R4's are USELESS!

[EdC]

Timber
That was a great description! I am brand new to this and did go with R4s because of the rest of my terrain. Turfs would be cut to shreds and my neighbors R1s lost big old chunks out of his tires in just a summer. I can't wait to try what you described when I get back outside this weekend.
Ed

 

[Matt_W]

When your backing out of a hole or up hill the center of gravity shifts forward with wt in the loader. You kind of think of your front axle like a fulcrum. As the center of gravity shifts forward you lose traction in your rear wheels. Dropping the loader to the ground into the float position put your rears back to the ground. That said it takes the wt off the front wheels and they can loose traction. This is where the finesse comes into play. The idea is to try to keep the ground pressure equal on all 4 wheels. If your front wheels start to lose traction pick the load up a little to balance your center out. When you crest the grade your center changes again. Use the force Luke LOL. If you pay attention you can feel the tractor balance itself. You kind of get use to using the joy stick, cutter brakes & the differential lock all together. The tractor has a lot of features that many people have no idea how to use.

That being said makes it very clear on what is happening and needs to be done to counter the weight. Now I have to practice using that force!
Thanks again

 

[MossRoad]

When your backing out of a hole or up hill the center of gravity shifts forward with wt in the loader. You kind of think of your front axle like a fulcrum. As the center of gravity shifts forward you lose traction in your rear wheels. Dropping the loader to the ground into the float position put your rears back to the ground. That said it takes the wt off the front wheels and they can loose traction. This is where the finesse comes into play. The idea is to try to keep the ground pressure equal on all 4 wheels. If your front wheels start to lose traction pick the load up a little to balance your center out. When you crest the grade your center changes again. Use the force Luke LOL. If you pay attention you can feel the tractor balance itself. You kind of get use to using the joy stick, cutter brakes & the differential lock all together. The tractor has a lot of features that many people have no idea how to use.

The same thing works for our Power Trac, but in reverse... if I have trouble mowing up hill with our front mounted mower and start the wheels slipping, I just lift the mower out of float an inch. This puts all the weight of the mower and FEL arms onto the front tires, adding traction, and up the hill I go... Like you said, Use The Force and feel the tractor under your butt. Feel what it is doing and how it is responding.

 

[RobJ]

I have been digging a pond with my Loader in wet clay with R4s with no problem. Have pictures to prove it. It is a 4 foot deep pit.

My BFG KO's on my truck work in the mud with no problem. But I'm sure mud terrains would work better.

 

[RobertN]

I have been digging a pond with my Loader in wet clay with R4s with no problem. Have pictures to prove it. It is a 4 foot deep pit.

I did tractor work at the local gun club today. they had drainage issues; I was in all kinds of slick gumbo muck. My R4's did pretty well. I could have done a little better with R1/AG, but by balancing my bucket, not taking too big of bites with my scraper, and judiscious use of the HST, the folks there were amazed.

I had Turfs; I don't do much lawn kinda stuff. Didn't need R1/AG at home. Went R4 for a good general all around tire.

All of this tire stuff could be related to car tires...

- Your average street tread with a mud/snow rating is similar to an R3/Turf. It is good for cruising in town(your lawn) and may get you to the ski resort if chains are'nt required(R3/Turf have lots of little tread edges , just like the siping on a M/S street tire).

- Your average light truck tire in an All-terrain is similar to a R4, except and R4 has a tougher casing. It is good for 90% of the stuff most people might due. It is easy in town( or an R4 on turf), but can still do some farily serious off roading.

- your average light truck tire in a Mud-terrain is similar to an R1/AG. It is agressive, and digs in the mud and rough stuff very well. It does not ride as well as the others, and you can hear them humming down the road. They're load, and bouncy around potholes. They can work in town, but are not as comfortable as the others.

All three have thier good points and poor points.

 

[Timber]

I know when I bought my tractor I thought I had everything covered and did all my research. But sadly you can not think of everything and many times we learn after the fact that we should have done things different. The dealer is not always your friend in this either.I really wanted a skidstear tach-all for my tractor and the dealer said there wasn't one available for my loader, later I found out that wasn't true. Now I have a pin bucket that would need to be modified and have an expense I didn't need to change my set up. I understand the frustration of making the wrong choice & not researching enough only to find out later that you could have done it differently.That said you have to acknowledge and move on and make your changes from were you are and not what could have been.I have been going in a new direction rather than to back track and waste money undoing what I have all ready done. There are always options and alternatives. We all make choices every day and live with them good or bad. Acknowledge and Move on. I do not waste anytime on a bad choice and decision. Whats done is done & just move on from hear. Life is to short and just to much fun to waste on disappointments we all come up against. The alternative to these issues are simple and rather cheep and in the long run probably better. Look for the strength in things rather than the weakness. If you change you perspective you can be very pleased with your choices

 

[Deadman]

OK This tops them all.................

I live in Wisconsin, and all of our snow is finally melting. So my dad decides to get his car stuck in the soft snow, and melting snow. He's driven down by his walk-out basemant and can't get back up the snow covered hill.
So I go get the 2520 with the FEL on and about 1,200 LBS of lead in the ballast box. (remember its got R4's on it!). I get a chain (no jerking planned) and hook up the tractor. Well I can move him like 3 feet and thats it, so we let the car back up and try it again and again and again untill we finally are swearing at the tractor for being so ****-poor as far as traction goes.
I then decide to get my dads ATV and see what that does (just to prove these tires are making this tractor "useless"). Well its only maybe a 800LBS ATV thats 4wd. Its a Polaris Sportsman 700. It still has the snow plow hanging on it too! ........so I hook onto the exact same chain and slowly tighten the chain and IMMEDIATELY drag the car out and all the way up the hill! THANK YOU POLARIS!

Thats PROOF that these tires belong on a "mower", not a working tractor.

I looked at putting chains on them, but the R4's are so wide that they're rubbing the 3 point arms when the ballast box is on. SO if I did put chains on it, they'd just be dragging on the 3 point arms and chewing things up. I also called a Goodyear tire dealer and they said that they can't find a replacement tire in a BAR style tire in that size.

You guys got any suggestions?

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Sounds to me that you need new tires & wheels. Get the new ones and then sell the R4's, a lot of other people like R4's, maybe you would be able to sell them and get back some of your $$$.

Good luck

 

[Timber]

OK This tops them all.................

I live in Wisconsin, and all of our snow is finally melting. So my dad decides to get his car stuck in the soft snow, and melting snow. He's driven down by his walk-out basemant and can't get back up the snow covered hill.
So I go get the 2520 with the FEL on and about 1,200 LBS of lead in the ballast box. (remember its got R4's on it!). I get a chain (no jerking planned) and hook up the tractor. Well I can move him like 3 feet and thats it, so we let the car back up and try it again and again and again untill we finally are swearing at the tractor for being so ****-poor as far as traction goes.
I then decide to get my dads ATV and see what that does (just to prove these tires are making this tractor "useless"). Well its only maybe a 800LBS ATV thats 4wd. Its a Polaris Sportsman 700. It still has the snow plow hanging on it too! ........so I hook onto the exact same chain and slowly tighten the chain and IMMEDIATELY drag the car out and all the way up the hill! THANK YOU POLARIS!

Thats PROOF that these tires belong on a "mower", not a working tractor.

I looked at putting chains on them, but the R4's are so wide that they're rubbing the 3 point arms when the ballast box is on. SO if I did put chains on it, they'd just be dragging on the 3 point arms and chewing things up. I also called a Goodyear tire dealer and they said that they can't find a replacement tire in a BAR style tire in that size.

You guys got any suggestions?

Suks to be you I guess

 

[ding2520]

I am also a new 2520 owner with R4's. My tractor was a dealer demo model, the inside of the lugs of the rear tires are knicked up from the 3-pt arms not being adjusted correctly to limit the side to side movement in the hitch. The tractor had a 3-pt mower on it when I looked at it at the dealer. Must have mowed a lot of side hills and the mower would swing to the downhill side and the arm would rub on the tire. I purchased an I-Match with the tractor and adjusted the arms for minimal side to side movement. I just got a set of chains a week ago and put them on the tractor last Saturday. My chains were manufactured by Peerless Chain in Winona, MN. The bag they came in said "Truck Chains" on it, and are supposed to be their Heavy Duty chains. I had the tractor in my shed on concrete with a floor jack lifting up on drawbar assembly. Both rear tires off of the floor, bucket down flat, real stable working conditions. I installed the chains, and felt that they fit well over the tires but the length was a little long. I have since picked up some "cold shuts" to install and shorten the chains without cutting any links out. I had plenty of room between the 3-pt arms and the chains, there had to be over an 1 inch of clearance.