in a field.

Next time, think your answer through in your head before you crap it out onto the screen.

 

[RADIUM]

to be totally honest with you unless I'm plowing in a very wet field in the early spring in upstate New York I really don't lose that much traction if she starts to slip I just thrown in four-wheel-drive and away I go, I think the tire choice would be more problematic on a 2 Wheel drive tractor. there is no doubt R1 will give you best traction but, is it worth your lawn for the few times you'll need that kind of traction . I plowed and disk about 60 acres this spring and about 40 acres of land clearing rocking tree limbs and a whole bunch of other stuff during the winter maintaining my 1400 foot driveway and barnyard,snow blowing ,plowing with the loader lots of snow sometimes 3 feet in a storm mostly Nor'easters I've yet to have one incident of being stuck with my R4 tires not to mention they definitely handle heavy loader work less flexing in the side wall and a little more puncture resistant in the end either tire will do,it's too bad you couldn't try both tires to see which would be the most productive on your property .

 

[Reg]

This isn't just about tread pattern, there is the in field cultivating issue too.
17.5Lx24 R4 tires pack nearly 3ft as you go down a row, almost 50% more than their closest Ag equivalent for same/similar size tractor.
OK, it is nearly 18 inches PER ROW, since you come back with one wheel in one of the same tracks, but it really adds up across the width of a field.
This is why I am seriously considering a set of R1s, even though I know they will probably compact the soil more.

 

[dixstir]

tires we got a 2305 it came with R4 tires dealer would swap if he had any but did not so he came down 300.00 and I got a set of R1 tires and bought a set of front and rear rims of ebay for less than 200.00 now I can switch back and forth when I need.

 

[1ID]

R4's did not help me this last Saturday . Seriously for the hard clay California soil my r4's have done fine. I plow, disk,and till with them. Mine are filled at all corners, so that I'm sure helps me. That being said I would like to try r1's just to see the difference.

 

[Deadman]

R4's did not help me this last Saturday . Seriously for the hard clay California soil my r4's have done fine. I plow, disk,and till with them. Mine are filled at all corners, so that I'm sure helps me. That being said I would like to try r1's just to see the difference.

If that a floodplain, or what? Why in the world did you put your tractor in that wet mess?

 

[Milton Burro]

R4's did not help me this last Saturday . Seriously for the hard clay California soil my r4's have done fine. I plow, disk,and till with them. Mine are filled at all corners, so that I'm sure helps me. That being said I would like to try r1's just to see the difference.

Matters not what tire you run if you bottom out, you're stuck.

 

[JD3520Turbo]

I put Michelin Radials on my 3520 and 45 gallons of winshield wiper fluid in each one and it really made this little tractor a better machine. They are very light in weight.

These tires are a great compromise from R1s to R4s. Plus they are radials, so they have a much flatter footprint, so you do much less soil damage, but get better traction. They are an R-4 tire, but have lugs like that of an R-1.

The tires that came on this tractor were not the best. They had no ability to clean and wouldn't even hold air, leaking around the beads. They were the Galaxy bias tires. 42x16x20. The Michelin Tires are metrics with a size of 400/70R20, and are called XMCL. For the 4000 series tractors with the 17.5-24 is a 460/70R24. These tires have steel belts in them, and a load capacity you will never ever exceed. They are spendy, but you won't ever put another tire on the machine.

 

[1ID]

Deadman, what you don't see in that picture and what got me in that mess, was trying to get my buddies pickup unstuck. My front tires sunk first, I used the bucket to successfully get unstuck, but could not get the rear tires to clear the ruts left by the fronts. Once the rears sunk, I successfully used the bucket to completely sink the machine . Hours upon hours of pressure washer time!