Tire Selection School me on tractor/tire width

[LD48750]

5. Most "standard" tractors do not have adjustable rear tire widths.

Most tractors with R-1's, are adjustable via wheel center & rim position.

With 8 possible positions, quite a bit of adjustment is available.

 

[jeff9366]

My Grand L has adjustable rear tire widths too. Four widths for R1s, three width for R4s.

Some will perform serious dirt plowing with Kubota 'M' tractors. Adjustable tire widths are important to getting multiple bottom moldboard plows to follow the tractor correctly.

 

[LD1]

Yep, most ag tires are adjustable.

If you are thinking along the lines of spin-outs....no most basic tractors dont have that.

But dish in or dish out
Hub inside or outside the loops on the rims
And since the hoops are usually offset, which way is rim turned?

So 3 variables....2 possible positions with each variable....2 x 2 x 2 is 8 possibilities. (though some of the combinations may equal the same spacing overall) Probably why the manual for a M4700 pictured only shows 5 combinations

 

[MAD777]

I need to study up on the flexibility of these tractor wheels!

 

[Timm250]

Just to throw something else in the mix look at R1W ag tires. More tread a lot better traction.

 

[kthompson]

Not familiar with R1W tires but what little I read on them have positive comments. I rather have radial ag tires for your need. Lug patterns vary across the brands, not sure the brand but few years back had a Case with radials that pulled great and were easy on turf.

 

[LD1]

I need to study up on the flexibility of these tractor wheels!

Its nothing new. Look closely at the pic of the section in the manual that someone posted.

You can see the hub is dished. So its a HUGE difference between dish in vs dish out. And the wheels are 2-piece. Meaning the hub and rim are separate pieces and bolt together.

The "loops" on the rims where the hub bolts is ~2" thick. So simply mounting the hum to the inside or outside will make a 2" difference each side.

And those loops are usually offset on the rim.....so turning the rim around usually gets 2 more possibilities.....

This "method" of adjusting track width has been around since the 1940's. And while in todays scale of farming, adjusting rims isnt something most farmers do anymore. But in the days of pulling plows, and row-cropping.....had to space the wheels to accommodate whatever width rows you were planting and for plow setup.

I looked at the M4700 bit that newbury posted again. With 5 possibilities it seems the 3 not show are the narrowest 3. Perhaps there is an issue with fender clearance.

But just in general....here are the 8 posibilities

http://www.oldfergusontractors.com/wp-content/Resources/Wheel Spacings.jpg

 

[oosik]

I would add - if you are thinking of loading your rear tires with some form of liquid, then choose your width ( rim offset ) BEFORE having the tires filled.

As an example - I have R1 tires on my M6040( 16.9 x 28 6PR, rears ). The rears are fluid filled - set at one step short of max width - each rear tire weighs over 900#.

I'm not in any position to "wrestle" a 900# tire into some other offset alignment( I have a choice of eight differing offsets). I'm pretty sure the local Les Schwab tire dealership would want to remove the Rimguard from the tire before fiddling with alternate offsets. An expensive decision on my part.

 

[jeff9366]

Its nothing new. Look closely at the pic of the section in the manual that someone posted.

You can see the hub is dished. So its a HUGE difference between dish in vs dish out. And the wheels are 2-piece. Meaning the hub and rim are separate pieces and bolt together.

The "loops" on the rims where the hub bolts is ~2" thick. So simply mounting the hum to the inside or outside will make a 2" difference each side.

And those loops are usually offset on the rim.....so turning the rim around usually gets 2 more possibilities.....

This "method" of adjusting track width has been around since the 1940's. And while in todays scale of farming, adjusting rims isnt something most farmers do anymore. But in the days of pulling plows, and row-cropping.....had to space the wheels to accommodate whatever width rows you were planting and for plow setup.

I looked at the M4700 bit that newbury posted again. With 5 possibilities it seems the 3 not show are the narrowest 3. Perhaps there is an issue with fender clearance.

But just in general....here are the 8 posibilities

http://www.oldfergusontractors.com/wp-content/Resources/Wheel Spacings.jpg

VERY INFORMATIVE. I have not seen this info posted before.

 

[drizler]

I take it these adjustments are common. Now I know what to ask of the dealers I visit.

Sticking way out there in the rear can cause you to hit things when maneuvering around tight places. Keep that in mind if you plan on mowing or plowing snow. It's nice to know you can skinny by those objects and still have the rear tire clear it. It takes a long time to get used to a wide rear set when you drove a matched tire set for years and that rear can do some real damage