I would like to hear from people who are using the R14 tires as to their experience plowing or blowing snow with those tires.
Snow chains…do I need them?
- Thread starter E. B. Farmer
- Start date
Thanks everyone for the feedback. Ordered the front directly from TireChain.com for the best price, the rear and tensioners from TireChain.com through Amazon (thanks @TerryKing) as it was around $100 less than TireChain.com directly.
I have r14's, my place is on a mountain where in the winter it has its own weather system. There is some snowfall every winter night.
New tractor so I have not tried them in snow yet, but will post
my results using R14's in the snow.
Last week I was mowing (3point finish mower) a hill on a dry bright sunny afternoon and in 2WD I was sliding down the hill with the wheels locked, so im not too confident using the R14;s in the snow but we shall see.
If you don't know if it will go or not, I hope your luck holds out.
I also hope the snow isn't deep or slick unless you have other arrangements to clear your driveway, or you have nowhere to go.
I also hope the snow isn't deep or slick unless you have other arrangements to clear your driveway, or you have nowhere to go.
This may help indirectly:
I have both lawn and industrial wheels and swap them regularly as the lawn tires are great for mowing without tearing up the lawn and the industrial are great in the woods with limited travel over the lawn and not much damage or much compaction.
If the rather steep grassy and mossy hills are wet the lawn tires slide, industrial grip like crazy because they can dig in, though they damage the lawn at that point.
On leaf covered hills in the woods I need at least industrial tires, if the hills are wet the tractor slides any time the R4s aren't digging in.
The takeaway is if a sloped surface is slippery the tires need to dig in to grip.
My driveway is sloped and ices up, so I'll need to dig in, and the points of the chains will do that whereas rubber will not. I have v-bar chains on a 10HP walk-behind snow blower and they slightly damage concrete if moving quickly, so I have to: a.) go reasonably slow with the walk-behind, b.) use non-studded chains on the Kubota and go reasonably slow due to the weight of the diesel tractor and implements.
With that said I bought European pattern chains instead of ladder chains to minimize the force of the chains hitting the driveway--like ice skates the wheels only need to melt the ice due to pressure and dig in, not smash things to bits.
Hopefully this type of reasoning can be applied as appropriate to whatever conditions you're facing.
I have both lawn and industrial wheels and swap them regularly as the lawn tires are great for mowing without tearing up the lawn and the industrial are great in the woods with limited travel over the lawn and not much damage or much compaction.
If the rather steep grassy and mossy hills are wet the lawn tires slide, industrial grip like crazy because they can dig in, though they damage the lawn at that point.
On leaf covered hills in the woods I need at least industrial tires, if the hills are wet the tractor slides any time the R4s aren't digging in.
The takeaway is if a sloped surface is slippery the tires need to dig in to grip.
My driveway is sloped and ices up, so I'll need to dig in, and the points of the chains will do that whereas rubber will not. I have v-bar chains on a 10HP walk-behind snow blower and they slightly damage concrete if moving quickly, so I have to: a.) go reasonably slow with the walk-behind, b.) use non-studded chains on the Kubota and go reasonably slow due to the weight of the diesel tractor and implements.
With that said I bought European pattern chains instead of ladder chains to minimize the force of the chains hitting the driveway--like ice skates the wheels only need to melt the ice due to pressure and dig in, not smash things to bits.
Hopefully this type of reasoning can be applied as appropriate to whatever conditions you're facing.
Now THERE'S an Idea! I've seen seriously-studded snow tires used on a snowplow truck.
Has anyone ever studded tractor tires??
Wheel Studs vs Chains
I just got my Marrkey M6x20 wheel studs from Amazon, $50 for 100 studs. Why did I go with studs instead of chains? a. I have chains but I hate them. I use double ladders on my fronts only when it gets icy and I loose steering traction. They make a rough ride and tend to walk a little and I'm...
www.orangetractortalks.com
THANKS Mikester...Wheel Studs vs Chains
I just got my Marrkey M6x20 wheel studs from Amazon, $50 for 100 studs. Why did I go with studs instead of chains? a. I have chains but I hate them. I use double ladders on my fronts only when it gets icy and I loose steering traction. They make a rough ride and tend to walk a little and I'm...
Most I just read was studs in Ag tires. Has anyone studded Turf tires??
I think one might not want to do that because turf tires don't have the deep lugs agriculture or industrial tires have. The studs need to screw and bite into tough rubber, turf tires are usually soft and have thinner rubber for matching the lawn surface and not digging in.
Even putting chains on turf tires seems a bit questionable as the sidewalls (from what I gather here, not personal knowledge) are thinner than industrial or agriculture tires--maybe someone can fill me in on this.
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BAP
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
2012 Kubota 2920, 60MMM, FEL, BH65 48" Bush Hog, 60"Backblade, B2782B Snowblower
Putting tire chains on turf tires is not a problem. You aren’t going to ruin them.
Donystoy
Active member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
LX2610HSDCC, B/H, Loader, plus numerous other attachments. B7200 sold
I have R14s on my LX2610 and have cleared my 4000-foot driveway a couple of times in the last couple of years since I got it. I find them far better than my last B7200 that had turf tires. Both with a front blower. The B7200 was frequently sliding sideways at the edge of the driveway which I do not experience with the R14s on the LX2610.
Thanks for the information. I am considering them for my BX23S. I did pick up a set of R4 tires that I was going to stud and use for the snow blowing.
nbryan
Well-known member
Equipment
B2650 BH77 LA534 54" ssqa Forks B2782B BB1560 Woods M5-4 MaxxHaul 50039
nbryan
Well-known member
Equipment
B2650 BH77 LA534 54" ssqa Forks B2782B BB1560 Woods M5-4 MaxxHaul 50039
Flatish no hills the R14 tires (no fill) on my B2650 do just fine with my front mount blower.