Tires Should I do this tire swap??

[jcmseven]

Fellow Posters:

I have a 3720 which currently has R4 tires. I have been happy with the R4 tires, and they are loaded to add stability when doing loader work, etc. My local dealer--not the one from whom I purchased the tractor but still know and with whom I do regular business--has a 3320 they received for a customer with R1 tires. My salesman at the dealership said the order was a mistake and they were trying to obtain a set of R4 tires for it. I do mainly ground engagement work, such as box blading my drive, loader work, and such. I also just received my Frontier front blade in case we have snow. I do wish to mow some with the tractor, but mowing is something I do for to help my parents as I have no grass on my property. It appears the 3000 series with R1 tires are more narrow also, which would be an attribute as well for me due to my many tight areas. I was thinking of trading my R4 tires for the R1's to help both the dealer and me. I am hoping the R1's would be a better choice for snow removal and might eliminate a need for chains in most cases (although I have not had problems with the R4 tires either). Should I do this??? I am not enthralled with the look of the R1's and I do run on the road some. I also trade tractors fairly often and do not want to reduce my machine's marketability when and if I were to trade--which I have no plans of doing now. Also, is the swap a direct swap from tractor to tractor, or are there adapters, etc., which would be needed??

John M

 

[radman1]

I also have a 3720 with R4s. I got the R4's in case I did yard work but I don't mow with it and rarely get on the yard. Often wished I had more traction and a little more height to the tractor. The 3720 certainly has more power than traction with the R4's. The R4's also seem to small for the tractor. The R1's would provide a better match for the traction, slightly more height and do better in the mud. If I had to do it over, I would probably get R1's but I wouldn't pay for a set of new tires and rims. I might be tempted to swap but that is a decision only you can make.

 

[dirtworksequip]

I'd swap him in a heartbeat, if you are not going to be mowing in any yards The R1's will give better performance in just about any conditions you will encounter. With the R1 wheels you should also have multiple width choices. The few new tractors that I've seen with R1's had the adjustable width wheel.

If you don't want to swap have him contact me.

 

[fgross335_2210]

I have both R1's and R4's for my 2210. The turf's give up pretty quick with loader or snow work, but were OK. Then I picked up the R1's and the additional traction was pretty amazing. No comparison especially when it gets muddy or the snow gets more than a few inches deep.

I do mow in the summer and the R4's are great for that, but once the grass turns brown the R1's go on and stay on until spring. If I didn't mow the R1's would be on all the time!!!

 

[thcri]

I wouldn't mind having two sets. One R4's for summer (I have really steep hills for mowing) and R1's for winter. I have a long driveway which part of it is very steep that I have to plow snow off. If I could find a good set of chains for my R4's that won't rip up the concrete I would get them.

murph

 

[LBrown59]

I have both R1's and R4's for my 2210. The turf's give up pretty quick with loader or snow work, but were OK. Then I picked up the R1's and the additional traction was pretty amazing. No comparison especially when it gets muddy or the snow gets more than a few inches deep.

I do mow in the summer and the R4's are great for that, but once the grass turns brown the R1's go on and stay on until spring. 1*If I didn't mow the R1's would be on all the time!!!

1*What's nice about the BX23 is I can leave the AGs on for everything including mowing.

 

[AndyM]

1*What's nice about the BX23 is I can leave the AGs on for everything including mowing.

I wouldn't let you try your BX with ag tires on MY property... It wouldn't look too good afterwards!
Right now, even heavy boots would tear up my yard!

 

[jcmseven]

It sounds (so far) like the consensus is to see if the dealer will trade out. I was thinking he might trade me even, as he would pay no shipping on the tires and mine are already loaded. My other questions are this: is this a direct swap-over or are the hub mounts different, and will the speedo gauge work the same??? Also, does anyone have an idea about how many gallons of ballast the R1's on these machines hold??? How does that compare with the R4's I currently have? I have always figured about 30 gallons of fluid per tire but I do not know for sure. Thanks for the guidance.

John M

 

[B8FISH]

John--is the dealer offering to fill the R1's so it really is a direct swap? I believe that they can modify the speedo settings to compensate for the different sizes (such as ordering the larger R4's versus standard), and if they would be coming to you to swap the tires then they should be able to handle that on the spot as well. I would also put my vote in for the R1's based on your comments and use.
B8fish

 

[dirtworksequip]

John, you would not have to modify your hubs they are all the same bolt pattern with in the same model. The speedo change would be done by reprogaming the tire size difference into the tractors computor if needed.

 

[jcmseven]

Yes, they are willing to load the tires for no extra cost to me.

John M

 

[jcmseven]

Also, one MORE question. Does the group feel I am reducing resale or value of the tractor by going with the R1 tires? It seems that many like the R1 tires, but I see very few machines on lots with the R1's. They all seem to have the R4's. I just plowed about 5" of snow this PM with the front blade. The tractor does great, but I wonder if the R1's would substantially help plowing on some of these steep hills we have here. Although I have not had trouble, the tractor did slide sideways some on one particularly steep area of the road in front of my house.

John M

 

[dirtworksequip]

John, Ive plowed snow with my old JD 870w/R1's and 84" front blade for 12 years. I can't recall in that 12 years of ever having slid down a hill while plowing in 4 wheel drive. Now I've have had it spin up hill while plowing.

I currently have a 3520w/R4's with same 84" front blade. I can't say how it will do, but I think it will get interesting with the R4's and snow.

As far as resale of your tractor with R1's. The average buyer is probably looking for R4 equiped tractor. Just because thats whats popular right now.

How much will it hurt the resale price..............can't say.

After 100 hours on the 3520w/ R4's I can say that my preference is for R1's in my application.

 

[machmeter62]

Fellow Posters:

I have a 3720 which currently has R4 tires. I have been happy with the R4 tires, and they are loaded to add stability when doing loader work, etc. My local dealer--not the one from whom I purchased the tractor but still know and with whom I do regular business--has a 3320 they received for a customer with R1 tires. My salesman at the dealership said the order was a mistake and they were trying to obtain a set of R4 tires for it. I do mainly ground engagement work, such as box blading my drive, loader work, and such. I also just received my Frontier front blade in case we have snow. I do wish to mow some with the tractor, but mowing is something I do for to help my parents as I have no grass on my property. It appears the 3000 series with R1 tires are more narrow also, which would be an attribute as well for me due to my many tight areas. I was thinking of trading my R4 tires for the R1's to help both the dealer and me. I am hoping the R1's would be a better choice for snow removal and might eliminate a need for chains in most cases (although I have not had problems with the R4 tires either). Should I do this??? I am not enthralled with the look of the R1's and I do run on the road some. I also trade tractors fairly often and do not want to reduce my machine's marketability when and if I were to trade--which I have no plans of doing now. Also, is the swap a direct swap from tractor to tractor, or are there adapters, etc., which would be needed??

John M

I have two 30 hp 4x4 tractors with loaders; one has R-1's, and the other tractor has R-4 's. Doing loader work in soil conditions the R-1's win! On hard surface, the R-1's win again, but the front tires being narrower, suffer more stress because of the weight distribution over a smaller area. You will lose money by trading your R-4's, since they are more popular for resale. My R-4's cost $400+ over the R-1's. When I need traction the R-1's provide it. With my small fleet of tractors, only two of them have R-4's. You will take a financial hit now if you trade across; then again when you trade for a new tractor?

 

[Partsman2]

I was just cursing my R4's last week when I was trying to load some brush piles onto a burn pile with my grapple. I couldn't hardly move and had to use the grapple to get unstuck many times. If I had it to do over I would probably go with the R1's for my application. I will say that mud is the big issue, not necessarily snow.

It may be a case where people like me thought they wanted the R4's but after running with them for a while realize they aren't really what they need. The problem is it costs a good bit of money to change them out so we just live with it. I've been looking at chains to use when it's muddy to fix the problem.

Is it a new tractor? How can the dealer get away with selling a new tractor with used tires on it? I'd say used, loaded R4's swapped for new, loaded R1's isn't a bad trade. I think I'd be all over it.

 

[jcmseven]

Partsman,

Yes, the tractor with the R1 tires is new. Mine though only has 45 hours on it, and I keep it in like new shape, and wash it often. There is no notable wear on my tires. Since the R1 tires are the base tires, I figure the dealer will just sell the tractor with the R1 tire price, essentially giving the customer the R4 tires for no extra charge. I then would get the R1 tires. The dealer saves on shipping a set of R4's and I get a tire more suitable to my needs. As far as resale, I have no plans to sell my tractor. I have traded a few times recently, mainly to settle on what I really needed, which I now feel I have. I plan to keep this machine a while, and losing a little on sell or trade would not be horrible. If worse happens, I would just offer to put on a set of R4 tires before trading. My only concern is I did not want to do this if it would offer no real benefit, but it seems that it will.

John M

 

[machmeter62]

JOHN: You will be amazed with the additional traction that R-1's provide! As mentioned, the R-4's load up in mud, turning to "slicks" and won't self clean, which will leave a trail when returning to a hard surface requiring clean-up. If you plan on keeping the tractor with traction and issue, make the trade. You will get a slight bumpy ride on hard surfaces with the R-1's, but the traction gain is worth it. Good luck on your decision.

 

[jcotta]

I do not think you will lose resale value on the trade. When I was looking for a used tractor , I wanted R-1 for traction value. At first I thought, I could buy a good tractor and swap out tires. With the additional cost of 1,200 to 2,000 it was going make more sense to buy new. I finally found the right used tractor with the right tires (R-1) and quickly bought. I think your dealer owes you a favor some where down the line.

John

 

[dirtworksequip]

John, if you go with the R1's and then decide to trade tractors you can't just put a set of R4's on without changing wheels also. R1 and R4 wheels are not the same at least on the rear.

 

[jcmseven]

Dirtworks,

I would probably buy the tire and wheel combo if I were to trade and had someone wanting the R4's. The dealer from whom I actually bought the tractor says he rarely sells R1's there. I suppose because the terrain is not as challenging, the R1 tires do not move as fast there. I think I am going to get the R1's. Just the width change alone would be worth it so that I can get into some tighter spaces in back. The traction also seems worth it, although I must admit I do not mind the R4 so far.

John M