Tim, I normally love your videos. But I found this one to be a bit Tire-ing.. 🤣

Lol. My wife told me to get what ever I needed when I ordered my tractor. Hmmm $70k later I got everything. Living in Michigan so told me to get one with a cab. Hmmm I did. I love her ever time I get off my tractor.

I am delighted by your basic honesty. Questioning the need for a tractor for full time turf is a great example!

Thank you! This was a good review of ballast which was something I was researching for our new tractor buy. I had no idea about axle weights like you showed, pretty cool

Very happy with the R14 all round performance including in the snow! Having used turf tires for the past 10 years, I wasn't sure about changing but wanted more traction in the woods Glad i went with the R14's

I really appreciate these videos you’ve been making on tractor basics; the one you did about PTOs was immensely helpful. Thank You!

Great “ground-engaging” conversation without floating and slipping over the facts with weighted bias or bloated ballast. (Sorry, I just had to do it 😉). Seriously, great addition to this series, and recommended watching for those new and old to the compact tractor community. Blessings to you and Christy.

my 1st 1025r TL had trufs with 3 plugs in them. Just recieved my 1025r TLB with the hybrid tire. Haven't tested them out yet but they sure do look better. Great video as always Tim.

Super useful video! Tons of good information. Thanks for making it!

Super video, Super series! Great information for new, intermediate and seasoned tractor owners.

Thanks Tim. Spot on about rear ballast. It’s a must have.

I have the r4s on my 1023e and they've been good. I have rim guard and 50lb wheel weights on the rear. I also have the heavy hitch front bracket with 8 42lb weights on the front. Most of my work is done from the rear of my tractor and this is what works best for me. Very informative video.

Another great video Tim! I have Rimguard in my 1025R tires as well as 70 lb wheel weights. I used to use my box blade as 3 point ballast but upgraded to a rear weight bracket once I could afford it. On a subcompact tractor rear attachments or a ballast box work great until you venture off even ground. The subcompacts low ground clearance betrays you. The weight bracket is way better and doubles as a place for other uses with the 2" receiver. I would add that front ballast is also important and often over looked. Depending on the task I will put five 42 lb weights on the front to help with traction and steering. Taking load off the front axle is important, but so is keeping your tractor firmly planted to the ground.

We had turf tires on our BX1860. They did great in snow with a rear blower, even on the steep driveway. On the LX2610 we got when we upgraded, we have R14s, which do equally well on the driveway in winter, with a much larger rear blower, and with the front plow blade. Never used chains on either of them and no issues.

Thanks for finally comparing all of these tires side by side! Never knew about the R2's...

I find my backhoe is my best ballast. easy to remove when using the chipper. For me the industrial tires work the best on my bigger tractor. As for the BX that cuts the grass turf tires work great. Nicely done video

Great video .I learned a lot about tires . Keep up the great work . God bless

Great comparison video Tim. You are absolutely correct, if you are doing just about any type of loader work, have rear ballast. It makes a world of difference on the performance of the tractor. Above all, it provides more stability and safety to the operator in my opinion. I see so many people using tractors with the ROPS folded back or down out of the way, and if you are working on hillsides, it's a disaster waiting to happen. My rear tires are loaded as well, but I still use a box blade or land plane as ballast. As an experiment, I was on a a flat surface, I recall picking up a 22' oak log (roughly about 1800lbs) one time with my grapple, and even with all the weight on the rear of my tractor, I could still feel the rear end getting light on me. I immediately lowered the log and cut in half. Man...and woman have to know their equipment's limitations.

Tim, I couldn't agree with you more about everything you mentioned. On my 1025R, I have the R4 tires, Rimguard, and while I have a BH, I remove it in the winter and I made a concrete counter balance. You have taught me so much over the years. While I am constantly alert on the tractor, I feel safe because of lessons that you and others presented on KZfaq. Thank you very much and I will continue to enjoy your channel. God Bless you all

Another well done and informative episode guys. As a suggestion for another episode during the slow times, would be the many different types of tire ballast. One new to the market is agri-lime. Southern states even use water, some windshield washer fluid, etc. Just an idea.

Hello Tim. I have to agree that ballast smooths out the ride. I have the Kioti ck2610 and do not use ballast during the summer because it works in the woods and need three point for dragging trees. I do use a ballast box late fall till spring time for snow removal. You can feel the difference immediately with roughy 700 pounds on three point. Keep videos coming and say howdy to Christy.

I have r1’s and they were the best for mowing. I had r4 turf tires that scalper my hilly yard everytime I mowed. The r1’s took care of my lawn the best

Good video Tim. Tires in an area where digging in is unlikely more edges equals more traction but where things are soft deep lugs and open voids equals traction. I remember an old farmer saying ag tires are fine on your yard because they wont spin if things are wet and you shouldn't be on it if you leave a bar mark... good wisdom. R4s all the way for me on my L3901 because of their puncture resistance as I use it in my tree service. R4s give pretty decent traction on clay when I use my Ford overland 1 Yard scrapper or other types of drawbar work. R4s larger foot print for flotation over R1s. My favorite ballast is the rotating log grapple on the back as it's nearly enough for anything on the loader and if I need more I can always grab a big chunk of wood for a few more hundred pounds... quick, easy, and adjustable for conditions.

Great discussion. I run R4 tires on both my BX as well as my mower Kubota G1800. When the yard is dry, no damage, when it is wet I need the extra traction.

I’ll second what you said, I filled the rear tires with RV/Marine antifreeze, and it transformed my machine- more stable, more power to ground and to the loader. It was an easy diy project that only took a few hours.

Enjoy this kind of video. I learn a lot . Great information.

Love the verses at the end!! I use an IBC tote with 100 gallons of water in it in my 58hp tractor for my ballast. Makes a huge difference picking things up!

Lots of great info Tim. Thanks

Good info...I've gotten very creative with ballast weight. Old anchor chain links, old sewer covers as wheel weights. You can do it cheap if get creative.

Tim, another great informative video.

Great episode. The differences in the tires is not covered that often that I have seen

Great info! I have R4's on my Kubota B2630 and they work great.

I am enjoying this series.

Great guide to tractor tires and rear ballast, I use R4's on my tractor.

My main source of 3pt ballast for my 3039 is my logging winch. It doesnt stick out far and isnt nearly as wide as the rear wheels. It weights about 1k and i also hang weights from it. The bonus is that if you get stuck, you just use the winch to pull you out. I also have the tires loaded. I can also verify that the R4s have high "toughness". I ran some cable thru one of the lugs, down in between the lugs, and back out. Snipped the ends of the cable, kept right on going.

Great video and informative. 👍

Thank you for the great video as always my experience with turf tires and snow has never been good even turf tires with even turf tires with weight although we might just get more snow where I'm located thanks the great video have a great day

Lesson from dad-don't use 4wd until you're stuck because if you get stuck when using 4wd, well, you're stuck. My point is that I have the Versaturf tires on my 1025R. Snowblowing up the driveway in 2wd no problem. Northern Minnesota winters can be rough ya know. I've only needed to press the rear diff lock a couple of times and only need 4wd snowblowing uphill in the grass yard to make the sled run start hill bigger! Versaturf has been a great tire for me. There are two ways to tear up the lawn with them. 1-4wd and turning. 2-2wd turns that are tight or maybe a little too fast, or both. Other than that, they are the best tire I've used. Keep up the great work Tim!

Great video Tim. I run rear loaded and an 800 pound ballast box and I never take it off unless using a different implement. I have a ranch and without R1’s, I would be stranded.

Nice to know video, tires are a big issue it the tire customers are using on there tractors.... and about Re-GEN , you should never stop it , let it go throw the process.... GREAT video...

Great video keep it up I like your blog

Great video Tim! Weight is key, if your tractor is not ballasted correctly, forget using any tread design! We don't live in the good'ol days anymore where when you bought a 40-50hp tractor to run a loader and it was made of heavy castings. With new materials and such fierce competition to get a lower price manufacturers had to cut down on the steel and iron in the tractors. I've got an old Fordson (Ford) Major. Tough utility tractor, 38hp diesel from 1957. With a loader it would run circles around any tractor now days. Not ballasted the major was in the 5,500lb area. add the loader, you're are 6,200lbs, it will lift 2,200lbs. Now yes I would suggest wheel weights for feeling more comfortable with that load and safety, but from the factory it could do it! These newer tractors are just designed to be more universal and cost reduced. You have to set the new tractors up to do your tasks is all.

I have r4's, I have to cut grass on the dam around the lake and used to use a zero turn was always sliding, I get the job done faster and feels allot safer. Have rimguard also. Thanks again for your advice and suggestions.

Tim where I'm enjoying these videos, I'm missing Truck And Trailer Tuesdays. I was learning a lot.

Very helpful video. I'm not a novice tractor owner (Kubota L3901 for 7 years & a 1960's Case Comfort King for 15 years) but certainly not in the same class as most any farmer. I found that I made a few less-than-knowledgeable choices when I bought my new Kubota. 1.) I paid $500 extra for the industrial (R4) tires only to find that I use my tractor much more in the dirt - both kinda dry but mostly mud or soft - and therefore need to sometimes use my bucket to help get unstuck. My R4's instantly become "bald" because they don't self clean like an R1 would. I never find a need to work on my grass unless I'm rototilling to put in a new lawn so ruining my lawn is nary a problem. I live in Minnesota and the R4's leave a LOT to be desired for snow-plowing traction. 2.) I didn't have a 3rd function installed when I bought it new from the dealer. I just installed one because I wanted to use a grapple. One thing that I did do right was to pay the extra $500 for a skid-steer universal quick-connect loader. I swap my bucket for pallet forks constantly and it takes less than 2 minutes. I am installing Rim Guard in my rear tires this spring which will help out the ballast box that I built for the 3-Pt. hitch. I put from 16-24 40 lb. concrete blocks in it for a total of up to 1100 lbs. incl. the box. It's easily removable so that's a great plus but one time I got both rear tires in mud and the box got hung up so even with the help of the bucket I couldn't get unstuck. I had to bring out my pickup and 200' of rope to get out. That was it's only downfall and the savings over a heavy hitch and many weights has been well worth that one time of getting stuck. I believe the heavy hitch would have been hung up also because my rears were down to the axle!

Great series.

I’m with you that if your running turf, how big a “tractor” do you really need? Another advantage to the turfs for snow is chains. The ag tires and lesser to the industrial, tread will tend to let the chain spans fall between the treads making them less effectual…maybe not totally but, the a large extent. I’m liking the new R14’s.

I have R1 tires for the summer and the wet areas. I also purchased a set of turf tires to switch for the winter. I use an engine hoist and a magnet to change tires on my 3039R.

Ballast is everything with compact tractors. I run 600lbs of rim guard in my rear tires and another 7-800lbs on the 3pt. Allows my L3301 to do things that makes people's eyes get big.

Very useful!

I totally agree you’ve got to have rear ballast completely changes the tractor

Thanks for this comparison Tim. You helped me make a decision. I'm looking for new tires for my 2210. The turf tires are not cutting here on the new homestead. I was surprised the the turf tire is the choice for snow.

I have Heavy Hitch brackets on machines. I like them both. The cart is really nice for the double bracket.

Our Kioti DK6010SE has R4 tires, it does leave dents in the lawn and I did use it a lot this winter in snow and ice and found it had decent traction. I would agree that if R14 tires had been an option when we bought the tractor I would have gotten R14's instead. Rear ballast we are running rim guard in all 4 tires and I usually have a 72 inch rototiller on the back. One thing I would like to point out about 3 point ballast is that it often raises the center of mass of the tractor which can make you more tippy side to side, liquid ballast and axle ballast if anything lowers the center of mass.

I have R4’s on my 1023. I’ve heard many say that they aren’t good in snow but with my ballast box on I’ve been very surprised how good they are in snow. I live in NE Ohio and have had no problem pushing snow with them using my edge tamers even without chains. We had 27” this winter and still no issue. My drive is flat though.

I like the solution I have come up with for rear ballast. I have a Kioti DK4710se with rim guard in the R4 tires. When I want to pick 2400 lbs with the pallet forks I put on a carry-all bracket from Tractor Supply and then pick up a pallet of big rocks. I have no idea how much it weighs. The carry-all is rated for 1000lbs so it must be under that but my hydraulic relief valve trips before the back end of the tractor comes up. The carry-all wasn’t too expensive and the pallet of rocks was free.

I like my r'4s on my 1025r I really believe their gonna last forever!!! Not as forgiving on grass when mowing compared to truff especially if the ground is even the slightest bit wet but I like the r'4s!

Hey Tim I thought about buying a house in your area two reasons why I can get all kinds of Tractor advice and two I would truly enjoy having a Bible study with you and Chrissy

Another great video Tim there is a Heavy hitch and weights in the future for my 1025r when it gets delivered next month always enjoy your videos fun to watch learn some stuff and get a laugh or two out of them aswell keep up the great work

Great video on wheels. I have been debating on getting hybrid tires for my 1025R.

We always used Turf tires with the garden tractor and snow blade. We used chains and the tires were filled with anti-freeze. I'm still surprised that was the best choice for snow!

Good video. When I bought my 2032R, I went with the default industrial R4. Bad mistake. Since they are bias you get the bias size rims. So to upgrade to the R14T you have to stick with the R14T Bias version tire. Or spend $1,600 on just new rims for the radial size. I know sooooooooo much more now than I did 2.5 years ago when I started looking into this tractor category. So naturally if ever again I would do a few things totally different. But 95% overall I am very happy with my 2032R.

An additional benefit of rear ballast is it reduces the stress and pressure on the front axel when doing loader work.

R1 with chains do pretty good in the snow and ice on solid surfaces, if you have road chains. When off road in the fields or woods, using the standard ring tire chains are fabulous with a good level of snow. Around the farm, the two types of chains get you through a lot of conditions if the weight is distributed correctly.

I have run with either a 6 foot brush cutter (750lbs+-) or a 5' box blade (500lbs+-) with 3 logs (150lbs+-) added for ballast and never had an issue of not enough ballast. I run out of lifting capacity before the back end lifts up. I regularly lift logs from 8'-20' long and 8" to 30" diameter. What I need is a bigger tractor than my Mahindra 2638 or more hydraulic power. I often have to resort to the log arch on the back of my trailer and winch to load some logs. I have even broken 2 bolts on a loader arm from lifting so much.

Thank you for doing an en-tire episode on this ;)

For mud and snow I would want R1 orR14 tires,great bideo!

love the series ...have water in tires and carry an implement ...but may need to add some weights

Certainly a thought provoking one today. Oddly enough, my dad told me once that our older Cub Cadet 1650 has calcium in the back tires. Not sure anything is in the rears on the 1046LT. My thing about the hybrid tires is they look like the "all season" type. Certainly better than changing from turf tires for mowing to industrial for other tasks.

Hey Tim, the R1W is the radial version of the R1, according to our tire dealer here. Just put some on and depth of thread is the same as R1

A sturdy set of rear pallet forks allows me to pick up a pallet of as much cement block ballast as I want. When I don't need ballast I can carry stuff around.

My opinion is, if tractor manufactures are building tractors to accept a loader, then the tractor should be built to handle the load without any added weight. Front end should be built to handle the added weight. Skid steers and payloaders are built at the factory to handle the lifted weight on the loader. They don’t add weigh to the rear, it’s built in to the machine. As far as I know. I could be wrong. And again. Just my opinion.

The thoroughness by which you make these videos is top notch Tim and Christy. I especially enjoy your comparison videos in this format. I will add, just from my experience, to your tire segment. I do not have experience with hybrid tires, I do have experience with R4's and R1's on my 2038R. As for snow removal, the R1's are superior IMO to the R4's in snow. I've never felt the need for tire chains with the R1's, the R4's on the other hand worked okay, but with chains they worked much better. Ice is ice, it's just miserable, but I'd still take my R1's over the R4's every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Excellent video Tim, I do run the turfs on my BX, they have taken some abuse for sure. Now running tubes in them, next tractor will have the R14s. Have you heard of any "heavy duty" tires? More belts/plys? Take care, Mark 🍻🍻🚜🌴🍔

My choice is the r14s love them

Spot on when it comes to tires, great explanation. The industry could/should do a lot better labeling/marketing tractor tires. Everyone basically knows what to expect when buying an LT tire for their truck. Everyone knows what a Bogger does vs. a all-terrain tire. But what the heck is a R4 "industrial" tire...other than a complete misnomer?

Took delivery of my new to me 5075E last Friday. It will not be used until the EA extra heavy superduty 1500# boxblade shows up in a couple of months. Rimguard is in the tires. The only thing I have done is drove it down to the hydraulics expert to get a side link setup on order. Ballast good!

I'll offer a counter to your initial observation about R1 ag and R4 industrial tires being equally "number 1" for loader work. The R4 was designed for hard surfaces, and for skid-steering....slide-steering the tires across a warehouse floor, for example. For that reason, the side lugs are not as aggressive as those of the R1, which are designed to stop you from sliding sideways down a slope. R4s of the same size generally have significantly higher load ratings (they can carry more load) and run higher pressure than a similarly sized R1. Also, R1s are typically quite a bit narrower than an R4 for the same application. So, with a heavy loader, the R4 is a much safer option. I've seen R1s, due to a combination of lower load rating (and thus, lower air pressure), deeper side lugs, and narrower profile, unseat the sidewall beads under a heavy loader, resulting in a flat tire and increased potential for load shift and/or rollover. R4s, if properly sized for the front end loader, generally don't have this issue. It's gotten worse in the last few years as compact tractor manufacturers try to see who can boast the highest front end loader ratings to beat the competition. If you're buying a tractor with R1 tires, you should definitely compare their load ratings with the loader capacity of the tractor.

Tim, you nailed it! Although I think toughness of a tire is more related to ply than tread. Also there is shape accross the tire to consider. I had traction problems on snow covered pavement and got a wide flat tire with ridiculous amount of grooves. It solved my traction problems. Old guy at the tire store couldn't get it through his head. He kept preaching about the virtues of R1. Guess you could say he was "stuck" on them. Cheers!

Great show as always Tim. I think I am seeing better traction out the hybrid R3 Turf radials then any R4. I have Nokians on one of my 5115Ms and Versa turfs on my 2025R, I have had galaxy garden pros and R4s on that 2025R and the Carlisle seem to be the best of the 3 different tires I have had on it, the only real issues with the Galaxy radial turfs was they were a lot shorter then the Carlisle versa turf (Which is a new tire size in 2021 for Carlisle ) and the R4s which are both the same larger size then what was offered in the garden pro for the 2025R. Radials have the ability to contour or flex more with the ground giving them a greater contact patch then a Bias ply tire like we typically see in the R4s offered on most compact tractors. I think that plays a factor in the traction advantage I seen with the turf radial over the R4s in most all applications.

I have always had turf tires in on my tractors. You absolutely don’t want to get into a thorn situation….it’s a guaranteed puncture!! Good discussion of the various tire options Tim.

I agree with your radial tire comments as long as you don't put fluid in the tires. All major tire manufacturers do not recommend fluid in the radial as you will lose the radial benefits. Wheel weights will provide a better ride than fluid filled but the cost and weight limitations of iron sort of limit the use on compact tractors. I think the R14 is advertised as a cross between R1 and R4. Thanks Tim. Very informative.

I have never used radial tires I have had the industrial and hated them the smaller turf tires 1 series are okay for snow, my 2025r and my past cub had turf and they are awesome in the snow, the galaxy turf has a really nice tread pattern on them and have been great last 2 years in snow they are filled, also is not always about horse power its like you said transferring the power to the ground, thanks for the great videos

I couldn't afford expensive weights, etc. for my three point hitch. I bought a 55 gallon drum, a draw bar and a center link thing. I filled the drum with concrete. It holds about 1000 pounds of concrete. I saw this on a KZfaq video and copied it. Works well on our tractor.

Totally agree!

Great video! I am a big fan of the Big Tool Rack on the back of my 1025R. Not only does it change the way I can carry stuff when working on the property, but it weighs 350 lbs by itself. I load it up with "stuff" which adds another 100-200 lbs, and it also has a bracket for suitcase weights (I put 240 lbs. there). It is the ultimate in convenience. And no, I don't work for them.... :) As for Rimguard, would love to add it, but they don't seem to have many dealers that carry it. I live in SC Kentucky, a very agricultural area, and closest dealer is about 200 miles away. Maybe someday.

Just bought a bx2680 with a front scoop. I got my weight box today..which a game changer.. wow..scary lifting anything in the bucket.

My last tractor had R4's. In the winter i had to put chains on to snowblow. Without chains it was pretty useless. So my current tractor I went with turf tires. Major difference, no more chains needed! I wanted the R3 but they were not avaliable yet. So being in Northern Mi and getting lots of snow the turf tires have treated me well. I do not miss having to deal with the chains!

I got turf tires they have worked out very good for me from loader work to mowing and if I ever get a different tractor I will have Turf tires again

Great video. Put four wheeler tires on my zero turn. More aggressive tread, but did less damage to the lawn. Prior to that wheel spin was killing me. On the big tractor I did 1000# of Rim Guard. I would say that's the bare minimum for safe loader operation. Don't know why so much of compact tractors is made of aluminum when they need weight. Works out for heavy hitch.

Switched to Versa Turf 2 years ago, much better ride quality and traction. Had the 1025r for 6 years now. Great video Tim.

If you have not already done it a video of the steps a tractor goes thru doing a regen. Also is there a different procedure for checking air pressure when tires are filled with rim guard. I enjoyed this video series

I have R4 tires on my 33R and put studs in my tires about 3 weeks ago. We had 2.5’ of snow on the ground and I had everything cleaned up. Three days later it was 60 degrees and all the snow has melted. ☹️ So I guess the studs work well to keep snow away. 😀

The JD X590 I had before my 1025R had HDAP turf tires. Really deep treads that did not harm the yard and really good in snow. The down side of HDAP’s is mud doesn’t clean out very well. The HDAP tires come on the X series lawn tractors but only if you get the 54” deck (don’t know the rime nor reason).

Tim After owning an older 2WD tractor 58Hp, with loader how very useless they are in snow, mud, even wet grass, when trying to go somewhere with some weight on the loader. I built a set of forks for the loader and have bins with firewood in them, approx 1/2 cord per bin. When trying to maneuver around the yard, it is impossible to go up small grades , even though the tires are loaded 16,9-30's so not light weights. But I find without weight for the 3 pt, might as well have the grandson's tricycle. LOL Someone new to tractors may look at them as a go anywhere vehicle, I know I thought with the R1 type tires there was not much that would stop them, until owning and using it in all conditions. It is amazing just how useless they are in the snow, without chains, even without any weight in the loader.

Hi Tim, about four years ago I had first begun to watch your farm videos and had found them very informative and most of all your dear old dad's words of wisdom and a scripture at the end of each edition,.may I enquire to how is you dad's health and your other siblings Tim? Warm regards, Billy G.

Great tire descriptions / comparison! My experience with the R4 has been on grass, dirt/mud and snow. Overall the R4 does a good job. Deep heavy wet snow or thick deep mud and you could get stuck for sure. I have Rim Guard (about 470 lbs) and did not notice any damage to the yard. Definitely helped plant the tractor!

The owner's manual of my tractor list R-4s as having nearly double the weight carrying capacity of R-1s so those would be the choice for major loader work. I had to clear significant amounts of snow this winter with R-1s on a 27 hp. compact tractor (Ford 1715) and except for steep hills I had no problems. Snow was nearly 2' of wind compacted snow on a half mile of gravel driveway. On the hills I couldn't push up hill, I drove up and pushed down hill. The new tractor has R-4s so next winter will tell. I was able to lift a full load (1 ton of wood pellets) without additional ballast beyond the liquid ballast in the tires but decided to put ballast on the 3 point to actually unload it from my pickup. (Boomer 50 Cab)

The r4 tire is a great tire. What you have to do is lower the pressure in the tire let's say down to 15 or 12 lb of pressure . you get a better ride and you get a bigger footprint. We have done a lot of testing in a lot of different conditions and I believe the r4 tire is probably the best all around considering you use enough ballast weight that I believe is the key. My subcompact tractor has 540 lb of axle weight which includes fluid in the tires. Then I put 705 lb on 3 point and it's almost unstoppable. Thanks for a great video Larry

Great video Tim, precise and to the point. Hopefully this helps viewers make the right choice for their applications.