Snow Equipment Owning/Operating R4 Industrials on JD 2210. Are they good for snow??

[ctc1111]

Hey everyone, I've got a John Deere 2210 that we mostly use primarily for its loader capabilities on our paved parking lots. So the tire wear on my turf tires has become excessive and it is time for new tires before the snow flys.

Since the tractor is never used on turf I would like to go to an industrial R4 bar tire. But before I buy I would like to get the TBN opinion on using R4's in the snow.

I do not like to use chains because I hate having to put them on, and they grind up the pavement, or if they decide to fall off its usually during a blizzard event at 3:00 AM.

Let me know what you think,


Thanks

 

[Taiser]

My B7800 works fine in the snow with the R4's but I've got a BH on which adds traction. We get tons of snow up here, never had a problem with traction. I only use the FEL to move the snow, no plow or snowblower yet.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Are you going to be able to reuse your rims if you change or are you going to have to buy new rims also. I am not too familiar with turf tires and how they size up with R-4's. Maybe talk to your dealer and see if they have any R-4's mounted on rims for your machine you might be able to work a deal on.

 

[ctc1111]

Ya, I only use the FEL for snow as well. I have the plow for the tractor, but I just find it not very useful for the snow because we have trucks that plow. We just use the tractor to get into the tight spots and move snow in our parking lots. (We own a commercial office building)

 

[ctc1111]

I spoke with them a while back about this and they said that the R4's will mount up fine on my rims. I've seen many 2210's with R4's and asked them before too.

When I bought my tractor they told me that turf tires are better in the snow. But I think that was just because they already had a 2210 with turf tires on it and did not want to take the time or trouble of changing tires. It makes sense that R4's would work better in the snow because my turfs just get packed with snow and spin. But on R4's the space between the treads is so large I cannot picture those just getting packed with snow.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

With all things being equal the turfs should be better in snow since you have more contact area and if you are only using this on hard surfaces then the lugs from the R-4's really shouldn't provide much advantage. However, the R-4's should hold up better and be more versatile for hard surface use.

 

[jmfox]

With all things being equal the turfs should be better in snow since you have more contact area and if you are only using this on hard surfaces then the lugs from the R-4's really shouldn't provide much advantage. However, the R-4's should hold up better and be more versatile for hard surface use.

Silver Creek, that's not far from here. I just started a thread on the Construction board regarding the performance of rubber track machines in the snow. My ASV SR80 is not that good in the mud, so I'm wondering what to expect in typically western new york snow conditions? I've already been told that my 20" wide tracks are useless in icy conditions.

jmf

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I can't help you with your question as I have never ran a tracked machine in the snow. Where abouts are you located?

 

[Builder]

My experience (20 years of plowing) has been that on pavement, R-4's are better than turfs in deep snow because the tire bars are superior at digging through the snow like paddles until they reach the hardtop than a mild turf tread. On unpaved driveways, R-4's are better since once they dig down to the gravel, they have the tire bars to grab the stone better than turf tread.

If the snow is light, then turfs are adequate on pavement. Once the snow gets deep, turfs tend to pack-up and their treads become smooth. Then they tend to float on the snow rather than dig through the snow, down to the surface you're trying to clear.

As you know, when removing snow, you want your tires down on the driveway, not riding on top of packed snow.