Traction Wheel weights for 3038E with R4 tires

[FinkFarm]

Greetings,
I am looking for rear wheel weights for a 3038E with the R4 tires. Just wondering if any other owners have found wheel weights to fit this tire/rim.
Thanks in advance.
Troy

 

[msmud]

Troy,
My dealer verified that he could order wheel weights for this tractor, but if better traction is what you're after I would go with the advice of all the Ag tire manufacturers first: Make sure your tires are not over-inflated. I now run the rear, unfilled R4s in my 3038e at 9.5 psi, which has dramatically improved traction. My fronts are 16.5 psi but I don't have a loader. I have never noticed rim slip nor any problems with these pressures, and the ride on this short-wheelbase tractor is much better. You might want to try this first before spending the money on weights.
Tim

 

[FinkFarm]

Thanks for the info Tim! I'll try lowering the pressure and see what happens.

 

[ppdiaper]

I never thought of the tire pressure. I have to try that also. My Deere dealer also said they could order wheel weights for the 3038E R4's. They show 'em on the Deere website if you "build your own". I never did because it seemed like a lot of $$/lb. I thought I got more "gravity for the money" by putting the weight on the 3pt. Filling the tires would probably be a good thing, but I haven't tried it yet. Anyone know how many gallons for these tires?

 

[msmud]

I'll try to dig up the link for the Goodyear Ag handbook but I think I can summarize what they say as follows:

1) The point of putting iron wheel weights on the tractor is to flatten the conformation of the tire to allow more of it to engage the ground; the exact same thing can be accomplished by letting air out of the tire, so long as the lower pressure still allows the tire to support the load from the axle;

2) Liquid fill inside the tire is not recommended by the major tire manufacturers because it stiffens the sidewalls and does not allow the tire to flatten normally under load. It also leads to excessive soil compaction. Everybody does this nonetheless but the ag handbooks make clear that you can do better by balancing the tractor's front-to-rear axle weight ratio based on whether it is 2wd or 4wd, then lower the air pressures to the minimum necessary to support the axle loads.

3) Every handbook I have seen has said the most common tire problem in Ag tire usage is over-inflation with poor traction and increased soil compaction resulting.

When I got the 3038e from the dealer its rear tires were set at shipping psi--around 22. Operating the tractor at that pressure led to constant wheelslip such that I had to leave it in 4wd. At the current pressures of 9.5 psi, I will end up putting the tractor into 4wd maybe 2 -3 minutes out of 2 hrs--none on flat to mildly sloped terrain.

I haven't used my tractor for ploughing or heavy ground engagment work, so my R4s might need weights under those scenarios, but the better answer there would be R1s.
Tim

 

[fuseboxer]

Thanks for the info. I will lower my R4 tire pressure to 10PSI front and 17PSI rear and cancel the order for my snow chains for plowing snow. I have the same size R4 tires on my 4410 as your 3038E. I noticed your horse power is similiar but you are 600 lbs less weight. 3038E has a light frame and saved steel. Maybe a stronger steel, titanium, in your tractor required less heavy frame.

 

[msmud]

Fuseboxer, I think that should be 10 rear , 17 front. I'd be careful with lowering the front tires too much. My front tires start to show considerable tire bulge if the pressures fall below 15, and I've noticed their pressures vary considerably more with temperature than the much larger rears. 16.5 - 17 has been pretty stable so far with 560# of weights on the front weight bracket. I think my rears could go lower than 9 psi without trouble but since I've gotten pretty good traction at 9.5 I'll keep it there for now.

Now, how this arrangement would do with snow, I have no idea. Here in Mississippi we don't know what the stuff is. You might still need the chains.