[SRG]

Years back I tired this type tire. Worked great in the spring but the drier/harder the ground got the less traction I had. Mid to late summer they were terrible.

I agree to a degree ....they were still gobs better on a side hill, than the turf tires, in the same conditions.

 

[dieselshadow]

Yeah, but your conditions aren’t someone else’s conditions. We all must take that into consideration when giving or giving advice like tire selection. There isn’t always a “right or wrong” here.

For example Gator blades work great for me, but many have reported they aren’t as good as the stock blades for them. Different mowers, different lawns, different operators, and differing opinions.

 

[SRG]

Yeah, but your conditions aren’t someone else’s conditions. We all must take that into consideration when giving or giving advice like tire selection. There isn’t always a “right or wrong” here.

For example Gator blades work great for me, but many have reported they aren’t as good as the stock blades for them. Different mowers, different lawns, different operators, and differing opinions.

My apologies, I didnt realize that I said I was right, and someone else was wrong. I thought I was only stating my opinion and experiences.
I guess I thought hard dry ground in the summer was pretty average across the board, and that I experience that condition also, which happened to be the same as was stated, by gizmo.
🤷‍♂️
Surely a misunderstanding somewhere.

 

[JD4052M]

I’ve noticed that the turf tires don’t do well when it’s dry either. Generally, in my experience, turf tires work best when the ground is moist/wet enough to have some give to it, allowing the treads the sink in a little. In really wet conditions, they pack up with mud and slide on anything. When it is dry, they slide on the dry grass and spin out/slide something terrible on dry dirt. It sounds like the AT101’s act similar except they do much better in wet conditions. The Field Trax hopefully will cover all the bases well, as we go from really wet to really dry on a regular basis.

 

[dieselshadow]

My apologies, I didnt realize that I said I was right, and someone else was wrong. I thought I was only stating my opinion and experiences.
I guess I thought hard dry ground in the summer was pretty average across the board, and that I experience that condition also, which happened to be the same as was stated, by gizmo.
🤷‍♂️
Surely a misunderstanding somewhere.

I wasn’t poking at you, just bringing a reminder to the forefront. What works for me may not work for you. The old saying “your mileage may vary” comes to mind.

I meant no malice towards you or anyone.

 

[JD4052M]

Ordered a pair of Carlisle HD Field Trax 24x12-12’s today. $145.38 each and free shipping on Amazon. Should be here Monday. Then we’ll have the tire shop swap the tires and try them out!

 

[SRG]

Nice!

The Versa Turfs I ordered on Saturday, showed up today. They're a good looking tire. Hope to have them on this weekend.

 

[trav]

Nice!

The Versa Turfs I ordered on Saturday, showed up today. They're a good looking tire. Hope to have them on this weekend.

I'm looking forward to seeing Versa Turfs on a ZTR and hearing how they perform, I considered them but I don't think they make them in my size.
I just remembered that they didn't sell the AT101's in my size so I bought the bar tires which look a lot more aggressive than the AT's.

 

[SRG]

Not mounted yet.
I will update. They're quite meaty!

 

[JD4052M]

Not mounted yet.
I will update. They're quite meaty!

View attachment 843413

If you get stuck with those I’d probably personally give you an award. Seems like they shouldn’t pack up with mud too bad. The chevron tread pattern like R1’s should help them clean out good. If those were offered on every tractor and had the durability of R4’s no question I’d buy them every time.

 

[SRG]

I'm looking forward to seeing Versa Turfs on a ZTR and hearing how they perform, I considered them but I don't think they make them in my size.
I just remembered that they didn't sell the AT101's in my size so I bought the bar tires which look a lot more aggressive than the AT's.

Yeah I could tell by looking at that pic, that the model you showed, looked more aggressive than the AT101's. The AT101's really aren't that aggressive for an R1. The bar lug of the AT101, is little more rounded, and not near as deep.

Edit; Also I think the way the lug rounds out over the edge of the sidewall on the AT101, kind of tames the aggressiveness, where as the pic you showed the lug has kind of abrupt edge which will dig in and bite more, when turning. Which would be great for traction issues, but not so great if the goal is to be gentle. Just what I see.

 

[JD4052M]

These tires are awesome! The tire shop got them installed this morning, and once we got home and got them on the mower, dad and I both just HAD to try them out. I took it down by the creek to some spots I always had trouble in with the turfs. One is a little wet, shaded corner of bare dirt and the other is a steep embankment. The corner next to the creek was wet enough that I know the turfs would have broken loose, packed with mud, and I’d be hopelessly stuck. I backed all the way into it, then proceeded to go forward which is also uphill. Tires didn’t even slip, much less break loose and pack with mud. Just left some tracks. The other spot is an embankment that is between the yard and the creek. At the bottom of the bank there is about a 8’ wide “shelf” before you get to the creek. In the past I have just driven forward down the bank, then backed up out of it, and usually I struggled to get back up as the tires would easily break loose. So today I drove about halfway down the bank, stopped, then started backing up. I felt the tires start to slip a little but they held and got me back up into the yard without a problem. I also tracked part of our big hill that was hard to hold with the turfs, especially when it’s dry. Today it was really dry and the mower tracked it no problem, no sliding. I was worried about the tires ripping up the turf when turning, but I made about a 2.5’ circle in the grass and the inside tire didn’t do hardly any damage. All in all, I think these will work out great for us. Besides functionality, they also make the mower look good 😉

 

[trav]

These tires are awesome! The tire shop got them installed this morning, and once we got home and got them on the mower, dad and I both just HAD to try them out. I took it down by the creek to some spots I always had trouble in with the turfs. One is a little wet, shaded corner of bare dirt and the other is a steep embankment. The corner next to the creek was wet enough that I know the turfs would have broken loose, packed with mud, and I’d be hopelessly stuck. I backed all the way into it, then proceeded to go forward which is also uphill. Tires didn’t even slip, much less break loose and pack with mud. Just left some tracks. The other spot is an embankment that is between the yard and the creek. At the bottom of the bank there is about a 8’ wide “shelf” before you get to the creek. In the past I have just driven forward down the bank, then backed up out of it, and usually I struggled to get back up as the tires would easily break loose. So today I drove about halfway down the bank, stopped, then started backing up. I felt the tires start to slip a little but they held and got me back up into the yard without a problem. I also tracked part of our big hill that was hard to hold with the turfs, especially when it’s dry. Today it was really dry and the mower tracked it no problem, no sliding. I was worried about the tires ripping up the turf when turning, but I made about a 2.5’ circle in the grass and the inside tire didn’t do hardly any damage. All in all, I think these will work out great for us. Besides functionality, they also make the mower look good 😉
View attachment 844593 View attachment 844594

Hey those look better than mine! Now I need more new tires 🤣

 

[SRG]

Yeah those look good. Like an ATV tire.

 

[JD4052M]

Yeah those look good. Like an ATV tire.

I think just the looks are worth the money lol. The mower looks 100 times better with these vs the old turfs. They actually are ATV tires according to Carlisle. I believe these are the exact same tires Deere offers on the X500 Series.

 

[SRG]

Good to hear. They do look good.


I've yet to get mine mounted. Just haven't had the time.

 

[SRG]

Finally got a chance to get these mounted yesterday. New G6 blades, deck belt, and tires, and a thorough greasing of zerks. She's up and cutting......

Its orange so try not to bash me too bad.

Kubota uses a 26x12x12 on these machines.
They are aggressive. But we had a good amount of rain all day today, and I mowed about 2hours after it stopped. It's hard to tell as of yet, if they are more or less aggressive then the Carlisle at101s I had on my old 797. Two completely different feeling machines, and I have only a few hours on the Kubota since I've bought it.

One really neat feature about the Kubota, is the ability to self raise with out hunting down a floor jack or loader tractor it has a stow away hand crank (orange handle left side) and the front axle articulates as shown, to raise the front end off the ground. Pretty slick feature if you ask me.......

 

[JD4052M]

Finally got a chance to get these mounted yesterday. New G6 blades, deck belt, and tires, and a thorough greasing of zerks. She's up and cutting......

Its orange so try not to bash me too bad.

View attachment 847555 View attachment 847556 View attachment 847557

Kubota uses a 26x12x12 on these machines.
They are aggressive. But we had a good amount of rain all day today, and I mowed about 2hours after it stopped. It's hard to tell as of yet, if they are more or less aggressive then the Carlisle at101s I had on my old 797. Two completely different feeling machines, and I have only a few hours on the Kubota since I've bought it.

One really neat feature about the Kubota, is the ability to self raise with out hunting down a floor jack or loader tractor it has a stow away hand crank (orange handle left side) and the front axle articulates as shown, to raise the front end off the ground. Pretty slick feature if you ask me.......


View attachment 847558

Those look great! That’s a nice mower you have there, even though it’s orange. I’m guessing you mounted the tires backwards so they wear better and aren’t as aggressive going forward, and you have more traction going backwards to back out of a wet spot. I’ve seen it done on combines before. I’m envious of that front lift! That’s awesome! Some engineer was really thinking there!

 

[JD4052M]

We’ve had the Field Trax for 3 mowings now. Dad and I can both tell a big difference. It’s been almost drought-like conditions here the past few weeks, so we haven’t had much mud to play in. But even on dry ground, there is a noticeable difference. The mower doesn’t slide around nearly as much as before and it tracks hillsides much better. I had a chance to try them around the edge of a wet slough this week and they did very well. As far as turf damage goes, it isn’t any worse than the turf tires. I’m sure they would tear things up more than the turf tires in wet conditions, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. Couldn’t be any happier!

 

[SRG]

Those look great! That’s a nice mower you have there, even though it’s orange. I’m guessing you mounted the tires backwards so they wear better and aren’t as aggressive going forward, and you have more traction going backwards to back out of a wet spot. I’ve seen it done on combines before. I’m envious of that front lift! That’s awesome! Some engineer was really thinking there!

Holy smokes. You would be wrong sir. I mounted them backwards, because apparently I was a space cadet today. Yikes.

You are correct about combines tho, I know a few farmers around here who do that on the rear steer tires, of their 4wd machines.
My excuse it not so. It was hot and sticky, and I just wasn't paying attention. How embarrassing.