Comparison R4's or Turf tires?

[HammA5690]

I was wondering which style tires would fit my needs best. I just purchased 10 acres in upstate ny and will soon be buying a tractor (jd 2320) as well. The land is on a long hill meaning that the rain water runs off the top but begins to sink in near the bottom. I will be mowing, plowing, digging, skidding logs and pulling a small trailer with this tractor.

I have also heard that turf tires are better in snow which I did not expect. Being that the tractor will be in just about every kind of soil from wet to dry and from snow to mud I was wondering what everyone would recomend for the best all around tire.

 

[Casco1]

I have also heard that turf tires are better in snow which I did not expect. Being that the tractor will be in just about every kind of soil from wet to dry and from snow to mud I was wondering what everyone would recomend for the best all around tire.

I bought my CUT with turfs and the first rain they clogged up with mud and I couldn't move, the tires would just spin. I traded them in for R4s and have been very happy with them. In the winter I have a steep driveway so I need chains. The other benefit of the R4s was that I gained several inches in ground clearance.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

We were facing the same problem...We went with R4's. They work pretty good, but some times I wish we had turf's and sometimes I wish we had AG's......So I would say R4's are for you...:thumbsup:

 

[grnspot110]

I have R4's on my 04-790, they make a good compromise between the Ag's & Turfs, not as good for traction as the Ags, but don't tear up the grass. I'm happy with mine! ~~ grnspot110

 

[k0ua]

Your have all ready recieved some good advice, but I will throw my 2 cents in here, Turfs are the best on your lawn, Ags are the worst, R4 are in the middle on that surface. Ag's are the best in mud, Turf's are the worst, and R4 are in the middle. Some R4 patterns are a little better than others, and they all seem better when new and "sharp". R4's have better puncture resistance than AG's. Ag's are better than R-4 in snow, and Turfs seem better than R4 in snow, I think they all are bad on ice, without chains, or studs. R4's have more ground clearance than Turfs, and a wider stance than Ag's which is good when "sidehilling" So if you are not confused so far, you probably have it figured out that R4's are a compromise tire, probably more people have R4 than the other 2, except for farmers, almost universally have Ag's for the better traction in bad conditions. Farmers do not have the option to wait until the ground dries up just a bit before feeding the cows. I have R4's but they are a compromise. If I never drove on the lawn, I would have Ag's, If all I did was drive on the lawn, I would have turfs.

James K0UA

 

[RoyJackson]

I've had R-4's and now I have turfs. Turfs might not damage the lawn much, but if your property is sloped like mine, you'll be in 4WD most the time (especially if it's the least wet). Without using 4WD, the turfs would spin and definitely mark up the lawn.
With those R-4's I had, I rarely used 4WD.
So, my vote is for the R-4's.

 

[tkoza]

R-4's have no problem climbing intermediate rated ski trails at the small ski hill in upstate NY where my 2210 w/FEL and backhoe vacations when it is not mowing the lawn

 

[lost in wisconsin]

I have only had R-4's on our 2320. I agree w/ K0ua in that it is probably a compromise tire. I do not mow with our 2320 but it sees plenty of time on the lawn with landscaping work. One rule of thumb that I tell my boys when driving on the lawn, turn only when you are moving. They (and myself included) have a tendency to drive up to a flower bed or landscaping with a bucket full of mulch, dump it, then crank on the wheel before backing away. This is where I have noted the R-4's tearing up the grass. As long as you are moving and not using the brakes to make a pivot turn, they do just fine.

 

[teg]

...R4's have more ground clearance than Turfs, and a wider stance than Ag's which is good when "sidehilling"...

Just to add to this, Turfs sits the lowest which lowers the center of gravity... Turf tires gains the most traction when used with chains (chain doesn't fall between the lugs...) but all tires with chains seem to be unstoppable.


.

 

[LHS Inc]

I think the R4's are your best all around tire to have. There isn't one tire that does everything the best but the R4's seem to do everything good enough to make them the tire to have. My biggest concern was operating the tractor on lawns without tearing up the grass or leaving depressions but using common sense the R4's have been great. Recently did some soft/thawed ground field work with the FEL digging out some huge field stones and they worked fine. The wife wanted them, scored some points on that job. There was some slippage from the front tires when I was getting into it right good but I thot thats ok I'd rather have the wheels slip some, stop get another bite, than doing some damage to the loader. If you're going to limit your work to one type of terrain you can just get the tire for that but over all types of terrain and working conditions again I think the R4's are the ones to have.