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Choosing Tractor Tires

Jan. 20 2020 Miscellaneous By ____

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One of the tasks of keeping up with your tractor maintenance is ensuring that the tires are in good repair and that you’re using the correct tires for the work you’re doing. You’ve got a lot of options available on the market, which can make choosing the right ones a challenge.

SS Equipment, with three locations in Oregon and three in Washington, is your Pacific Northwest tractor dealer. We want to make your tractor maintenance easier and less of a headache, so we’ve provided this guide to choosing tractor tires to help you with the shopping process. You can always talk to our staff if you need more assistance, too.

Types of Tractor Tires

Today’s tractors use a number of different tire types. You’ll want to make sure you’re well-versed in the traits of each type. Here are the four rear-tire types:

  • R1: Agricultural tires that are the best option for dry farming. Their grippy lugs help to improve traction at deep angles so that you can move smoothly on dry, flat land.
  • R2: Mud tires that are designed with deeper treads to help your machine gain purchase on muddy, wet terrain. These are most commonly used outside of the United States on specific types of farming operations like rice paddies.
  • R3: Turf tires that are suitable for general usage, with particularly good traction across loose materials like sand and gravel. These tires are less likely to impact the ground beneath loose soil.
  • R4: Industrial tires that are more commonly used on big professional farms, with interwoven treads and lugs that won’t impact turf negatively.

Most tractors will only require you to have either R1 or R3 tires; however, if you commonly farm on wet ground or have a very large machine, you may need either R2 or R4 tires instead. You can use any of these four types for your rear wheels. When it comes to the front tires, though, you’ll need to focus more on ribbing patterns that help to enhance traction:

  • F1 or single-rib: These tires are great for getting deeper into the soil to improve your steering.
  • F2 or three-rib: These tires help to minimize the risk of lateral side-slip, thanks to their raised center ribs.
  • F2M or four-rib: These tires are designed to work well on hard surfaces and they’re more capable of hauling very heavy loads.

Bias-Ply Versus Radial

These terms distinguish the way tires are constructed. Bias-ply tires are best suited to lower speeds, as they won’t be as expensive to replace or to maintain. Their sidewalls are less prone to become damaged by obstacles, making bias-ply tires more durable. Radial tires are pricier, but have a longer tread life over hard ground and don’t impact the soil as much. They’ll provide a smoother ride and can run on lower air pressure more efficiently, too.

Load Rating

Finally, you’ll want to look at your load rating, which should tell you how much weight the tire can handle. Load ratings designate the maximum psi level of the tire in question and are represented with stars next to the width and diameter ratings of the tire:

  • 1-Star: 18 psi maximum.
  • 2-Star: 24 psi maximum.
  • 3-Star: 30 psi maximum.

This guide should help you to locate tires that will suit your particular farming needs. In search of the perfect tractor? Come on by one of our locations in Washington or Oregon to take a look at our wide selection of new and used tractors and other pieces of farm equipment for sale. You can also talk to our staff about our financing options. SS Equipment is proud to serve the Pacific Northwest.