Ag tires vs. Turf tires w/ chains for snow removal

[kadetklapp 1]

Once I get this tractor running, I'm going to look at some different rear tires. I do not like Carlisle turf tires. They have no grip. I have quite an incline to mow, plus a wet backyard, and am anticipating getting a snow blade for snow removal this winter. I'm considering just running regular Ag tires on the tractor instead of messing around with chains. Do they ags tear up the grass BADLY or if you go easy on it can you get by? Do you generally get away with naked ag tires on snow?

[can whlvr 993]

the general concensus is that turfs with 2 link v bar are the best for traction,you can use ags and they may be good enough till you get ice under the snow then even the chains spin,so you can try the ags and if its not good enough put chains on them

[JUSS10 250]

i mow with AG tires all the time on my 854. i have never had an issue with them ripping up the lawn, they work great for mowing and i to have a steep incline that i must mow up and they have no problem at all.

as for plowing, this past winter was my first experience with a plow on my tractor, the first couple weeks we had no problem plow with just the AG tires, even going up my steep driveway wasn't an issue, but as was stated above, once you get that layer of ice, and you will, the AG tires were useless, i then switched to a wider turf tire with 4 link chains and those worked great, never had an issue the rest of the winter. I've never run AG tires with chains, i know it can be done but i always felt the chains wouldn't lay as nice with the AG tires having the large lugs and all.

Justin

[cmsmoke 0]

Why not mow with chains? Ag tires work good on grass, but won't do well without chains in the snow. Sounds like you want to save a buck. The downside to running chain all year is the ride quality will suffer.

[dcrage 628]

The downside to mowing with chains is you will tear up your yard (i.e. pull the grass out by the roots) if you ever make your rear wheels spin -- Mowing with chains was one of several things that ruined my yard -- NOTE: a lot of my yard is on severe slope, so there is a lot of wheel spinning involved

[kadetklapp 1]

Why not mow with chains? Ag tires work good on grass, but won't do well without chains in the snow. Sounds like you want to save a buck. The downside to running chain all year is the ride quality will suffer.

Ya, that's it. Trying to save a buck. $56 tires vs. $50 chains and the hassle of putting them on... :woohoo:

[mr.pipes 4]

Ya, that's it. Trying to save a buck. $56 tires vs. $50 chains and the hassle of putting them on...

Are you talking about 23" AG's for $56?

Any more info?

I don't mind saving a buck :D

[kadetklapp 1]

Well I called the guy back and apparently he was confused about the size. $56 was for a PAIR of knock-off Carlisle ags, but with the correct size they are now $96 EACH. BAH! I guess chains it is!

[cmsmoke 0]

I can't blame you for triing to save a buck. I didn't mean to offend anyone, if that is the way it came across. If I didn't look for ways to save money on projects, and scrounge for parts and material, there wouldn't be very many.

We raced motorcycles, years ago and we would cut every other row of knobs out of the tire for hillclimbing. It worked great. Maybe this could work with the tires you already have. We used a horse hoof trimmer. They sort of look like a pair of large nipper pliers to remove the biggest part of the knob, then used an angle grinder to finish. It took alot of time. I did it once or twice with just a grinder. Maybe you know someone with a dirt track car who has a tire grooving tool. You could also add weight to your tractor.

Tire chains are a given for the winter. The aggravation of triing to do anything without them is well worth the money and time to have them on. Look at garage sales for a wide pair that fit a passenger car and cut them down to the length you need. You may come up with something fairly cheap. I've done this before many times.

I used chains on grass with good results, but I never spun. In my experience, if you spin at all while working, you aren't using the right equipment and are wasting time and tearing up real estate, as well as your equipment.There is also the safety aspect of sliding down the hill, out of control, if you lose traction.

I have Carlisle ags on my 520 and they work just fine in the grass and work well with chains in the snow.

[kadetklapp 1]

That sounds like a neat trick... Might give that a shot. I have a notoriously year-round wet backyard. I just had a lot of excavation work done to try and solve the problem, but I was told it will always be, uh, damp back there. My thought was the ag tires would keep me from floundering axle-deep in mud as I have on both my Troy bilt and John Deeres of the past. Perhaps I will use your trick to try and gain some bite back there. I also have a short but horribly steep hill to mow. Last night I attempted it just to see how it handled it. It just didn't have the grip. These Carlisle tires just won't do it. The tractor definitely has the power though.

I was told by my friend who has experience with all things tractors to expect ag tires to be useless on any hard snow pack or ice. Chains all the way he says, so be it.

[cmsmoke 0]

I just moddified my post about Carlisle ag tires. Don't count them out.

[shorts 182]

From an all around use and money point,I like my turf tires, I chain them up in the fall when the snowplowor blower goes on, I have wheel weights but with 300# of personal ballast I haven't needed to use them. for mowing in wet/standing water areas I put turf duals on and run the outside tires almost flat, like 2 or 3 psi so that they are just along for the ride until the ground gets real soft then they come into contact and go to work.

[shorts 182]

From an all around use and money point,I like my turf tires, I chain them up in the fall when the snowplowor blower goes on, I have wheel weights but with 300# of personal ballast I haven't needed to use them. for mowing in wet/standing water areas I put turf duals on and run the outside tires almost flat, like 2 or 3 psi so that they are just along for the ride until the ground gets real soft then they come into contact and go to work.

the duals that I use are take offs from a salvaged machine that I cut the centers out of the wheels and made up a pair of bands that space the wheels apart and then use 4 1/2' carrage bolts to clamp the spacers between the wheels. easy install consists of driving up on a 2x4 sticking the bolts in the wheels from the back side, sliping the rings and outer tires on and installing washers and nuts and snuging everythng up.

[kadetklapp 1]

From an all around use and money point,I like my turf tires, I chain them up in the fall when the snowplowor blower goes on, I have wheel weights but with 300# of personal ballast I haven't needed to use them. for mowing in wet/standing water areas I put turf duals on and run the outside tires almost flat, like 2 or 3 psi so that they are just along for the ride until the ground gets real soft then they come into contact and go to work.

the duals that I use are take offs from a salvaged machine that I cut the centers out of the wheels and made up a pair of bands that space the wheels apart and then use 4 1/2' carrage bolts to clamp the spacers between the wheels. easy install consists of driving up on a 2x4 sticking the bolts in the wheels from the back side, sliping the rings and outer tires on and installing washers and nuts and snuging everythng up.

You happen to have any pictures of this?

[bigd 0]

i agree with the dual idea you need floatation, ags are goion to make you dig in. the wider the tire the better for wet stuff of coarse they'll be useless in the winter i use 23/8.5/ ags with chains in the winter.

[JUSS10 250]

kadetklapp, where were you able to get a PAIR of knock of AG tires for $56? would really like to see these. thanks

Justin

[kadetklapp 1]

kadetklapp, where were you able to get a PAIR of knock of AG tires for $56? would really like to see these. thanks

Justin

I was talking to a guy on ebay. I saw some advertised and contacted him with the size. At first he said he would go the same price as what I saw on the auction on the bigger size, but then he changed his mind once I think he realized how much more expensive they were... :woohoo:

[mr.pipes 4]

I have seen a pair of AG's for $119 on Ebay before with S&H around $25.

Just looked and saw Deestone 23x8.5x12 for $110 and 10.5's for $124

But the S&H is $55

However these brands are not as large as the same size Carlisle AG's

[Kingwood990 16]

I have been running Carlisle Feld-Trax on one of my non red tractors. They work real good. They are great in snow and ice. They also do not tear up turf in the summer. Its not the best picture but it shows what the tread looks like. They are available in 23x10.5-12 size

[HankB 16]

I put liquid filled ags on my 314-H for plowing snow. I didn't like the way the chains scratch the asphalt when the wheels spin. I probably don't get as good traction as with chains, but I don't leave scratch marks all over either. They work well enough for me. I bought Nanco tires on eBay. The dealer was local and dropped them off in my drive for no shipping charge. Maybe they have a softer rubber compound with better traction in snow.

Here's from our second biggest snow on record for the Chicago area:

(I wish I knew how to embed that.)

I needed to do a lot of running starts that day but I eventually got the job done.

[kadetklapp 1]

What IS the exact size I need for ags or turfs on a GT-1800 Hydro? I'm getting conflicting info from the tire guy. I'm trying to hold him to this price.

Disregard, I see it now.

Liquid filled...how do they do in cold temps?

[HankB 16]

Liquid filled...how do they do in cold temps?

I chose RV antifreeze because it is non-toxic, readily available and non-corrosive. It works well though it does make handling the tires a bit tough. I stack snow tires at the back of my garage and these being the smallest go on the top of the stack. I did find a tire pressure gauge that works with liquid filled tires. One of them leaks occasionally but seems to have stopped.

[Wheel Horse Kid 105]

I feel that ag tires would be okay for snow removal, but I would recommend using turf tires for mowing. Just my opinion.

[HankB 16]

I feel that ag tires would be okay for snow removal, but I would recommend using turf tires for mowing. Just my opinion.

I found a second set of rear rims for the ags and I use the factory turn savers in the summer.