R4 vs Ag Tires on M6040HDC

[xring100]

I'm buying a new M6040HDC-1 for use on my little horse farm. Main usage will be clipping pastures, some grader blade work, loading hay bales and pallets of feed. Will also use for a small garden and haul to the deer camp for planting food plots and road maintenance. It currently has R4 tires, 16.9-24 Rear and 12.5-18 Front. The dealer will swap for Ag tires if I want. I think they are 12.4-24 front and 16.9-28 rear.

I like the taller rear tire of the ag tires, but the skinny front doesn't look like it would hold up very well with much loader use. I don't plan on having the tractor in a lot of mud, but I know the ag tires would have a lot more traction in wet conditions.

So which tires do you prefer? Do the skinny front Ag tires hold up for loader use?

My vote would be the R1s but double check on the front tire size. If they are telling you
12.4-24 this might be way to tall and give you the wrong effective ratio. The M8540 largest front tire is 12.4-24 and they only come with 16.9-34 rear or 18.4-30 rear.

Standard front tire would be 9.5-24

 

[Piston]

View attachment 352327

These Michelins give you both, an R4 carcass and sidewall rating, and R1 traction.

I do not know if they make them in the size you need.

Does that mean they fit the standard R4 rims? What model of Michelin's are these? Seems like the best of both worlds to me.

 

[bucktaker]

The R-4s are much heavier duty and hold up very well for loader work.

I would like more details on these tires.....I have r4 on my l5740 and while I will not be replacing them unless I have a failure those look like they would fill the more traction wish list of r4.

My r4's work for my uses but coming from a old 2wd r1 tractor I miss the brute power of traction

 

[TripleR]

View attachment 352327

These Michelins give you both, an R4 carcass and sidewall rating, and R1 traction.

I do not know if they make them in the size you need.

Very nice, the fronts look bigger than OEM, how is the ride quality and do you have a shot of the rear tires?

 

[deadduck]

Thanks for the replies everyone! RFB, I'm interested in those Michelins too. Do you have the model name of them? We have AgriBibs on a couple of tractors on our row crop farm and really like them. Are they the MultiBib series?

 

[deadduck]

My vote would be the R1s but double check on the front tire size. If they are telling you
12.4-24 this might be way to tall and give you the wrong effective ratio. The M8540 largest front tire is 12.4-24 and they only come with 16.9-34 rear or 18.4-30 rear.

Standard front tire would be 9.5-24

I'll check on that. I was going off of memory and might have remembered incorrectly. The 9.5 might be right. I know I looked at another 6040 with Ag tires and thought that the front seemed awfully skinny for loader work. That's my main concern with the Ag tires, whether the fronts would hold up to loader work. I prefer the taller rear of the ag tires.

 

[downslope]

I wouldn't think R1s on front would be a problem strength-wise, as long as kept at proper inflation pressure. They still have as much or more load capacity as tires found on 2WD version of same model tractor.

 

[wmonroe]

I vote for R1's, when I bought my 5240 I had them swap the industrial tires for the ag tires and have not regretted it. Have about 240 hours on the tractor now and haven't had any issues with the front tires not being strong enough for loader work. R4's would have probably been fine too and there has only been a handful of times I've needed the extra traction of the gas but I still wouldn't change to R4's. Oh, and I also finish mow are yard with this tractor in the summer.

 

[RFB]

Triple R et al,


The rear tires are Kubota OEM R1 14.9 x 26

The fronts are 11 R 16 Michelin XM27 Utility & Industrial. They have a R4 carcass and an R1 tread. They are only .5 inches larger in diameter and 1 inch greater in rolling circumference than the Kubota OEM 9.5 x 16 R1's.

The front wheels are Kubota OEM R1 16 inch wheels.

I chose this after much research, and particularly after not enjoying the "water-bed" look of regular R1's with a heavy FEL load. I wanted R1 traction and R4 stability for my duties, and these provide both. I operate them at max psi since I never drive fast.

The ride is (to me) the typical R1 feel, the bars are never as smooth as an R4 tread. All of my duties are on soil or at most gravel/dirt road, so the ride quality is not an issue for me.


Here is a data sheet on them.


http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=300773

 

[TripleR]

Triple R et al,


The rear tires are Kubota OEM R1 14.9 x 26

The fronts are 11 R 16 Michelin XM27 Utility & Industrial. They have a R4 carcass and an R1 tread. They are only .5 inches larger in diameter and 1 inch greater in rolling circumference than the Kubota OEM 9.5 x 16 R1's.

The front wheels are Kubota OEM R1 16 inch wheels.

I chose this after much research, and particularly after not enjoying the "water-bed" look of regular R1's with a heavy FEL load. I wanted R1 traction and R4 stability for my duties, and these provide both. I operate them at max psi since I never drive fast.

The ride is (to me) the typical R1 feel, the bars are never as smooth as an R4 tread. All of my duties are on soil or at most gravel/dirt road, so the ride quality is not an issue for me.


Here is a data sheet on them.


http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=300773

Thanks for the information.