Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Turf or Ag tires for snow removal

[sunnyside360]

To answer your question "Turf or Ag tires for snow removal", Ag tires w/o question has been my experience after owning & operating 10 tractors over the past 40 years. Of the ten tractors, only one 40 hp 4WD tractor had turf tires with liquid ballast and it was the worst in snow. It would barely move itself in 3" or 4" of snow on level ground. Chains made a world of difference but left marks on pavement and concrete especially when pushing with a plow. Go with Ag tires -- don't find out the hard way.

 

[Rara Avis]

If you are running a snow blower it does NOT matter...

 

[Builder]

Another consideration is the experience of the operator.
If you're a spaz that can't drive across a lawn without getting stuck, you'll probably have trouble no matter what tire you run. If you're experienced, you'll probably do better with a 4x2 tractor than a greenhorn with a 4x4 with front & rear locking axles.

 

[wolc123]

Chains are only good on stone driveways as they will shred up concrete or blacktop as someone just mentioned. If you have these surfaces, then loaded R1's are the best by a wide margin. I have not seen R1's "load up" in snow under any conditions. It is true that the area under your tires is usually clear but that is never the case all the time. It is still a good idea to have a tire that will perform well in deep snow and nothing comes close to loaded R1's in these conditions.

 

[arrow]

The tire you get for your tractor should have little to do with a paricular situation and more to do with how you are going to use your tractor the most. I say this because chains on anything are going to improve particular situations where "traction" is key. Basically, I do 2 things with my tractor the most. I log with it and push snow. I have ags with chains on it all year long. Obviously this set up should not be brought on grass.

Nice set up Steve Miller
Patrick G, you crack me up almost all the time with your "scientist" outlook you bring to posts. If I were your neigbor, I'd have to keep changing my underware on an hourly basis either that or kill you to stop from laughing. Now if I knew how , I'd put one of those smiley faces at the end. Where do you get those things?

 

[jas67]

Wow! I had no idea how controversial this topic was.

Of course, I'm sure some of the variation of opinions is due to differing types of snow in different regions, as well as what surface is under the snow (gravel, asphalt, concrete, etc).

I have a mostly asphalt driveway, with a stone drive over to my pole barn. I agree that the chains will probably mark up / gouge the asphalt.

I live in South-Central PA, we usually get heavy wet snow, mix sleet freezing rain crap. Powdered snow is a rare treat.

I have a 50" rear-mount snowblower, and a front loader, and plan on using the blower when conditions allow, otherwise the FEL. I hope to find a good deal on a used 5 or 6-foot back blade between now and winter too, which is probably better than the blower for the typical 3-4" wet snow we get here.

Based on what I've read, I think I'll load up the ags with WWF and put 'em on when snow season hits. At least I'm not making a purchase based on this, I already have both (the tractor came with ags, I added the turfs, because I am mostly driving across turf to do the work that I do with this tractor, and didn't want to mess it up with ags).

Thanks to everyone for the opinions -- not that some people need much coaxing to give opinions

 

[Builder]

Since about 80-90% of us only plow a few times a year, why buy a tire based on plowing?

Base your tire decision on what you do the most. If it's snow-plowing, then base your tire decision on snow-plowing. I can tell you as a former commercial plowing contractor, R-4's plowed even the worst snowstorms adequately. Do you really think it matters all that much?

Sometimes I think you guys are mostly a bunch of ****-retentive engineers that analyze the smallest details to the point of obsession.

 

[jas67]

Since about 80-90% of us only plow a few times a year, why buy a tire based on plowing?

Base your tire decision on what you do the most. If it's snow-plowing, then base your tire decision on snow-plowing. I can tell you as a former commercial plowing contractor, R-4's plowed even the worst snowstorms adequately. Do you really think it matters all that much?

Sometimes I think you guys are mostly a bunch of ****-retentive engineers that analyze the smallest details to the point of obsession.

As I stated in my list posting, I already have both R1's, and turfs. The tractor came with R1's, but I added a set of turfs, as most of my use entails driving across finished lawn area, so I didn't want to tear it up with R1's. The R1's spend their time leaning in the corner of my pole barn. I can load 'em up for with WWF <$50 and put 'em on for winter use. If I didn't already have them, I'd just use the turfs. I was just wondering if it is worth swapping the R1's back on for the winter or now.

It sounds like the answer is a definite maybe

 

[cjputzier]

Hey What if they are on Ice. 20 plus yrs off ice racing, a bald tyre has a better traction patch on glare ice. When we plow the lake for race season My JD with a blower and turf tires works great. You just drive in the deep stuff and high center the tractor if you go crazy and just try to drive over it. My 4door Super Duty Ford pushes snow much faster and is a lot warmer than the tractor. I just use the tractor to push snow banks back. Last December in Burlington VT We got 55 inches of snow and only 12 inches the year before.Last winter snowest winter ever on record in VERMONT!!! But you have to buy it and pay for it and live with it. Get what you want. As long as your happy!!!!!That is best advice I can give. Chris Putzier

 

[RFB]

I think that when we discuss snow removal, its kind of like talking about boats. A 40 footer looks big until its parked next to a CVN. Some folks think that clearing 2 feet of snow is big snow.

I plow miles of snow at 3300+ EL. During some seven day periods I have plowed 50 hours in addition to other ranch chores.

Trial and error on my L5030/Curtis 7.5 snowplow/Loftness 841S Blower has provided the following setup:

Tires/Wheels set to the widest possible position, Chains (H on back, V bar on front) on R1 tires, Rim Guard in the rears.

Weight and chains equal traction, and I have used both R4's and R1's; in my experience the R1's are superior in almost all fashions for traction. I never get down to road surface until spring so I am usually plowing on hard-packed snow and ice.

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