Tires???

[Chad D.]

Good evening friends! I’m about done messing around, and am ready to pull the trigger on a new B2301. My land is pretty flat, with mostly field. I’ll be using the machine to maintain driveway, clear blackberries, move stuff around, and basic tractor stuff. No intention of mowing with it, as I already have a very nice mower.

Question is, which tire??? We get a lot of rain here in western Oregon, and I want to be able to drag stuff. I don’t need to work when it’s actively pouring cats and dogs, but if you only work on beautiful sunny days around here, you don’t get much work done.

I’d prefer to avoid R1 ag tires, as I’m afraid they’ll tear things up too much. On the other hand, I’m concerned that the R4 will be a joke if it’s raining and I need any traction.

Thoughts on the new R14? I wish it had been on the market longer, because I can’t find much info beyond marketing bologna...

They look like a decent crossover. Are they all they’re cracked up to be? For maybe a hundred bucks more than R4, the cost is of zero concern.

Hoping to get this all ordered on Monday, so I can use it next weekend.


Thanks all. I appreciate any input!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jchonline]

How hilly is your place? If you have much raid you arent going to want to be on side hills much if the grass is that wet. You can slide right down.

That said if you have a yard or something you are going to be running over but dont want to tear up you will probably have to go with R4. Not sure on the R14, time will tell.

 

[SDT]

Good evening friends! I***8217;m about done messing around, and am ready to pull the trigger on a new B2301. My land is pretty flat, with mostly field. I***8217;ll be using the machine to maintain driveway, clear blackberries, move stuff around, and basic tractor stuff. No intention of mowing with it, as I already have a very nice mower.

Question is, which tire??? We get a lot of rain here in western Oregon, and I want to be able to drag stuff. I don***8217;t need to work when it***8217;s actively pouring cats and dogs, but if you only work on beautiful sunny days around here, you don***8217;t get much work done.

I***8217;d prefer to avoid R1 ag tires, as I***8217;m afraid they***8217;ll tear things up too much. On the other hand, I***8217;m concerned that the R4 will be a joke if it***8217;s raining and I need any traction.

Thoughts on the new R14? I wish it had been on the market longer, because I can***8217;t find much info beyond marketing bologna...

They look like a decent crossover. Are they all they***8217;re cracked up to be? For maybe a hundred bucks more than R4, the cost is of zero concern.

Hoping to get this all ordered on Monday, so I can use it next weekend.


Thanks all. I appreciate any input!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For the work you describe, I'd recommend R-1s. Second choice would be R-14s. I would not recommend R-4s, as they won't pull the hat off of your head.

The R-14s have not been available long enough for much real user feedback.

SDT

 

[JeepYJ]

I went with the R14s , no extra charge , so far they seem to work

 

[edritchey]

I'd get the R1 tires they are going to give the best traction the R4 tires work good on heavy machines and they hold up well doing loader and backhoe work but on a light machine the traction is sub par in mud but still would be decent on most other surfaces. I don't have any experience with the R14 tires.

 

[PA452]

I went with the R4s on my B2650 because I wanted more stability and less aggressiveness than R1s, but more tread than turfs. I have yet to decide if that was the right choice. I haven't really gotten into any mud yet.

I probably would have tried R14s had they been available for the B2650. If I would have gotten the B2601 instead I was pretty set on trying the R14s.

 

[chim]

I've been running R4's on three different tractors since 2012. Still have R1's on the old Ford, and tried turfs on a 2WD Cub years ago. For me the R4's are the winner. After the creek in the lower yard floods, I can get on it with the tractor quicker with R4's. It seems Kubota sizes the tires to the machine for the proper amount of flotation.

They do not handle mud as well as the R1's, but I almost never needed to run in the mud. When brand new the sharp shoulders on the outside of the R4 front tires can make a "dot leader" kind of line in the grass on a really sharp turn. R1's are even worse though.

I did groove the tire on the two most recent tractors and it works. Below are links for making the grooves (Post 622 in the first link) and performance on ice (Post 652 in the second link).

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...ting-groving-siping-r-4-a-63.html#post5322908

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/snow-removal/193438-cutting-groving-siping-r-4-a-66.html

 

[Chad D.]

Thanks everyone for the input! As I continue to plod through the weekend, I’m leaning more toward a B2650 than the B2301 for the ability to run 5’ implements with more confidence. A little more cost, but still manageable.

That said, my tire choices are more limited. No R14 available in that size, so looks like R4 will be the best tire for 90% of my use.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PA452]

Growing up everything we had had R1s. I was kind of concerned about the R4s when I was buying my B2650. I felt the more boxy R4s would provide more stability, which I liked as I was a little worried that the B2650 was narrow and would be unstable on side slopes. And I liked that they are more puncture resistant. But I had continually read that traction isn't great. I have yet to get my B2650 into the mud, but so far I've been very happy with the R4s.

 

[Muzzy]

R3's work good for my tasks, next year R14's are supposed to be available for the B2650, may get a set then..

 

[SMKK]

When I bought my B2650 I had the same debate. in the end I got the R4 on my B2650 and I have done a far amount in the fields with them, so far no issue on traction even in wet grass. As long as the wheels are touching I can move. I also moved a lot of manure out of my coverall, some of it while it was pouring down on me too. That is slippery stuff when wet, but when I found myself spinning a little either the engaging the lock or moving to 4 wheel drive I was fine.

Neil at Messicks did a video on the various tires for traction in different conditions, not a huge difference in traction, he also did one on the lawn damage with R4s

Regular Traction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9EVpXjzHsY
Snow traction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvwOmObzvyM
Lawn damage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrToFy3DHQM