B7510 Front Tires Tearing Up Lawn

[scottb7510]

Hello,

I've received a lot of good info from this site and decided to officially join today to see if I could get some help with an issue I'm having.

I have a B7510 HST with turf tires and MM 60" mower. The front tires are cutting into the grass when I make sharp turns such as going around a tree. I now have rings around my trees from the tires tearing up the grass. I am in 2WD and I don't believe I'm somehow locked in in 4WD since it's been real noticeable when I've shifted in and out of 4WD while pushing brush with the FEL.

Any thoughts?

Scott

 

[Hook]

Never had one with turf tires but I'm not surprised you are tearing up grass when making tight turns. Anytime you turn the steering wheel the front tires are rolling and side slipping. The tighter you turn the more the tires side slip or "plow" and the more likely you are to tear up grass. A good example of this is when you are using your tractor (in 2wd) to plow a garden. When you try to make a tight turn the tractor wants to keep going straight and the front wheels furrow the loose ground. I have R-4 tires on my tractor and they are pretty good on grass. However, when I make tight turns they leave marks. Hope this helps. Welcome to OTT.

 

[Swamper]

I had the same problem. Just slow down when making a tight turn. That way you won't crowd the front tires sideways as much.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Try letting 3 to 5 pounds of air pressure out of the tires and see if that help a little bit. Kinda the same idea applys here like when driving a 4 wheel drive acorss sand, making a wider foot print with the tires. I run a landscaping biz on the side and with my commerical Toro mower I take a few pounds of air pressure out of my tires so they are a bit softer and wont tear up the turf.

 

[scottb7510]

Thanks for all the input. Good to know that there's not something fundamentally wrong with the tractor and some modification in my driving style may help. I'll also try dropping a few lbs from the tires as you suggest, Eric.

Thanks!

Scott

 

[Rusty46]

scottb7510 - You probably have only about 22 psig in your front turf tires. If you reduce air pressure in your front tires, your cutting height will probably be lower also. You may want to set the mmm higher to compensate.

I have had the same problem around trees. Some areas of my lawn are more prone to this type of damage. It helps to go slow around the trees. It also helps to trim circles by a series of straight cuts around the tree. That is, mow past the tree in a straight line, back up while turning gently, mow another straight line past the tree at a different angle, and repeat as necessary to mow around the entire tree. Warning: this requires more patience than I sometimes have, but it does reduce the scuffing!

 

[scottb7510]

Patience is not my strong suite either! Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Eric McCarthy]

On the flip side, faster and easier way is to cut out around with the tree with a push mower. You should be fine with letting out a few pounds of air pressure to soften the front end up. My Toro Proline walkbehind is a zero turn mower and I can zip around trees and bushes without any problems.

 

[Kytim]

Its just my opinion but, 22psi seems awfully hard. I dont run the max in my tires. I also dont run filled tires either though. A softer tire has a wider footprint as well resisting cutting. they also tend to float over muddy conditions as well. But by all means, no sharp turns.

 

[Orange Tractors]

I agree with Kytim, 22 psi makes for a very hard turf tire.

I run 12 psi all around in the turf tires on my L175 with 20x8.00-10 front and 13.6-16 rear tires. The only time I tear out any grass is when I lock a brake, then the locked tire skids a bit.

I would lower the pressure a little more, but it cuts level now and it is easy to remember waht the tire pressure should be.

Robert

 

[ipz2222]

Do as rusty says, every other time. Mow your grass different to keep from forming ruts and patterns.

 

[ipz2222]

And slow down. Remember, the rear tires are trying to push you straight foward.

 

[Rusty46]

scottb7510 - You probably have only about 22 psig in your front turf tires. If you reduce air pressure in your front tires, your cutting height will probably be lower also. You may want to set the mmm higher to compensate.

Scottb7500 - I stand corrected. Sorry, I apparently gave you bad information. 22 psig is what is recommended in my Owners Manual for front tire operating pressure (It is also the maximum pressure for my tire). I did quite a bit of research on this issue after reading the comments of others, and found that most people run the turfs below maximum pressure. I am going to drop my fronts to 15 psig, try them at that pressure and go from there. It is a good day when you learn something new that you can use!

 

[cabu]

Hello,

I know, most people don't like my idea, but I use an grass trimmer around my trees, befor I use the tractor. The professionals, who do the job along the street in our county do nearly the same. First mulching the grass and then using the trimmer for the rest what the maschine has left. But they don't collect the gras.
It's more work, but until now the best and harmless solution to the lawn and the tree...

carl

 

[Kytim]

In reality, 8-9psi would be plenty hard enough if your mower height will adjust out level. As I understand it, air in Ag/turf tires is more about volume instead of pressure alone. I know they are both graphically connected but, enough volume to keep the bead sealed to the wheel and carry the maximum expected load will allow the largest footprint while reducing compaction and rutting in the field. Thus it is totally counter to the idea we use on our on-road vehicles for the best fuel economy and wear.

 

[cmorningstar01]

I know, most people don't like my idea, but I use an grass trimmer around my trees, befor I use the tractor

I also use a string trimmer and a push mower around most of my smaller trees/shrubs and along my fence lines and walls, I do it before I mow so that when I go back over it with the finish mower any tall cut grasses are chopped up

Thus it is totally counter to the idea we use on our on-road vehicles for the best fuel economy and wear.

Yes, Most modern on road vehicles have a suspension system and steering system with castor and cambor and the suspension allows for the tire to travel over the surface while turning with less sideways scuffing, Most tractors have very rudimentary front axles that do not lend themselves well to travel and especially turning at higher speeds. Considering that most are designed for off road use and generally to be used in fields and farm plots the systems tractors have are more than sufficient.

 

[ipz2222]

CABU, my idea is tonot use a grass trimmer or trim mower at all. Anytime my wife wants to plant something, I make her measure it out so I can mow around it with my 60 inch mower and not come back and trim.
ps, I was in ramstien Ger, in the early 70's. I loved going out to the small towns and finding the local resturant and eating. To those that don't know, these were all owned by local people and not big franchises. The food was SOOOO GOOD. Outside the army hospital at Laundstul, there was a snitsel stand, ( did I spell it right?), we would ride up there, get a snitsel on a brot with german mustard and a bottle of wine or beer. I'll take that over a hamburger any day.

 

[cabu]

I was in ramstien Ger, in the early 70's. I loved going out to the small towns and finding the local resturant and eating. To those that don't know, these were all owned by local people and not big franchises. The food was SOOOO GOOD. Outside the army hospital at Laundstul, there was a snitsel stand, ( did I spell it right?), we would ride up there, get a snitsel on a brot with german mustard and a bottle of wine or beer. I'll take that over a hamburger any day.

Everytime I meet an american who was in good old germany he/she said, that the food was very good. Why is it not possible to get the same quality in the states? When I was 4 weeks on my trip there in June this year, I visited many restaurants, a lot of them franchises, and it was nearly everywhere the same food. Even the menu's looks the same. In every state.
Exept in Leavenworth, they make nearly Bavarian food style.
And also a good Schnitzel.
What I really miss when I am not in Germany is the bread. I allways say there is one country with 200 kinds of bread and 200 country's with one kind...

It sounds you had a good time in Germany

carl

 

[aquaforce]

On hard turns I tear my grass a little too.

Has anyone tried to change "toe" to compensate for this?
I have thought about it but haven't tried to see if it would effect the tire dig or S.A.I. steering axis inclination. When I first got my tractor it felt darty on a hard surface to I adjusted toe for a more straight ahead parallel tire position. I wondered if I took too much toe out and made my scuffing on the grass?

 

[Orange Tractors]

On hard turns I tear my grass a little too.

Has anyone tried to change "toe" to compensate for this?
I have thought about it but haven't tried to see if it would effect the tire dig or S.A.I. steering axis inclination. When I first got my tractor it felt darty on a hard surface to I adjusted toe for a more straight ahead parallel tire position. I wondered if I took too much toe out and made my scuffing on the grass?

The only time I remember messing with the toe of a tractor was when we put a loader on a 9N Ford when I was a kid. Once we put the "custom" wheels and tires on we set the toe at 1/8" in as per my Dad. IT must have been pretty close to right, I never remember that tractor driving squirrely, and I roaded it a lot of miles in my youth.

That tractor had a Sherman overdrive and would run pretty close to twenty MPH before the loader was installed. Way too fast for a kid to be driving on gravel, with the left brake and clutch on the left and the right brake on the right. Guess which brake got all the use, I'll give you a hint, it wasn't the left one.

I have also set toe-in on several vehicles to get them driveable, I normally set them between 1/16" and 1/8" depending how on the diameter of the tire.

Robert