Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help tractor advice

Maybe you missed heard him and he said 'kick' the tires dork.

dude !....

I've got a 30hp 4WD Kubota BX7800 with a FEL, 6' Woods Brush Bull mower and a 5' tiller. The PTO is 22hp and it drives the mower great. The tiller can put in a real nice food plot and you won't need to buy as many implements. Depends what you want to do. I've got a great 1 acre food plot that looks like a golf course made out of clover.

I didn't put anything in my tires, but I leave the 400 pound tiller on back for ballast all the time. I need to get the JD ballast box so I don't ding up the tiller too much though.

Keep the ROPS (rollover protection) up and your seatbelt on. I haven't flipped it over yet, but man I've come dang close too many times working around the lake moving logs, running over stumps and holes.

That's just crazy talk ceadmin, how are you going to determine the side wall flexibility, tread pattern, percentage of tread remaining and chemical composition of tires by kicking them.

Did he call me Dork???? Note to self, research ceadmin's gps coordinates for future Deathstar activities.

I should have taken my own advice..I got stuck big as snot yesterday.

I have not bought anything yet but the advice has been great thanks again. I'm headed out today or tommorrow to tractor dealer to see what is avail and now i know what to ask and not look like such a dummy.

Pay attention to what SGT911 says regarding 4wd and loaders. BTW Sarge, have u ever used the loader to get yourself unstuck?

A tractor without 4wd is only half a tractor. Without 4wd you are really handicapped when trying to use the loader.

Oh yeah, get farm tires; not turf tires. I fell for that junk about the turf tires not leaving as big of an imprint. However, when I added the fluid to the rear tires, I make a bigger imprint(mess).

Take Wendy with you so you won't feel compelled to lie to her about it. A tractor place North of Fort Worth has this sign:

YOUR WIFE CALLED AND SAID IT WOULD BE OK

Mucho Importando, DD.

Not turf tires, not industrial tires - Ag/Farm tires only.

I need to post a pic for you guys. It has 4wd and has ag/farm tires I do believe. I knew these requirements ogign in and woudl not have bought it otherwise. At this point it is free. The bank has not contacted me at all about payment.

The best welder, politics, religion -- and tractor tires sure can start a spirited discussion.

Three-and-a-half years ago I bought a new tractor with industrial (R4) tires. Years ago I'd had one tractor with turfs (R3s) that I quickly changed to AG (R1) tires. Every other tractor I've owned, in more than the last 40 years, had AG tires.

But, I absolutely love the industrial tires on my 4WD tractor. Now, I don't use a lot of ground engaging equipment, like a plow or disk. But for bushhogging, log skidding, grading, landscaping, and a lot of other things, they are fantastic. They are wider and more buoyant than ags. They don't tear up the damp/wet areas around my pond, they don't leave big ruts in the woods when I'm logging. When we get a lot of snow, I have chains for the rear tires -- but, I needed them even with AG tires when we got lots of snow.

So, don't completely discount industrial tires.



R3/G2 Turf - R1 Agricultural - R4 Industrial (R2 has a modified bar tread, but is similar to R1)

On the subject of tires..another option for the front tires is the use of used aircraft tires.. this can be a good idea if your primary tractor use is that of a front end loader.. This would apply to 2WD tractors though...du

Cat, my prior boss has turf tires on one tractor and industrial tires on his other tractor, and reports he can't take either one of them anywhere if it's wet or snowy.

He has some other problems too, though, so I guess I can't necessarily blame the tires.

Your old boss wouldn't have had any problem with this little fella. It was one of my orphan restoration projects. I didn't need a rototiller when I had this tractor. Wherever I drove, the paddle-wheel ag tires tore up the turf pretty good.





In the winter I would turn the front tires backward and put chains on them. I could push a lot of snow up our steep driveway, using a 6-foot rear blade. Plus, it didn't hurt that front bumper was filled with chunks of lead.

Some advice Greg hasn't gotten yet:

With a 4WD tractor, turn off the 4WD when it isn't needed (e.g. not using the FEL, ground is dry, and especially when travelling on pavement). This will save a lot of tread on the front tires, to have them free-wheeling.

My normal state for 4WD is OFF in the Summer, unless using the FEL, and ON in the Winter, unless driving on pavement.

Thanks Theo. I hadn't thought of that.

Theo that was my thinking kinda like I treat my 4 wheeler. Only put in 4wd when I need it. Leaving right now to go to tractor place.

http://www.theplotmaster.com/400_tractor.html
I'm about to order this. I'm a dealer and have sold a few atv units over the years. I have done my homework and think this will replace several implements. I plan on getting a "bushhog" as well. I found a good heavy duty 5 foot model bushhog squealer 600 for $500. Whatcha think?

I don't like 3-pt disc. I have broken a few bolts off because of the pressure put on the swing arms. The next one I get will be a hitch pull with hydraulic lift wheels

Greg, the plotmaster concept is good. The quality of the materials & how you handle your equipment will determine longevity. If you drive fast,turn sharp, go over humps too aggressively, then you equipment will break. The other issue I have with it is whether it's heavy enough to break up clayee soils. I rather doubt it is, and will require some kind of plowing first. I planted 70 acres of native grass a couple of years ago & found I needed the weight & mass of separate implements to do the job right. If your tilling mostly sandy soils, then it may be fine... It's your money, but as soon as you leave John Deere and Rhino mowers, well, its not going to be pretty, unless you are cutting only grass over smooth surfaces,ie:no small trees, heavy brush etc..The gear boxes on $500.00 5' mowers are very light, the metal frame, heck the whole thing is IMHO too light. A good used JD 5' cutter is $1000.00....du

Esoteric tractor advice #17: Support the third (upper) point on your bush hog with a short length of log chain rather than a fixed length arm (one can put screwable links of appropriate size on each end of the chain to attach to). This allows it to flex upward when you take it over a high spot, eliminating strain on the third point and bush hog.

Spoken like a Engineer. So it was spoken, so let it be

I still say a drill would do you better.

Greg, I'm kinda like David U. I'm not sure that thingey is heavy duty enough to be used by a tractor. Maybe a 4 wheeler but not a tractor. Just my opinion.

Ric grain drill is good but I have not seen them succedd in dirt that has hard pan. You guys might be right about plotmaster not being heavy duty enough, but they have reenginerred this thing. It is 1000 lbs and I have seen it demoed in hard dirt it as good if not better than offset disk harrows.The seeder is awesome.

On mower it is supposed to cut 2 inch sapings. This is about what I need it to do. Also I figure for $500 I can get my feet wet on what I need for sure. It is a $1,500 mower new, probably not JD standards but not lightweight job either.

Theo when I get this thing I will get you to explain your post. I have to put my hands on things to understnad.
Yoda told me "kind of the opposite of engineer you are"

A picture I could take, if needed it is.