What tires should you get on a new Tractor, R1, R4, or Turf?

[Hay Dude]

I'll go on record saying my R4's suck in snow. No lateral traction in snow/ice
Our parking area is on a slope, get a layer of packed down snow/ice and the tractor just slides sideways down the hill.
Can barely back up without sideways sliding down the hill, let alone trying to push a 9' snowplow

Had a few in the past with R4's and found they were terrible on packed snow or ice.
They slide sideways because the bars are too straight across the tire. Simple physics. They are like hard rubber "skates" sideways on ice.
Found I could plow better with a pickup than tractor with R-4's if there was any ice or packed slippery snow.
R-1s are not perfect, but much better than R-4s.
With R-1's you wont need chains and the 45 degree bars help against sliding sideways. The deeper/angled paddles pull so much better through snow.

 

[3gunr]

I'll go on record saying my R4's suck in snow. No lateral traction in snow/ice
Our parking area is on a slope, get a layer of packed down snow/ice and the tractor just slides sideways down the hill.
Can barely back up without sideways sliding down the hill, let alone trying to push a 9' snowplow

Are your tires loaded? Makes a big difference.

 

[DK35vince]

Are your tires loaded? Makes a big difference.

Yes my rear tires are loaded.
Without chains my R4's slides sideways down the hill, and with a heaping blade full of wet snow it struggles for traction.
I run chains on all 4 and I can plow up hill, downhill, side slope, it just goes pushing a 9' snowplow.
If R4's work for some snow plowing that's great. They don't work for me in our conditions without chains.

 

[Hay Dude]

Yes my rear tires are loaded.
Without chains my R4's slides sideways down the hill, and with a heaping blade full of wet snow it struggles for traction.
I run chains on all 4 and I can plow up hill, downhill, side slope, it just goes pushing a 9' snowplow.
If R4's work for some snow plowing that's great. They don't work for me in our conditions without chains.

I tired loading my R4s and they actually got worse. The tires were so heavy, they made it slide worse once you got to sliding.
Chains are great, but ideal only if you can keep them on all winter.

 

[workinonit]

I really am partial to R1 tires. They do much less damage on my grass and the traction is the best of all of the tires.

 

[JasperFrank]

Your soil type will determine the tire type. There is a lot of clay and 7%+ inclines where I am, and Turf tires would be useless, pulling stuff out of the woods. So I've always used R1s. They do tear up the lawn around the house, yet I've never gotten stuck and personally, don't attempt to make the place look like a golf course. R4s appear to be the choice for heavy duty commercial "Yard" work and FEL applications where most of the ground is either paved or has some sort of base to it.

 

[herm0016]

R4's here. I wont touch a side slope without the chains on in the winter. our land is not very sloped, but i still slide sideways off the crown of the road. Many neighbors live on the ridges east and west and request help with my larger machine in the winter, would be easy to die without chains on those roads. slide off the side and roll down a 30*+ slope. too many ways to die already in the mountains. i will get R14s or R1s if I can get slightly wider on the same wheel when these are done.

 

[oosik]

I have been stuck with the R-1's on my M6040. I don't think R-4's would be much help. Heavy sidewalls and thick lugs won't cut it in mud and soft ground.

Using common sense in where you take your tractor and when will beat out any tire design.

 

[jyoutz]

I'll go on record saying my R4's suck in snow. No lateral traction in snow/ice
Our parking area is on a slope, get a layer of packed down snow/ice and the tractor just slides sideways down the hill.
Can barely back up without sideways sliding down the hill, let alone trying to push a 9' snowplow

I had them on my 25hp tractor and they sucked in snow. I have them on my 63hp tractor with loaded tires and they work well. Yesterday I plowed about 15” of snow with a heavy 8’ rear blade in the offset position. No sliding at all. If I ever do need to use chains, I would just buy them for the front wheels.

 

[jyoutz]

R1’s all the way
Get the wider R-1’s if they offer them.
You’ll get more flotation, less ruts than pizza cutters

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I like those wide R1s. I wonder if they would fit on R4 wheels?