Tires Selection criteria of ag or industrial tires

[Craig B]

Another tire related question: How far would you drive on the streets with your tractor before you would consider it excessive. I dont have a good trailer to haul mine on and need to drive about 5 miles away. i would be going to my other property 4-5 times per year. No problem? Excessive? I understand that tractor tires are softer rubber compounds so they will wear more quickly on pavement. I just dont have a good measure of how much is too much.

 

[rjkobbeman]

I must add my one leak was in the front tire... which I find really odd. My front tires look WAY tougher than my rears because the tread lugs are very thick and they are pretty close to each other. The room between the lugs are fairly small. (I'm sure this does NOT help with traction!) My rear tires on the other hand look like regular industrial tractor tires. The lugs are fairly big but not real tall/deep like an Ag. The lugs are spaced quite a bit apart. I would have expected the rears to take a beating more than the fronts.

Everyone I have talked to though has said it usually is the fronts that get the leaks.

 

[rjkobbeman]

Another tire related question: How far would you drive on the streets with your tractor before you would consider it excessive. I dont have a good trailer to haul mine on and need to drive about 5 miles away. i would be going to my other property 4-5 times per year. No problem? Excessive? I understand that tractor tires are softer rubber compounds so they will wear more quickly on pavement. I just dont have a good measure of how much is too much.

I would think the R1s would wear much faster than the R4s... but having said that, 5 miles 4 or 5 times a year is probably nothing. The farmers around my area do WAY more than that.

I imagine most of us will replace a tire due to dry rot or punctures... long before the tread is gone! :thumbsup:

 

[Craig B]

I imagine most of us will replace a tire due to dry rot or punctures... long before the tread is gone! :thumbsup:

My 1981 JD 850 has 28 y/o tires! They have been on grass exclusively. There is very little actual wear but, they probably need to be replaced due to rot. Being the cheapo that I am they will have to fail first though!

When looking at the R4's I wondered why the lugs are so close. The pattern could have been opened up a bit and greatly improved traction without sacrificing too much lawn protection. But hey, no one asked me.

 

[tree farmer]

Floatation in our wet coastal climate as well as stability on hillsides were the deciding factors on R4 s for me. I have them on both my tractors. Lots of rocks and woody debris here, and never had a flat with them in 17 years.:thumbsup: Additional load capacity for loader and 3pt. is a bonus. Yeah, they don't dig as well as R1 s in the mud, but around here, digging in the mud in the winter will keep you stuck until next spring. If I need more traction, I'll get the dozer out of the barn. ...Dan.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I guess I am glad I like the R1 since that is all that I could get on my LS P7010. Industrial R4 tires are not an option, but this is a true utility farm tractor, not a compact. I also have R1 tires on my compact Yanmar and as for loading, I can round the FEL bucket up with wet clay/sand mix and the tires stand up with hardly a buldge. I dont think you would have a worry about overloading an R1 with a compact tractor. The R4 will for sure carry more and have a wider foot print and (no basis for the next statement) likely pull more on dry ground than a R1 due to more rubber on the ground, but dont get in the mud too much as they slick over pretty quick. My BIL's T2030 has R4 and it doesnt take much to spin those tires. They do LOOK GOOD though on a tractor which I think is the main reason they are put on most tractors. The wider tires make the tractor look much larger also.

 

[sweettractors]

We think of ag tires for off road and farm type chores and Industrial tires for more use on hard surfaces. Ken Sweet

 

[bp fick]

Like most guys, my tractor chores include too many kinds of work to have bought R1, although they certainly provide the best traction in most situations.

R4s on mine too. Flat out compromise, I admit. Simple as that.

Gotta mow, garden, push snow, move materials, etc. You just live with the compromise and be grateful for 4x4.

 

[MrChris]

One negative I noticed this summer with my R4s was they really layed down more high grass when your bush hogging. After a few days I had to go back and recut.

 

[jinman]

I think if you look at the CUTs on the average dealer's lot, you'll see most of them with R4s. They just look beefier with R4s and most folks don't ask the dealer to change. If I had it to do all over. . . .