Should I get Turf & R4 tires with a new tractor?

[RickB]

My thoughts as well.

However, I also think changing them back and forth will grow old in short order and more often than not find yourself wanting the opposite set on the tractor that you want at the time.

I'll share that thought. hence, my preface "If you are set on having two sets of wheels & tires"

 

[Deere Dude]

If someone would give me a set of turfs for free I would take them. But, it is such a pain changing them I would do it maybe twice and then whatever was on would stay on. The other tires I would be just be tripping over until I would gave them away 7 years later.

I would get R4s and see how they would work and I think they will work fine. I was living soft marshy area many years and never had a problem with showing ruts or imprints from R4s.

But, just to be on the safe side, have the dealer put in the contract that you have a few months after the sale to get the turf tires at the quoted price. Then if you have a problem you can always get the turfs.


Or else find someone with a like sized tractor with r4s and give him 25 bucks to come and drive on your lawn for a test strip.

 

[Gary Fowler]

The simple solution is don't get on the ground with your tractor when the soil is wet and then it wont matter what tire you have on it.
As for turfs, we had one with turf tires and it wouldn't pull up a slight incline when the grass was wet. If you tried to turn sharp with it, the tires would just spin on dry grass. Totally useless tire.

R4 tires are just a compromise with R1. They provide good traction on dry ground but little to no traction in mud. Only slightly better than turf tires with regard to mud. They are somewhat puncture resistant although the only flats I have ever had was on the R4 tires. Never had a flat with my R1 tires.

If you plan to use your tractor at all in muddy conditions, like down by your creek, then go for R1 tires. On dry ground with a CUT they don't damage your lawn any more than the R4 but if the ground is a bit soft, expect to leave the bar tread marks but they don't usually spin and tear out a divot like the R4 tires do.

I guess that your choice of tires boils down to what you will be doing with your tractor the most. If it is mowing your yard, then R4 tires are your choice. Then the occasional foray into the woods and soft soil may not be too much of an issue.

One final consideration for you though: Do you have a second tractor available to pull you out if you get stuck in the soft ground? If not then you may want to consider R1 tires. I have pulled my brother in law (R4 tires)out several times when his tractor got stuck in soft spots. Had to pull my back hoe out a couple times also when it went down in soft soil although one of the times it was at the edge of my pond and any tractor would have been stuck in the quicksand like soil.

Finally, I prefer a dedicated lawnmower (ZTR in my case) for lawn mowing and a tractor for heavy stuff, so the only time my tractors go thru my grass area is when it is getting to the back pasture stuff for bush hogging or hauling off debris in the FEL. For just a bit more than the price of a belly mower for a tractor, you can buy a semi-commercial grade of lawnmower which will mow about twice as fast as any tractor and more so if you have lots of trees to mow around. If you are using a tractor to mow, expect to do lots of string trimming after you finish. With my ZTR mower, I get close enough to my hundred or more trees and shrubs that I only string trim around them about twice a year. I can mow about 3 acres an hour with my ZTR even with all the trees and rough ground which sometimes makes me slow down from full speed.
The only issue with ZTR mowers is muddy spots, they don't like to go or steer when the soil or grass is a bit wet. Light box store ZTR also wont handle inclines well and just tend to drive downhill on side slope more that about 8 degrees. Commercial grade mowers will mow side slope on much steeper hills. I can mow sideways on 30 degree slopes with ease as long as they are dry. Commercial grade mowers have larger tires, heavier weight and better transmissions to handle the tough work.

 

[Hephaestus]

Great, insightful comments so far.

If you are set on having two sets of wheels & tires, get turfs and ag tires. R4's on a CUT are just a compromise effort. R4's and turfs are too much alike to have both.

Good point. I hadn't thought about how R4s are already a compromise. I was originally just going to go with R4s but I got the idea for a second set of tires from a thread here (somewhere, I can't find it now).

However, I also think changing them back and forth will grow old in short order and more often than not find yourself wanting the opposite set on the tractor that you want at the time.

I was concerned about that as well, but I guess it depends on just how big and heavy the tires will be.

I'm currently shopping for a new tractor. I'll save the details for another thread, but suffice it to say for right now the decision is between a Kubota B3350HSDC and a LS XR4140HC. The Kubota uses 7-12 fronts and 12.4-16 rears and weights 2,447lbs, while the LS uses 12-16.5 fronts and 17.5L-24 rears (R4s) and weights 4,446lbs. A noticeable difference in tire sizes and weights between the two, which in turn may affect my tire decision.

I also need to sit down and really think about just how often I would need each tire type throughout the year.

The simple solution is don't get on the ground with your tractor when the soil is wet and then it wont matter what tire you have on it.
...
If you plan to use your tractor at all in muddy conditions, like down by your creek, then go for R1 tires. On dry ground with a CUT they don't damage your lawn any more than the R4 but if the ground is a bit soft, expect to leave the bar tread marks but they don't usually spin and tear out a divot like the R4 tires do.
...
I guess that your choice of tires boils down to what you will be doing with your tractor the most. If it is mowing your yard, then R4 tires are your choice. Then the occasional foray into the woods and soft soil may not be too much of an issue.

One final consideration for you though: Do you have a second tractor available to pull you out if you get stuck in the soft ground? If not then you may want to consider R1 tires. I have pulled my brother in law (R4 tires)out several times when his tractor got stuck in soft spots. Had to pull my back hoe out a couple times also when it went down in soft soil although one of the times it was at the edge of my pond and any tractor would have been stuck in the quicksand like soil.

Finally, I prefer a dedicated lawnmower (ZTR in my case) for lawn mowing and a tractor for heavy stuff, so the only time my tractors go thru my grass area is when it is getting to the back pasture stuff for bush hogging or hauling off debris in the FEL.

Unfortunately Mother Nature has her own plans, which often don't align with my outdoor activities.

Getting stuck near/in the creek was the original reason I wanted R4s, but I know first hand they may not always save you. I had rented a Bobcat skidsteer a few years back and broke the bead of a tire while working in the creek, which caused an instant flat. The rental company had to come out with a mini-excavator to help change the tire. While I wish I had a mini-excavator lying around for just such an emergency, I'd end up driving my Jeep into the pasture and use it to pull the tractor out. I am a little concerned about R1s tearing up the creek bank though. The horses do enough of that on their own, I wouldn't want to compound the problem.

I currently use a garden tractor to mow the lawn. The tractor will be used for maintaining the pastures and work around the barn. Once again, the horses do too good of a job compacting the pasture soil so I don't want to contribute to that problem with the wrong tires. Once the garden tractor dies I'll probably replace it with a zero turn mower.

 

[Texasmark]

My 2400 came with R4s. Traction sucks; my first R4s since I started farming in 1979. I wanted a softer ride and the 6 ply R4s were rough even at single digit air pressure. So I opted for turfs on the rear. They have a larger balloon area and are 4 ply making the ride is softer at low pressures but I don't see any difference in the traction. I still have R4s on the front and they will stay mainly because they have a shallow sidewall and that is what's needed with a FEL. Were the turfs at $290 each, tire only, worth it? No. I got 10x the improvement with my $350 air seat suspension pkg.

 

[Hephaestus]

I stopped by my local Kubota dealer the other day. I was looking at the tires on the B2650, assessing how easily I could change them with a loader and backhoe when a L3560 caught my eye. It had the Titan Multi Trac turf tires. They look like very aggressive turfs, and might be a better tread for my needs than R4s or plain turfs. Can anyone with these tires comment on how they do in mud?

 

[oosik]

Both of my tractors - Ford 1710 4WD & Kubota M6040 4WD - have had R1. Too much work in the woods, mud, snow, ice & shallow water to even consider anything else. I simply do not cross my lawn when the ground is wet.

My riding lawn mower - JD G100 - has some kind of turf tires. Completely worthless on wet grass, snow, ice, mud and any side adventures out in the woods. However, it can easily be picked up with the Kubota and carried back to safety.

You simply will not find a tire that is optimum for use on lawns & works well in mud, ice & snow. That beast has not been created yet.

 

[DieselBound]

There's lots of variables here. If you want a more "scientific" approach I'd look to calculate ground pressure. Pretty sure that nothing you're going to come up with is going to have anywhere near the ground pressure that your horses have.

If you don't have traction then the tractor becomes useless. In order to get traction you have to bind/dig into your ground (especially if wet/soft). I've found that leaving prints is better than ripping up the sod. Large lugs are going to cut in a bit more, and are therefore going to verge on ripping the sod up.

As Gary mentioned, the best bet is to try and keep off of wet ground as much as possible. I bought a UTV because I needed to get around (and do some hauling) when things are wet; so wet that even my B7800 would tear the heck out of things. I get 60" to 70" of rain a year here; I have a bit of experience dealing with wet ground (have gotten excavators stuck [during the dry season!]).

 

[Texasmark]

I stopped by my local Kubota dealer the other day. I was looking at the tires on the B2650, assessing how easily I could change them with a loader and backhoe when a L3560 caught my eye. It had the Titan Multi Trac turf tires. They look like very aggressive turfs, and might be a better tread for my needs than R4s or plain turfs. Can anyone with these tires comment on how they do in mud?

That's what I had my Titan dealer order for me from Titan. Yes it is aggressive for a turf with lots of rubber but still not a lot of space between studs.

 

[Huskerfan]

That's what I had my Titan dealer order for me from Titan. Yes it is aggressive for a turf with lots of rubber but still not a lot of space between studs.

This is what I have, air filled. Wouldn't change. No issues on hills, snow or turf with FEL, 3 PT implements and MMM. But I use the B2650 on turf or pavement, not mud.