Go BottomCompact Tractor Turf tires or R4s for snow
 | TractorGirl9
Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 2 Cle Elum, WA 
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2011-11-25 181369
Upgrading from a (canopy) L3130 (with R4s) to a (cab) L3940 in order to run a front-mount L2194A snow blower for some commercial work this winter. Tire options are turf or R4s, which is best? Had NO PROBLEMS with the R4s and expect to keep using tractor on the farm as before (in addition to the new snow blowing). Of course we'll "juice" the tires for add'l weight but besides being wider & having the fronts wear out quicker, the upside (as I understand it) is that turf tires put more rubber on the ground, therefore better traction. Am hoping to get by without chains if at all possible. Have read the Kubota Review posts but didn't see my answer. What other considerations do I need to think about? Thanks in advance for your help!
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| earthwks
Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 58
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2011-11-25 181372
I keep R4s on all my equipment which are used in anything from sticky clay to hard pack to sand to snow and ice.
That said, Murf is really the guy to weigh in on this.
My feeling is since you aren't actually plowing which takes traction R4s would be totally okay year 'round. ....
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| hardwood
Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 3583 iowa 
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2011-11-25 181373
I'd stay with the R-4's. I've had them for years on three different compacts in every enviroment possible and have got along fine.
I've never used chains, they can tear up things like fenders, steering arms, anything in their way.
Frank. ....
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 | greg_g
Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1816 Western Kentucky 
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2011-11-25 181374
R4s definitely. I had R3s once, and they were not self-cleaning. Tread filled up to the point where I may as well have been driving on greased balloons.
//greg// ....
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 | kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2011-11-25 181376
There have been endless debates on tire choices.
In snow, without chains, turfs are often mentioned as best followed by Ag tires.
If you're looking or an all-purpose tire that will work in soil then the type of soil is a major factor. My experience with R4s in hard clay that develops a powdery surface in dry conditions was very bad, so bad that they couldn't pull themselves out of a 4" deep tire rut when crossing perpendicular to it. I couldn't get them off the tractor fast enough. So the dealer swapped them out for R1 Ag tires and I'm very pleased with them in all conditions. They will mess up soft finished lawns and fields in a hurry though.
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 | DennisCTB
Join Date: Nov 1998 Posts: 2706 NorthWest NJ
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2011-11-26 181379
The L series is a big machine. If you are not buying new where you have a choice and already have the R4's and a mix of uses, I think you should not change the tires just for your winter application. That said, I have Turfs and use the tractor for mowing, snow and loader work. The Turfs really look like Snow tires, and while I don't need chains, the Turfs will make the chains stick out more than on an R4' as they won't fall into the larger cleats on the R4's. This can have pros and cons, as sticking out more on pavement will actually decrease traction, but sticking out will give better traction in softer material.
In any case having 4WD vs 2WD on a tractor is what makes all the difference in the snow.
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 | auerbach
Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 2168 West of Toronto
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2011-11-27 181389
You can get an immense amount of info if you google
tractor tire treads + test ....
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 | Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7248 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2011-11-28 181397
Late to the party, but here none the less.
As long as you're not working on turf, the R4's won't be a problem, the turfs are still better traction in most cases though.
You can chain turfs, you can't 'smooth' R4's.
I also am not a big fan of filling tires, A heavy implement on the rear is a better, and handier, option IMHO. A rear blade for instance can be used to pull snow away from a building, or out of a doorway. Besides, you can always drop a blade or other implement to reduce weight to avoid soil compaction, you can't do that with liquid ballast.
The other thing is flats are a PITA with filled tires.
Best of luck.
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 | treeman
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 251 Wisconsin
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2011-11-29 181411
I have turfs on my NH tc33d and am happy with them. If your into mud, turfs will fill with mud and turn them to giant slicks. R4s are bad on anything hard and slick like ice or greasy mud on frozen or hard pack. Winter tires for a car have sipes in the tread and the R4s have no sipes. The turfs ride smoother too. ....
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