Tires Tires and Soil compaction

apcaruso · Aug 3, 2002

Hi,

In an effort to reduce the soil compaction on my finished lawn during mowing, I am debating buying a new set of wheels for my B7500. Currently I have loaded, bar-turf tires on the unit: Goodyear Terra-Tire Xtra-Trac HF-2, 31-15.5-15 .
http://www.goodyearag.com/img/findtire/farmhandbook64_93.pdf page 88
Do you think I will see much of a difference if I replace them with the standard turf tires, which I believe are 33-12.5-16 ?

The bar-turfs are fine on the lawn and I have know problems with them tearing the grass, the only issue I have is with soil compaction from the overall weight. The big gain I see with the turfs is that I will not have them loaded and thus the pair will be roughly 250+/- pounds lighter. I thought about having my current tires drained, but then I'll have an issue with reduced traction and counterweight problems during the times when I use the loader extensively...

I do plan on getting a 3pt core aerator to use in spring and fall to help reduce the compaction.

So, am I splitting hairs here? Will I see a noticable difference if I go with the unloaded turfs? The new set of tires/rims will run me about $800 . Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Will · Aug 3, 2002

<font color=blue> Any advice is greatly appreciated. </font color=blue>I don't see any advantage to buying new tires now. I'd wait and see if you run into a problem with soil compaction, and then if it is only a minor problem, maybe core aerating will solve it. You can always buy a spare pair of tires next year, and if nothing else you'll have spared yourself the pain of putting on and removing loaded tires for a year.

Kodiak · Aug 3, 2002

I think your going to run into a non capatabilty problem, with your 4wd system. If you change the diameter of your rear tires, you have to match the same ratio with your front tires. Otherwise you are looking at probable drive train damage. your axles will be trying to turn at different speeds, creating lots of strain on different parts of your drivetrain.

As a simpler solution have you tried reducing your air pressure in your rear tires. This should give you better flotation and less compaction.

JackIL · Aug 3, 2002

You are absolutely right. The most important step in minimizing soil and turf compaction is to set the inflation pressure in all 4 tires to the correct amount based on the static weight on each tire. For most compacts this will turn out to be around 14-16 psi front and 8-12 psi rear with a mid-mount mower attached (No loader or rear implement.)

Jack

apcaruso · Aug 4, 2002

To answer the above three post:

The soil in many areas is already compacted to the point where the lawn is very stressed and in some small areas has died. Trying to insert a spike sprinkler into the ground is almost impossible in many areas....

I realize that I have to keep the correct ratio for the 4wd and was considering getting a full set of the standard turf tires offered for the 7500/2410, which will cost me $800. Alternatively, it looks like the standard turfs on the B7400 use the same fronts that I have with the B7500 bar-turfs, and turf rears that look to be about 31" in diameter, the same as the bar-turfs. If I go this route maybe I will only need to replace the rears.??. I'll lose the extra 1" of ground clearance, but I really don't need it at this point; the rough work at my place is done.

I'll check the pressure today. Good point. Now that you mention it I've noticed when driving on pavement that only 60-75 percent of the tread actually makes tracks on the ground.

Thanks for all the advice.

John_Mc · Aug 4, 2002

You mentioned not wanting to drain your loaded tires for fear of losing traction for the tougher jobs. It sounds as though your plan is to swap tires back and forth for mowing season(?) Have you thought of draining the tires and using wheel weights? I've got to believe they'd be easier to take on and off than swapping wheels.

John Mc

apcaruso · Aug 4, 2002

John MC

Actually, I would mount the loaded bar-turfs for the winter and use the turfs during the spring, summer and fall. However, you raise an idea I was not considering, and this I assume will be much cheaper than buying a new set of wheels.

Does anyone have a ball park idea of the price of wheel weights for 15" rims?

Thanks.

Turfman · Aug 5, 2002

I used to have a very nice yard. We dug up the septic tank twice, then ran a sewer line out the front yard and it took years to get it fixed, with the settling, I run my tractor on my lawn and have some slight ruts in it. I aerate several times a year and that helps the compaction in the top few (2 or 3) inches. Compaction goes deeper than 2 or 3 inches. Much has to do with the type of soil and the profile. Having a hard soil like you have can be helped with proper irrigation and aeration.

In a study I saw in my turf classes a single aeration was helpful, but didn't really provide a great deal of opening in the soil. As we figured the ideal to get a proper aeration it took 6 or 7 passes to get enough holes to really open up the soil, based on tine spacing. If I have the time I do mine 2 or 3 passes in the spring and again in the fall. The fall one is most important. Having a moist soil (but not too wet) for the aeration is very helpful for best results. You should be pulling nice long plugs. And leave them on the ground to decay, that's one of the biggest benefits.

Turfman