i've read where r4's don't tear up the lawn so much. however, the weight of the tractor will start to affect that situation at some point. will filled r4's on a L3130 with LA723 FEL, bucket, and weight box still be "ok" for protecting the lawn, or is this arrangement going to start tearing up the turf? thanks.
Any tractor will tear up turff under the right conditions, my B2400 with R4's will make a mess if the lawn is wet and i make sharp turns, for that matter so will my GT. Even in dry weather when the ground is hard, make enough runs over the same area and you will scuff the turf, especially in 4WD
Filled tires should be enough on their own (about 450Lbs. per tire on a L3130) depending on useage. R4's are nice for the lawn as long as it is relatively dry and you take it easy on the turning
Even without adding any weight, the 3130 with R4's will eat some turf time to time. Just spinning the steering wheel to fast will do it. Moisture content is important and even when its been dry you still have to be careful. Most of the ruts I've made with my R4's so far I've been able to flatten out with the lawn mower. (hehe its still new and i couldn't resist)
Best way is to run turfs, but turfs aren't cool. Seems lately many with the R4 say they are almost useless in the mud because they pack up easiely, not as self cleaning as an ag. There is a recent thread about this. So this lesson might mean turfs are close to R4's for non mud conditions. Can't say for sure. With my turfs there is a big loss of traction in the dry stuff vs. the ags. Not sure how the R4 compares in that. The turfs being about 1.5 times wider and flatter would not have left a mark.
But turfs might be more expensive than an R4 upgrade. I bought ags and have the rims so I can swap out the ags for turfs. Either way I think you need different rims for all. Turfs, small/wide rim, ag narrow tall rim, R4 is a wider rim than an ag but taller than a turf. If I'm recaling correctly when I researched this for my L2500. Since I'm done cutting ATV and hunting clearings for a while, I'll probably put the turfs back on for the spring/summer. Just a little rain last weekend and my ags were laying some marks on the ground just going straight.
I have R4s on mine and they do a number on the lawn early season or after any rainy periods. I try to minimize my turning radius on the grass and I keep it in 2 wheel drive. In 4wd, the front tires bite more on a turn and will pull up the turf.
Really, there are no options other than R4s. Ags do more damage... and turfs are not good for loader work.. or anything requiring real traction.
With a tractor this big and heavy.. anytime you're on the lawn your doing damage even if you don't see it.. Soil compaction is the biggest problem. You'll notice the grass thinning out in areas that you drive over alot. Best you can do is minimize the traffic and buy a core aerator for the garden tractor.
I finish mowed my lower field (the Wife's playground) with loaded R1 aggies on my L3010 once the ground was dry and scarcely made a mark at all. It helps if you remove the FEL to shed that weight up front, and use gentle turns in 2wd. R4s ought to be just fine, though you still want to stay off till things dry up a bit.
By the way, now we use sheep for finish mowing and they leave no imprint at all, plus they fertilize the lawn in the process! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
