R4 Tire?

[WilliamBos]

I strongly disagree. Last snow, I used the back blade. Went down the driveway and cleared off a 7' wide swath. COULDN'T GET BACK UP THE DRIVE.

I had to spend 3 hours with a shovel to get down to black top to gain traction to get the machine back up the hill and to the shed. Frigg'n worthless. My wife's car drove around the tractor and up the hill.

jb

I agree. They are worthless. The only advantage they offer is longevity, but other than that, no advantage at all.

 

[canoetrpr]

I have R4s and a completely flat driveway. That is about the only set of conditions that I find the R4s are ok in the snow. In hindsight, I think I would have gone with ags since I really have no 'lawn' applications with the tractor.

My pastures are quite wet in the spring and I was worrying about tearing them up with ags.... but heck.. they are pasture. Tearing them up is well worth the extra grip.

I cam to the conclusion wrt. R4s when I spent about 25 min in the ditch driving the tractor from my neighbours to my place. A snowmobiler was driving his snowmobile head on to my tractor... I don't know if he was playing a game of snowmobile chicken or what.... but I naturally moved a bit closer t the edge of the road. The road is nicely banked. I think I was at least a foot from the ditch and the tractor slid sideways and I was in the ditch! 25 min of loader Kung-foo later, I did manage to get out.....

Next year... I'm getting chains. A grown man does not belong in a ditch with his nearly brand new Kubota.

 

[djradz]

So are you saying that those Titans are or are not aggressive for an R4? I've included your original picture in my post.

Yes, it is my believe that the Titan's on my TC-40D are not very agressive. There is not much of an angle to the ribs and lots of open (non-rib) flat area.

One other observation: The tires are extremely large for the load of the tractor. I suspect traction would be somewhat improved by carrying a full bucket (I don't have one), a backhoe or other large rear implement, and loading the tires. Obviously, all this would have a detremental effect on fuel consumption, and my pocket book.

 

[Lunk]

Yes, it is my believe that the Titan's on my TC-40D are not very agressive. There is not much of an angle to the ribs and lots of open (non-rib) flat area.

One other observation: The tires are extremely large for the load of the tractor. I suspect traction would be somewhat improved by carrying a full bucket (I don't have one), a backhoe or other large rear implement, and loading the tires. Obviously, all this would have a detremental effect on fuel consumption, and my pocket book.

I think the throttle lever setting has more to do with fuel consumption than tractor weight, particularly if you're plowing snow. I run at 1600-2000RPM. Upper RPM only to coax a little more speed on occasion.

My tractor, with add-ons, weighs approx 7,000#, and doesn't seem to care what RPM's I plow at, as wheel slip will occur long before it stalls or bogs down. Whether you're running R-1's, R-4's, or R-3's, ballast makes the difference when plowing snow. It was true with my 2wd Ford 2000, the three 4wd p/u trucks I've owned with plows, and is still true with my 3510i. We've only had about 70" of snow this year, compared with 101" last year, and my driveway's only 100 yards long and only partially hilly, but I haven't had problems with my set up yet...Knock wood.

My .02

Lunk

 

[greenmule]

I ain't had my r4's long enough to tell about the traction thing yet. Got them loaded,they are titans. They seem to do fairly well in what little mud I've had it in,no snow to speak of though.

They do make sideways hill mowing seem more stable,and they are better at punture resistance than most aggs I think,and they are easier on yard type ground,and looks like they'd support more weight than aggs,so,there are things they are better at than aggs.

Seems almost for sure ags would do better in mud and snow,nothing does well on ice.

Which leads me to my point,industrials with a good set of rear chains,seems like the best of both worlds. Put them on in late fall,take them off when snow stops in spring.

Think a good set for mine would cost about 500 with shipping? more or less. If I would need to do much snow moving or mud traveling would already have a set,and they would be on right now. Most its snowed at one time here all winter is about 2 inches,no ice and don't plan on running it through any real muddy places,so,I don't have any,yet.

 

[Wheatland KB]

I am running R4s for the first time in 30 years. They are a compromise for sure. I am using my tractor for very diverse applications (as most on TBN are) from snow removal to tilling to mowing to plowing on 5 acres. I am happy with the R4s but I also realize that I am giving up in some areas to gain in others. Less traction in some situations, better wear, less lawn distress. For clearing snow chains are a must once you use them once.
I think it is all about the application when choosing tread pattern.

 

[jimmyj]

I guess I will comment too (against my better judgement as I don't think the tire debate will ever end).

I've only got 48 hours on the new tractor with Titan R4's. Our drive has a 200 foot hill that is probably 20 degrees. At the least it's almost 20. I park the tractor in a shed about 450 feet away and it's also down a hill. I pack snow "roads" and groom them for the snowmobile with the tractor and a box blade.

Never had a problem so far - not even a whiff of a problem. The only time I almost got stuck was when I slipped off the side of a packed snow road and went into 2 to 3 foot deep snow. But I would have been stuck in that situation regarless of the tire.

 

[alchemysa]

In 'Kubotabooks' in the 'Miscellaneous' folder theres an informative article on tyres. Heres a page from the pdf illustrating the various tyre designs.

Kubotabooks.com

 

[dking]

and my two cents worth...

I had Titan R4's on my Kioit - they were not loaded but with weight on the 3pt hitch, like a snow blower, I never had any problem with traction, without the weight I had ok traction. I just got the Titan R1 Ags on - loaded - much, much better. I'm debating wether I'll even need chains now. First thing I need to do is head for the woods to do a test.

 

[greenmule]

Well it snowed here,about 5 inches of real wet snow.

Took tractor out and pushed up a big pile for my little girl to play on.

Left it in 2wd,didn't spin a wheel,snow didn't clog up on tire,even took it up a little hill,so far,so good with them industrials!

I know thats not a real test or anything,but they worked good.

Like said,mine are loaded with methinal and water. I also lowered the air pressure down to about 19 or so[book says 30 period,talked about this though on other threads].

I think 19 might even be a little too much in rears. I also believe many run to much air in their industrial rear tires.

Like I said,ags have to be better in snow and mud,but industrials are better in many ways also,and if they will get you through what you need to get through,than they are just fine.

All this talk about industrials being like racing slicks or something is just that,talk in my opinion,now that I've ran it in some mud and snow. I was worried I'd be stuck in my garden and in 5-6 inches of snow! Ain't worried now.
Might get a set of chains just in case though.

 

[RWolf]

Thanks alchemysa for that link. Found reading the entire pdf on tires interesting. The only complaints that I have about my R1's is the lack of puncture resistance but hey it's a 4PLY tire so I know it's soft. I've had 2 flats (on the same side) one front one back. On the front I actually had two flats same tire. The first time I slimed it and it lasted about 6 months. The second time I plugged it. On the back I had to have someone come out because when it punctured it broke bead and I couldn't get it back on. I keep a plug kit in the tool box and it takes all of a couple of minutes to repair a tire and I'm back in business. As far as ground disturbance that everyone is talking about between R1's and R4's I've found that by using a wider R1 I can aleviate that to a point. When I got my tractor because I knew I was getting a 2wd I had a choice of 13.6, 14.6 and 16.9. I opted for the 14.6 whiched seemed like a good choice. When I need to replace I will probably look into the 16.9's as I'm not doing any row crops just hay. I kinda wish I'd gone with the 16.9's to begin with.

 

[Altex]

Hey "Rwolf", do you know what caused those flats? I have R1 Ag tires. I've been all over my hills that have some sharp rocks and lots of dead wood. Haven't got a flat so far. Is it nails or screws in the driveway? Or running over barbed wire? Just wondering what to look out for and if it's something I can prevent. Thanks!

Alchemysa did give so good info. Here's the picture of the different tires.

 

[JIGBUILDER]

R-4 tires are used around here on construction sites where they don't work when wet. Guys doing finnish work prefere them as they don't tend to dig up thework area. They don't work so good in deep mud (such as river bottom mud with no bottom) or clay soils when wet. My neighbor bought a 'bota with R4's and is looking for a buyer for the R4's. The R4's work great on dry ground but during summer haying and winter , feeding when wet, chores he uses his big Green tractor with the R1 long bar/short bar ag tires.

Depending on soil type/wet season or dry season even the R1 long bar vs long bar short bar can make a difference. The Amish folks around here seem to like the long bar R1 for their use especially on their hiway tractors and R1 long bar short bar for field work.

My son lives in central FL with 17 acres in the sand. R4's are the only way, dry or wet, as R1's tend to dig deep too fast.

 

[jimmyj]

Obviously the only way to resolve this discussion is for each of us to have multiple tractors each with different tires!!

 

[Mech]

and my two cents worth...

I had Titan R4's on my Kioit - they were not loaded but with weight on the 3pt hitch, like a snow blower, I never had any problem with traction, without the weight I had ok traction. I just got the Titan R1 Ags on - loaded - much, much better. I'm debating wether I'll even need chains now. First thing I need to do is head for the woods to do a test.

I have loaded R1s on my JD, plow a lot of snow and I've never needed chains.

 

[RWolf]

I believe that I caught some broken tree trunk for the back tire as some of the cedars didn't come out of the ground cleanly. The front I think was from prickly pear cactus. I never saw anything in the tire.