Then I looked through the manual and it says this under "Changing Wheel Spacing and Tread Width": "Rear tires can be mounted in one position only."

Maybe they were referring to the R4 Tires and Rims.

The rims you show pictured are adjustable.

If they are loaded they are a bear to handle and I'd recommend getting help. Me, I'd call a tire service and have them come out since I don't have the proper tools, like a wheel lift / dolly.

 

I'd vote on moving your rim to the outside of the center plate

 

I am the one that flipped the tractor and I have the same wheels and tires that you have.

I am in a little bit different situation because I have to run my tractor in vineyard rows so I am limited in the width that I can have.

But I am probably going to get weights and move my wheels out (If they will work in that position).

Our wheels are 4 position wheels. You have two options on the dish and two options on the mounting rim to dish. It appears that your dish is out and that your rims are in. So that would be in the 3rd widest position. To go to the widest position you would need to remove the wheel take the dish off the rim and move it to the other side. The remount the 8 bolts that hold the dish to the rim, and remount it to the Tractor.

If you have a bottle jack you can jack up your tractor and do this fairly easily.

But if you do not want to do it yourself, this is something that a mobile tire person could do very easily for you.

 

Yes you can mount in multiple different orientations with the R1 tires. I have to check but I think I have mine mounted on the inside of the rim mount and also have the 61" bucket. To help with ballast I have three wheel weights on each rear tire (no fluid). That made a huge difference in stability.

 

That makes the most sense to me, and the direction I was headed in when I posted, wanted to get some independent opinions. I had similar wheels and R1’s on my Ford and did change things up.

I see 2 options: get mobile service to do this, or use my car floor jack and my beefy jack stands with my son’s help. He’s a big strong guy.

I have filled tires and a Heavy Hitch. The HH is typically on when I am on a slope for grapple work to offset the weight of logs, and I rarely go perpendicular to the slope. Don’t mow on a slope, fortunately.

Thanks for all the replies!

 

Looks like the hubs are already in the the outer most position, about all you can do is move the wheel to the outside for max width. As mentioned, if loaded with liquid ballast they can be a bear to handle.

After that Wheel spacers would be in order to go any wider.
Personally I think all 3Rs really should have wheel spacers to get them stable, especially on a cab model.

 

I have the larger R4s on my 3720, adding 2" spacers made a noticeable difference.

Edit: Also, you don't have to lift loaded tires, you can maneuver them carefully while keeping them upright and never letting them tip over...a second set of hands does help though.

 

As Brads Vineyard said, you have the option of also unbolting the outer rim from the cast center section, and swapping them from the left side of the machine to the right and right side to left, facing the tread the same direction it is now. That will allow the option of the second widest and widest positions that your combo offers. It will put your valve stem to the inside. But, you should/will gain a considerable amount of width.

Do you have an operators manual for your machine? It will specify all of this, in it.


Edit; Are they still cast centers, or stamped steel?

 

As Brads Vineyard said, you have the option of also unbolting the outer rim from the cast center section, and swapping them from the left side of the machine to the right and right side to left, facing the tread the same direction it is now. That will allow the option of the second widest and widest positions that your combo offers. It will put your valve stem to the inside. But, you should/will gain a considerable amount of width.

Do you have an operators manual for your machine? It will specify all of this, in it.

The manual I got only said what I noted in my original post above. I am on target to go to a 2-inch wider setting tomorrow morning. The super wide option can be accomplished by just swapping sides like I noted above, but I don’t want 6 inches wider per side. The two inches is based on width of bucket and Kenny’s (& that of others) positive experience in going 2 inches more per side, adding 4 inches to total rear width. I’m confident that will do what I need.

 

Gotcha. In the manual for my machine, it gets very specific on changing rear wheel positions.
If you also swap sides, tread facing forward, valve stem inward, but have the center section inverted (dish inward, opposite of your pic) you will have other width options too. I'm not sure how they would specifically differ on your machine (numbers wise), in that configuration, but it's more options to choose from.

 

Yep, thanks SRG. My Ford 1910 manual also was that specific, and that’s why I widened the Ford rear R1’s 25 years ago. My JD manual is not great. However, a post on another thread had a nice diagram from another tractor that is much as you describe. I’ve also done this mod on an older Kubota and a neighbor’s old Case. Just wanted to check in with the GTT pros before getting out the wrenches, jack stands and floor jack. In my next life I will rewrite JD manuals.

 

Sounds like you got it.
Odd that the manual is so vague on the subject.

 

Pretty poor on JD's part saying those are one position wheels.
They are 8 position wheels. All positions may not fit your tractor.
Center can be dish in or dish out (2 positions)
Wheel/rim can be mounted inside the center or outside the center (2 positions)
Wheel/rim can have valve stem inboard or out board. (2 positions)
2 x2 x2 = 8 positions
A better manual would tell the tread width for each position and tell which, if any positions, were not usable.

 

Done — ready for the drag races!

 

Thats why I love the AG tire/wheel combo. Very versatile, with the adjustability.

 

How much did you gain? The only way to get wider yet is put the wheels valve stem in.

 

As expected I got 2 inches more per side, for a total of 4 inches wider. I know I can flip the wheels (left to right and right to left to keep the tread in correct position), but my target was 2 inches more per side.

And yes, I know about all the options for these kinds of wheels. Did this with 3 other non-JD tractors with R1 tires. Easy, quick, and I got the expected increase in stability.

 

Steve,

I am thinking about doing the same on my tractor. It is at Deere right now so I can not measure mine to see how wide it will be by adding the 4".

Could you measure the overall with of your tires now that you made the swap? I would really appreciate it. I want to confirm the total width before I go ahead and have Deere do it while it is in the shop.

Thanks in advance

 

Steve,

I am thinking about doing the same on my tractor. It is at Deere right now so I can not measure mine to see how wide it will be by adding the 4".

Could you measure the overall with of your tires now that you made the swap? I would really appreciate it. I want to confirm the total width before I go ahead and have Deere do it while it is in the shop.

Thanks in advance

Brad — 60 inches edge to edge, HUGE improvement in stability.

Edit: so mine must have been 56 inches before the shift. I measured more carefully this time.

 

Thanks,

That would make it 2" wider than my 870 and the same width as all of my implements.

I am 90% sure I am going to have them set this way. I am also getting wheel weights. After tipping it over I want to make it as stable as I can while still fitting in my Vineyard rows.

Thanks again for measuring it for me.

 

When I bought mine I felt it tippy as well so searched and found a place that custom makes wheel spacers for anything. I searched google and 3046 tractor. He can make spacers up to 6" wide for the 3046. I didn't want to be obscene so I went with 1.5" each front wheel and 3" each back. WORLD OF DIFFERENCE! Just note however, rumor has it this will void axle warrents as JD quit offering spacers 4-5 yrs ago. I could try to find where I got mine if interested. Been 5 yrs ago. His manufacturing tolerances were fairly tight after I had them powder coated.

 

Does anyone know if a 3046r can have the front 15" wheels replaced with wheels that are 16"? Does it cause problems? Appreciate your thoughts, thanks.

 

Wheel itself if it has the correct offset and bolt pattern, it should not cause any issues.
The tire selections for the 16" wheel if deviated from the original sizes, is where problems could easily arise.

What tire type and size do you have now and what type and size are you wanting to put on that 16" Rim would be vital information to answering your question.

 

The tire height and width are most important, and the rear tire height is critical to keep it similar in relation to what is called the lead/lag.

Meaning a larger or taller front tire while keeping the same height or original rear tire, you can end up with a really major mechanical problem or conflict, since the 4wd is setup for the lead lag or the relationship in height of the rear and the front tires the factor used.

Here is the combo I put on my 3046, also a hybrid turf radial and also fit the original wheels found on the original R3 truf tires.

Finally found hybrid turf radials for the 3046R

I had actually found where these were shown as new sizes available from Galaxy back in late 2020, but I tried many times to find a set. Finally found a full set at NTS Got them ordered today. Tires are Galaxy Garden Pro XTD...

www.greentractortalk.com

Needing 215/70R15 For the fronts = 27x8.5-15same as the bias ply turfs that are on it.
Needing 400/70R20 For the rears = 42x15.5-20 very close to the rear bias turfs that are on it.
Those sizes should be perfect, the large OEM Bias R4's are 27 front and 43 rear. the OEM turf bias is 27 front and 41 rear.”

For 16" the tire you would be looking for that comes in around 27"s tall unless you're increasing the height of the rear tires in a very similar ratio between them.

 

This is the only Nokian snow tire I see in the 16" size.
783mm height is close to 31"s tall.
You would have to also bump your rear tires to something like 49-50"
Which I am not sure you can clear either one without doing some measuring.
If you can clear the rear, you may need wheel spacers or special offset wheel to get the clearance right on the front.
250/75R16 120G NOKIAN TYRES HAKKAPELIITTA TRI TL

Show less
DOWNLOAD DATA SHEETBUY TIRES

LI / SS	Recommended rim	Permitted rims	Tyre width	Tyre diameter	Static loaded radius	Tread depth
120G	W8	7J, 7.5J, W7, 8J, 8.5J, W9, 9J, 9.00	258 mm	783 mm	363 mm	16 mm

Rolling circumference	Speed radius index	Max inflation pressure	PR
2390 mm	-	450 kPa	-

Product code
T845540

 

wow, first of all, thanks. I guess I wasn't completely clear, let me try harder. I have the radials, which are nothing to be sad about, I like them and they are fairly decent in the snow. I was hoping to upgrade to the Nokians (I get very deep snow at my place) and I just presumed I would be able to find a Nokian for the rear wheels (yes, I planned to install the Nokians on all 4) because Nokian makes snow tires starting at 16" and larger, so I didn't think the rear would be a problem to find but I figured I would have to put a 16" wheel on the front in order to get a Nokian tire to fit the front end (as I previously said, they don't make a 15" snow tire). I am not that crazy with money to trade my tractor for a 4 series just so I can get Nokian snow tires...

 

I think I understand your goal, but I not sure what radials you would already have unless there the same galaxy radial that I have.
There is not any radial tires offered by Deere from the factory for any 3 sereies machines.
The only radial offered by Deere from the factory in the 3 or 4 series family is that Nokian snow tire that is only found on that 4R series.

 

I guess this explains why the 3046r snow cab edition doesn't come with Nokian snow tires as an option from the factory because JD would have to install bigger wheels on the 3 series platform..

 

I guess this explains why the 3046r snow cab edition doesn't come with Nokian snow tires as an option from the factory because JD would have to install bigger wheels on the 3 series platform.

They sort of do offer it, only it becomes the 4 series.
Still nothing to really do with Wheel sizes, more about the tire sizes.

The size of rear tire that the 31" front Nokian tire would need, would pretty much put you in the same tire sizes the 4 series machine uses.

The tires I am running on my 3046R is linked above are about as close to Nokian tire you can get that will fit a 3046R.

I have heard of guys putting 4 series tires on 3Rs, never tried it, not sure what all is involved to accomplish it.
That is big enough spread, I would have to think that much tire size increase would affect gearing and would or could create a power issue in some applications.

 

appreciate the advice, thank you very much.

 

The tires on the lot tractor now also say Galaxy but the tread pattern is different than your tire tread pattern you have...

 

My main concern was when you mentioned it had radials already on it, that someone was selling you a Bias ply tire and possibly misleading you and telling you that it's a radial.

Does the tread on yours look like this?

I just caught your Canada location flag.

I am pretty well versed on what Deere offers for the US market in the compact tractor lines, however I suppose there could be something unique offered to the Canadian market.

I just didn't want you to be getting mislead by a dealer salesman, which quite often are not all that familiar or say familiar as they should be with their products they are selling.

 

I agree with you, my particular salesman doesn't seem all that "sharp" on the tire stuff and yes, the photo you just attached looks like the tread pattern that is on the tractor that just arrived for me, that tread is different than your Galaxys, yes?

 

That was the bias ply turf tires that came from the factory on my 3046.
If your sales person was saying those were radials, he is mistaken.
I just wanted to clarify that for you, so that you would know what they were really selling you.

Only way I know of to get radials on a Deere 3 series that I am aware of, is via the aftermarket and from my experience, there are very few choices out there.
Actually I spent a couple years trying to get the set I have on My 3046R.

Galaxy/Yokohama anouced the expanded list of sizes, that were coming out in their Garden pro XTD hybrid turf radial, which I seem to recall it was announced back in October 2020.

I started trying to find a set from back then all the way till last month, when I finally got set located and bought in those new sizes (the sizes I was needing).

They had finally made it to market.

I would imagine you can still get them today if you wanted.
It just seemed to take forever for the sizes I needed for the 3046R to finally hit the shelves.