What are best AG tires for grip in dirt?

bobbybats · Aug 28, 2013

I have what I believe to be the 40 year old original Good Year Terra Tires on my 1886-01 front and back. They are all tubed at this point and one of the rear has a big slit that I am attempting to repair. I'm loading them with washer fluid as I write this. With the purchase of my loader these tires days are numbered. I want max traction in dirt. I will load with fluid, steel wheel weights and weight box.

I see a few popular ones. Carlisle Tru Powers, Carlisle Super Lugs (hard to find discontinued?), Firestone 23 degree lugs, Deestone super lugs (knock off of Carlisles but some say not as good as originals?)

For the fronts I would like to go with the V61's which is a 5 rib design.
Should make the front tires bite instead of dragging when trying to turn in loose soil. Only problem I can't find the right size. The fronts Goodyears say 20x8.00-10. Should I try another size or are there better options?

What are you guys using/recommend? Where are you guys buying yours from? If Miller tire is close in price I will buy from them as they sponsor MTF.

Thanks,

Hugh-SS/16 · Aug 28, 2013

I would stick to Carlisle or Firestone. Deestones run on the small side, not as nice of a tire IMO. I have Carlisles in a 23x10.50-12 and love them. Also, I have a set of Maxxis Power Lugs, same exact tire as the OTR Tracmaster. Mine are 26x12x12 and they measure out a true 26x12x12. Big lugs, I really like them. I havent ever really used them in dirt. Only ever pulled with them, so I cannot comment on how they do in the dirt, but they are worth a look. http://www.sears.com/otr-26x12.00-12-otr-tracmaster-4-ply-lawn/p-SPM7155820313P?PDP_REDIRECT=false

OldBuzzard · Aug 28, 2013

I have an 1886-01 with a FEL on it and I put 26-12-12 CST Ancla ATV tires on the rear for traction.

Like you, my 1886 had the 20-8-10 tires on the front, I wanted V61s for the front, but the largest that I could find were 18-8.50-8. so I ended up with Carlisle turfs on the front. If you truly set on the V61 tires, you will have to get a set of 8" wheels.

MY HDT1000 (based off of the HT23) however has 8" wheels, so I put the V61s on the front, and on the rear went with 26-11-12 CST Anclas.

The reason for the 11" vs. 12"' width was more for the cost than anything else, but being 1" narrower, they will 'dig in' a little better that the 12" tires, and the HDT is going to be my plow tractor, so the little bit of extra traction will help.

When I said cost, it was a HUGE savings over the 26-12-12 Anclas and even more over a traditional AG tire from Carlisle, etc. This place still has them at the price I paid...$74.99 each.
http://www.discountutvtires.com/CST-ANCLA-26x11x12-ATV-TIRES-UTV-TIRES/

They give great traction, and I recommend them if you can 'live' with an ATV tire as opposed to a traditional Ag tire.

I would also recommend having your tires filled with Rim Guard as opposed WW Fluid. It's really not THAT much more costly, and it gives you 3 lbs./gal. more than WW Fluid, which on a 26-11-12 tire would be right at 27 lbs. extra per tire. Since I wanted a lot of weight for plowing, I had all 4 tires on the HDT filled. It took 24 Gal.- 9 in each rear and 3 in each front which gave me 264 lbs. of extra weight. I'll be adding wheel weights front and back as well.

Here's what they look like on the HDT1000

TUDOR · Aug 28, 2013

For soft or wet dirt use ags or some other aggressive tread. But you really don't want to operate a loader in those conditions.

My MF 1655 has loaded and chained 26x12-12 turf tires on the rear and 18x9.50-8 4-ply utility trailer tires on the front.

Turfs have a wide, flat tread and they will push the chains into the ground for the full width so traction is excellent. Ribbed tires on the front will be hard to steer with a load in the bucket. They will resist the turning action and want to go straight ahead. A loader with a payload is hard enough to steer without adding additional resistance. The weight of the loader alone with smooth faced tires is enough to give good steering traction, even on ice.

I've had GT sized loaders for 35 years and averaged 100 hours per year on them, mostly snow duty but I've also moved several hundred yards of fill, sand, and gravel, including excavating about 150 yards of material from my driveway to a depth of 3'.

The only time that aggressive tread tires might have been of benefit, I should not have had the tractor in those conditions on the first place. Filling the bucket with material was not an option. The front wheels would have disappeared into the mud too.

For liquid ballast, Rim Guard is almost 50% heavier than washer fluid. My ballasting program includes at least 75% fill for liquid ballast, tire chains, wheel weights, and a 5' backblade with additional weigh applied. My 1655 carried a total of 650 lb of ballast without the wheel weights, but that ballasting included 320 lb of calcium chloride and water in the tires, about 84% fill.

yardiron · Aug 28, 2013

I put a set of BKT tires on one of my machines last fall and love them. I got a deal on them online. They were half the cost of Carlisle tires and they run pretty much true to size. They are also a 6 ply tire. I use mine for plowing a garden, about a half acre or so twice a year. I also have other machines with Carlisle Tru power and Super lug tires, all work very well but the BKT tires are very comparable for a lot less money.
I filled mine with washer fluid, I may well have tried Rim Guard but couldn't find a dealer that sold it anywhere even close to me.
I didn't want to deal with tubes or calcium so washer fluid was the right answer for me.

bolens_kid · Aug 28, 2013

My favorite and most effective is the Tracmaster Aggys, also used on Kubota BX tractors, you can find the guy who sells them on eBay, and they are what I run on my HT23, and my brother has a set on his HT23. They are very effective in the dirt.

bobbybats · Aug 28, 2013

I was quoted $180 for two rear tires to be filled with RimGuard. Also $80 in labor. For the marginal weight difference I will use WW fluid at $0.88/gal plus my "free" labor. I got 3 gal in last night and ran out of wash fluid. Off to get some more!

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will have to start checking prices on these. I do have a set of narrow 8" rims on my other tractor. I really like the look of V61's. I probably will stick with the turfs for now and see if I can live with them.

sploke · Aug 28, 2013

I got a similar quote for the rim guard, so I went to BJ's and found washer fluid for 10 bucks for 6 gal. It's not quite as heavy, but a heck of a lot cheaper and i got 6 gal in each tire, pouring through a funnel after breaking the bead on the tire. I put on Carlisle Tru-Powers, same tires as Hugh has. If you search around a bit you can probably find a similar deal, I got a pair for less than $200 shipped. I wanted the ags because most of my property is wetlands/swampy, but still needs to be mowed, and the turfs just spin because the grass is always wet. I also wanted to be able to pull a 5x9' trailer for hauling stuff around the property, and the turfs would just spin on anything other than smooth and flat, even with just the empty trailer. With the ags, I've loaded the trailer with about 3k lbs of lumber and junk and had no problem pulling it uphill. Best single thing I've done on the tractor so far.

nsconductor · Aug 28, 2013

Someone is really raking you guys over the coals on the Rim Guard. I had my 23-10.50-8 which hold about 7 gal each filled for a total part/labor cost of $45. at my local tire store in PA.

bobbybats · Aug 28, 2013

I have to agree with you on getting hosed on RimGuard cost. Maybe it's not as popular in the Northeast or shipping costs or something??

My Tires are tubed so I rigged up a sump pump and bucket to pump in the washer fluid. Takes a while but I got it maybe 80% full. I will weigh the empty one and see how much weight I actually added.

gburnett · Aug 28, 2013

If you want a tire that will pull good in all conditions then I suggest the Mud Hog ATV tires that I have on several of my tractors great in loose dirt,manure,mud and dry land.They grip so good they tore the rearend out of my JD 445.Chains are good too in some places but I don't like the rough ride on hard surfaces and I travel about 1/2 mile on asphalt pretty often too from one end of the farm to the other.I do have chains on my snowblower tractors as they are the only thing that will really grip on ice.As far a weight its nice to be able to add and take it off when its not needed.

yardiron · Aug 28, 2013

I was quoted $190 to fill two 23x10.50-12 tires plus labor which the shop estimated to be at least 2 hours at $87.50 per hour. On top of that they were at least a 3 hour round trip drive from me.
There was one place local to me that had RG but they quit selling it due to lack of interest and high cost. Their price was right around $225 filled for the same two tires. They sent me to the other dealer, who was also the closest according to the RG contact number. Both dealers would only fill tubed tires, they wouldn't fill them tubeless.
Most guys here run either Calcium or used antifreeze in big tractors, most go with what ever is cheaper, farmers are having a hard time as it is staying afloat, they surely can't afford $15 per gallon plus labor to weight their tires.

The washer fluid cost me only $15 to fill both tires and that included buying a hand pump at HF.

OldBuzzard · Aug 28, 2013

nsconductor said:
Someone is really raking you guys over the coals on the Rim Guard. I had my 23-10.50-8 which hold about 7 gal each filled for a total part/labor cost of $45. at my local tire store in PA.

Yeah, something isn't right with those quotes.

The highest number I've seen before those quotes was 4.50 gal. from a fella in WV.

Those quotes sound like they are for full size tractor tires.

Are you guys with those high quotes sure that the dealers were aware that you were talking garden tractor tires at less then 10 gal per tire?

TUDOR · Aug 28, 2013

OldBuzzard said:
Yeah, something isn't right with those quotes.

The highest number I've seen before those quotes was 4.50 gal. from a fella in WV.

Those quotes sound like they are for full size tractor tires.

Are you guys with those high quotes sure that the dealers were aware that you were talking garden tractor tires at less then 10 gal per tire?

I gotta agree with OldBuzzard.

An hour to fill one GT tire? Sorry, but I watched the man mix the calcium and fill 2 GT tires in 30 minutes. Rim Guard doesn't require mixing, but it does require metal valve stems when used in tubeless tires and there is no valid reason why tubes would be required. That is the customers choice.

yardiron · Aug 28, 2013

When I heard the price I specifically told the guy that it would only take 12 gallons or so to fill the tires, they said it didn't matter, they sell RG by the gallon and that their minimum labor rate was one hour at $87.50. It sounded like they charged two hours as a flat rate to fill tires. When I also asked about the front tires, and gave him the size he said the same thing, it was charged by the gallon at $14.99 per gallon.
I'm located in NJ, the nearest dealers were over an hour into PA and one about 2 hours south of me in DE. Both locations were given to me both by the dealer here who no longer sold RG and by the RG hotline.
The place here that had it had huge containers of it right out front, but they only had it for a year or two. After getting the prices I was given, I just put any idea of ever using it out of my mind. Besides, even at $4.50 per gallon, its a far cry from $0.88 per gallon for washer fluid.

I have washer fluid in one of my older AC machines, its been in there without tubes for 15 years or more with no problems. I had one tire off to fix a bent rim a year ago and the rims looked fine as well. I basically run both tires filled, with one 50lb weight on the left side for added traction when plowing.
The tractor will slip or break the belts before the wheels spin like that.

bobbybats · Aug 28, 2013

I gave the guy my tire size so he was aware of comparatively small wheel. The RG dealer network must not be as strong in the north east. More farms in WV? We have a lot of contractors tho. Maybe they still go with calcium filled??? Duno. But I'm sticking with cheap WW fluid.

My grandfather (94 and going strong) told me they used to fill tires with used antifreeze they got for free from the radiator repair shop. Would sometimes get slushy in cold but never froze completely. These depression era guys are pretty creative/resourceful. Now a days I doubt a shop would give away anti freeze with out a notarized letter stating you would properly dispose of said "contaminant". Ah the lawyers take all the fun out of everything.

gburnett · Aug 28, 2013

If you want antifreeze just use RV antifreeze non toxic and not a problem if you pop a tire and its cheap.

bobbybats · Aug 28, 2013

Ill stick with windshield washer fluid. I already had a few gallons in the garage taking up space for like 3 years. I guess I don't use much of it for its intended purpose.

bobbybats · Aug 28, 2013

I'm leaning towards the Carlisles Tru-Power 4 ply.
Stop and Go tire is the cheapest 104 free ship.
Miller is 110 but no free ship
Summit is 115 free ship.

Anyone got a free shipping code for miller? I would like to support them.

bolens_kid · Aug 29, 2013

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OTR-26-12-0...ire-Free-Shipping-/261056203677?pt=BI_Heavy_Equipment_Parts&hash=item3cc8298b9d

This is the tire we only use. A little more money, but has quatlity and a really good grip.

What are best AG tires for grip in dirt?

bobbybats

Hugh-SS/16

OldBuzzard

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