What tires to get on my first tractor?

[greggh]

R4's are more flexible. What I mean is that they have less ply in the sidewalls for the flexiblity. R1's do not have that flex because of having more ply in the sidewalls. The R4's are designed to work on hard surfaces such as concrete where they have more bounce. The R1's are designed for farm work which requires more pulling and traction.

But for heven's sake make sure you get one or the other. I grew up and learned on a steel wheel Case tractor. I think it was made in the late 20's early 30's. No power steering in those days.

 

[LBrown59]

any reccommendations on tires? .

R1s
Bar tires.
Did I mention AGs?

 

[Mikeeemo]

I'm in too... Ag's !

 

[LBrown59]

I'm in too... Ag's !

That's Agzactly right.

 

[N80]

I've got a 4wd L4400 (45hp, 38 at PTO) with Ags. Couldn't do with any less traction than they give me. Often wish I had more.

I think some of the bias against R4's is that for some reason people think they look good (and they do) and that dealers get extra money for them. Most Kubota ads show tractors with R4's, even doing ag work. Most dealers push them. And I think a lot of new buyers get them for those two reasons without knowing exactly why or what they really need.

If you need an R4 then an R4 is what you need. I just think that 'need' is a good bit narrower than what most people think. From my point of view I see them as more destructive than turfs and far less traction than ags.

 

[LBrown59]

********
A spinning turf tire will do a lot more damage than a non spinning AG tire.
Found this out when I got my BX 1500 into a soft spot in the yard.
The front wheels started spinning and cut some pretty good ruts in the yard
even though the rear tires were on solid ground backing the tractor away from the soft spot.
Turfs will spin out a lot easier than AGs in such spots which equals more yard damage than AGs that probably wouldn't have spun out.

 

[Wombat125]

A spinning turf tire will do a lot more damage than a non spinning AG tire.

This is exactly why we put ag tires on the back of our little JD 316 100 years ago back in Iowa -- less lawn damage on anything that's remotely slippery or wet.

 

[Charlesaf3]

Like everything else, there's a tire for the situation. I have r4s. and will get my next tractor with r4s. If I were doing straight field work it would be ags.

I have wondered about the turf plus chain combo

 

[Ken Cunningham]

I have R1 tires and ive allmost go it stuck in 4wd a few times, im sure if i had R4 tires i would have had to hook the truck to it and pull it out.

Having said that, my tires are also loaded and a few posters commented about the jarring ride. That made me think of how nice the spring loaded seat is to have on that tractor. So i was wondering, how many tractors come with spring loaded seats? Mine is a 1994 JD 1070

 

[Charlesaf3]

Good point. My tires are foamed - stiffer than loaded. But the ride is a pleasure, as I have a spring loaded seat. Adjustable and comfy.

Got it on Neil Messicks advice since the stock kubota seats had a bad rap. $400 and worth every penny - 8 hours in the seat feels like nothing.

 

[canoetrpr]

Interested in how you guys think Ags do for punture resistance compared to R4s. The average acerage / hobby farm owner like me does all kinds off stuff with his cut - from rotary cutting a pasture, the odd bit of running a cultivator, harrowing , snow clearing AND.... driveway maintenance.

Until the weekend I had convinced myself that if I had to do it again I'd get R1s (I have R4s). The R4s have been just fine - I think that comments about them being useless are greatly exarrated. However, I'm not doing anything on a lawn and I find that they tear up grass if things are wet anyway - so why not have more traction for the other things.

This past weekend, I was box blading my drive and ran into my first puncture. This is the type of work I would guess R4s are well suited for. Puncture was probably just bad luck but it has me thinking how Ags would hold up for working on a gravel drive.

Do those of you with ags do much driveway work?

 

[Diamondpilot]

I use my tractor 50% of the time doing loader work with gravel, sand, and dirt. I average about 200hrs per year. My neighbor has a 4 wheel drive JD with a loader around 38HP. My tractor with R1's and 28 HP will out work his any day of the week. Last year we had a blizzard and he gave up and called me to clear his drive with my FEL and 7' rear blade. He could not pull a 5' grader blade through the snow we had and his FEL was slow going. My tractor was up the the head lights in snow and still going.

I mow my 3 acres with mine and a 6' Caroni 3 point mower and have no problems. Yes if its wet it will leave ruts but any tire is going to do that when you have a 4,500# machine going through.

My decision to buy R1's was simple. I had used a 40 HP Ford with a FEL and turfs and it was a joke. My neighbor already had the JD I talked about above and I watched him struggle so that made up my mind.

Chris

 

[N80]

Interested in how you guys think Ags do for punture resistance compared to R4s.

I couldn't say since I've never even driven a tractor with R4's. But, I've had my tractor for 3 years now and I've done a lot of brush, stump and tree clearing. I've also got black locust trees all over my place. The tread on my ags are cut in many places but I've never had a puncture. So R4's are better, but I wouldn't call puncture problems a liability for ags

I think that comments about them being useless are greatly exarrated.

You are right. But for those of us who often find ourselves needing more traction even with our R1s, it is hard to imagine getting by with R4s.

The only time I wish I had a wider, higher flotation tire is when I'm getting sand out of my creek bottom. Ags aren't too good in sand. Of course turfs would be the best in sand by far.

 

[IslandTractor]

So i was wondering, how many tractors come with spring loaded seats? Mine is a 1994 JD 1070

All the new Kioti's (CK and DK lines) have very nice adjustable suspension seats standard.

 

[PAB_OH]

Interested in how you guys think Ags do for punture resistance compared to R4s.
Do those of you with ags do much driveway work?

R4's generally have a much higher ply rating than ags. They are inherently more puncture resistant.

I do a lot of driveway maintenance (1/4 mile drive, all uphill, one way anyway) and I've never had a puncture. I had a whole bunch of tons of slag delivered 2 years ago and I'm still finding shiny stuff in it.

 

[pitt_md]

I got R4's on my MX5000 which is too much tractor for any kind of yard work. I bought into the hype and took what the tractor came with. Match your intended use to the tires you get.

 

[daTeacha]

My DX 29 has Ags with 600 hours of running around doing woods cleanup, driveway work, a bit of road travel, lots of FEL work moving logs, branches, firewood, gravel, mulch, manure, dirt, etc. Tires are not loaded, no punctures yet at 300 hours. The previous tractor was a B7100, an early one. It had Ags, lots of hours when I got it. No punctures in the same type of use described above. I replaced 2 tires on it when I got it because the lugs were worn off, but there was no sign of punctures then, either.

It depends on what you drive over, obviously. I run 35 psi in the front, 10 psi in the back. I carry 130 lb on each wheel and 900 lb on the 3 point when working with the loader/grapple in the woods.

 

[porky69]

With the mention of turf tires and chains for when you need more traction, and the R4's being a compromise of traction vs damage, why not R4's with chains for really high traction requirements. This seems to me to be a good solution for mowing, tillage, driveway maintenance, etc.

 

[BTI]

R-4's with Chains work well.
Then you always have option's without alot of cash invested.
R-4's are worthless in mud.

BTI

 

[txdon]

I agree with N80. For sand, sugar sand, my R4s don't dig in and get stuck as fast as the R1s. However when I go to the lower land, in the black gumbo, R1s work better. Since I need most of the power to push brush in the sandy area I went with R4s, and they work well.

Does this count as 1/2 vote, or did I just cancel myself out?