[Manomet]

I have a 2520 with R4's that is doing a number on my lawn and so I am thinking about switching to R3's. Does anyone know if the wheels have to be changed as well? Any opinions on the R3's as far as weight carrying in the bucket and overall durability (side wall punctures by roots etc.) for general all around use. I have a 200csx and a 46 Backhoe and use both while rearranging the borders of my property around a big lawn which is starting to suffer. Thanks for any experience/ advise you can offer

 

[Martian]

Not sure about size, but I would believe they require the same size wheels.

As far as load capacity, they will be the exact same, only the R4's will have a little better traction in dirt, but the R3's are softer on the turf - all depends on what you need.

 

[glc]

Personally,I'd stick with the R4's being you do "dirt work". The R4's are 6 ply tires.They are a lot tougher than the 4 ply R3's. The load rating will differ also.
Tire Loads NOTE: Maximum load capacity for single tire.
Front (23x8.5-12 R4 6PR) 303 kg (667 lb)
Front (24x8.5-14 R3 4PR) 171 kg (558 lb)
Rear (14-17.5 R4 6PR) 991 kg (2185 lb)
Rear (36x14.00-15 R3 4PR) 535 kg (1179 lb)
You WILL have to get new wheels. They are different sizes. Best thing may be to look for a set of used.
R3 fronts...........24 x 8.5 x 14
R3 rears............36 x 14.00 x 15

What exactly is happening to make you want to change tires? I've had no problems with the R4's even in soft conditions. One thing for sure,you have to be a little more gentle with the steering and gas pedal. Don't make any abrupt or sharp turns and easy when accellerating. If you don't use this practice,even R3's aren't going to help.
My .02

Greg

 

[dieselshadow]

Great post Greg. :thumbup1gif:

My experience with the R4's on my lawn have been excellent, even on wet soil conditions. The only time I tore up the lawn was when I spun the tires trying to do something I shouldn't have. (It didn't help by the way, just put some divots in the yard.:laugh Mowing even it damp conditions has had great success. Maybe it has something to do with the hardiness of my weeds I call a lawn.:lol: I am careful about sharp turns, usage of 4WD, speed, and loading. My yard has lots of steep slopes and areas that grass is very patchy. Traction can be iffy on a good day. I can definitely say I'm very pleased I chose the R4s.

Maybe 2 sets of wheels and tires would be a good alternative for you Manomet.:hi:

 

[Manomet]

Well GLC is right I called the dealer and they confirmed new set of wheels and lower ply, softer sidewall, less weight carrying ability. On a good note they do sell 4 wheels w/4 mounted tires as a set at about a $500 savings to buying them separately. I have made several burnouts trying to dig out rocks , pick up bucketfuls etc. that I was hoping to avoid. My wife also wants to use this and I think she is starting to get intimidated in that she might cause some of the same damage. They also do leave an imprint in softer areas, but at $1500 + tax I will not be buying a set soon. We have only had this great new tool about a month I will have to learn how to attack things a little more lawn friendly. Thanks for your help.

 

[Fran_K]

I have an 5105 with the industrial tires r4 maybe the front are technically I3 not sure and a 5410 with the turf tires which may or may not technically be r3. The tractor manuals basically call for the same wheel and tire options just the larger one can go a bit bigger so the list is a bit longer. You can see them if you wander into my profile and album if you think my experience might be helpful.

The rear load rating is really basically the same, the load rating for the turf tires on the front is missing.

Just being in four wheel drive and making a hard turn really distorts the sideall of the front, more so if a slope is involved. If they were to be used with a loader one would give up a lot of capacity for the lack of ground impact. Even the r4/I3 ones get quite vague steering with loads that need more than a few hundred pounds on the back to keep those wheels on the ground.

When the turf tires slip they make a harmonic vibration. It wasn't until I got this with the brakes that I was sure it wasn't a clutch issue. So when mowing and changing direction you either won't snap your neck so bad or have to be kind of gentle or will get that vibration.

Once the turf tires slip, you are basically done. Mowing up a hill in two wheel drive and loosing traction going to four wheel dirve doesn't always work, certianly not like the other tractor.

Using the r4 in two wheel drive lessens the impact but I will disagree with another post about the ground impact of them (air only) The turf tires just don't leave tire marks that you can see any tread when the other ones leave say half inch dents.

I'll add, of course enough passes especially involving turning will have ground impact more than one straight pass. Unless you can get some down force with the implement whether on the front or the back the amount of push or pull might not be all that impressive. I don't claim to be an experienced operator and am set up to be as hard to flip over as possible hence no loader however the idea is to use the curl of the bucket. Perhaps using the backhoe and making narrow piles to scoop up if you havn't already adopted that technique.

 

[tomd999]

Hiya,

Having had a 2520 in the past, I would like to suggest that your issue is the tractor is like all other 2x20 series, far too light. I had all sorts of traction issues when I first got mine, the tires would blow off and dig a trench so easy when pulling out of a material pile or even box blading, the tires would slip.

I resolved the traction issues by loading the rear tires with beet juice and adding a set of weights. It was still a bit light for loader work in loose or rocky soil but it was a vast improvement. I used it with a RFM for my lawn, with the added weight, it didn't slip the tires and ruin the lawn even in wet grass.

If you want to add weight to the front, you can put 3 forty Lb suitcase weights on the frame and the loader will clear them. I used that with my loader plow to keep the front wheels on the ground when in float.

If your doing all loader work, and your issue is that you have trouble backing out of a pile with a bucket, you can swap the wheels so that the tread will be reversed, giving you a lot more traction pulling out of the material pile.

My 2 cents,

Tom

 

[andy b.]

I agree with Tom. I just received my 2520 Friday, so I can't comment directly on that specific tractor, but on my 1966 Deere 110 lawn tractor, adding rear wheel weights made a huge difference. The wheels almost never spin now unless I am running up a steep hill on wet grass. I was thinking the rear weights would cause more problems than help, but they don't seem to have any negative affect while mowing, and the positive is almost no wheel slippage.

Andy B.

 

[glc]

I was thinking the rear weights would cause more problems than help, but they don't seem to have any negative affect while mowing, and the positive is almost no wheel slippage

Interesting info. I can see this making perfect sense.

Greg

 

[Buzzerbaby]

For a tractor newbie, who'da thunk that I would've spent so much time worrying about which tires to choose. Now if my 1026 would ever be delivered I can see if I made the right choice.


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