Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Hi. Last year I bought a tractor that is indentical to my Simplicity 12.5LTH, with a blown motor. I originally bought this as a parts tractor. I have been thinking of putting a 16HP B&S Vanguard V-twin on it to have a back up also. Wife loves this idea.  LOL   Anyway, I was thinking of putting AG or Lug tires on it and using it as a utility tractor. More for going through the neighbors fields for cutting firewood and hauling a cart. Just wondering if the AG tires are rough on the lawns and if I use my plow with it, how are they in the snow. Will it still require chains and can chains work on this kind of tire. Any info is appreciated.

                                                                    Thanks,   Kevin

Many commercial guys use Ag tires on their Zero turns for residential use. They'll be fine on your yard as long as it's not too soft and or muddy. Actually, they may be better in ways. They won't be prone to spinning as much as a normal turf tire would, thus not tearing up the grass though, they will leave a print more than a turf tire will in deep, thick, lush grass. Go with the shallow lug designs as seen on the Dixie Chopper below will work best on lawns, the deep lugs will give better traction in mud and snow.

Here's a few to choose from.

Better Link for Carlisle tires.

Firestone

Titan

Goodyear





Dixie Chooper uses them

On my hilly back yard I can't stand those turf saver tires.  They should be called turf shredder tires lol...

I like the tires that Murray puts on their snowblowers like this one.

I think something like this would be perfect.

C

Thanks for the info and links Marshall. Interesting to see the many different types of tires you can get. This whole project is still a "thought in process". LOL  If a good deal on a newer Simplicity comes along, I may jump on that too.

Chris, your right on the "turf savers". Any kind of cart load or a steep hill and damp grass, it's spin city.

                                                                                                    Thanks again,                           Kevin

Kevin,
Why not just get chains for the tires you have? They are lumpy on pavement, but on grass with a load or in the snow, they are hard to beat. One thing, on dry pavement with a load you may actually lose some grip over just turf tires. Not usually a problem, unless you are going downhill with that load and want to stop.

robmints wrote:

Hi Robmints. It might be hard to see them, but I have chains on the tires in the pic in my signature. Your right, they are bumpy on the pavement. I have dug up the yard in the past with them on, but usually in the spring when the ground is still wet from the spring thaw. I will be going through some thick stuff in the fields to get to the firewood to cut. Chains might pick up a lot of crud. Thanks for "more food for thought". Thats the nice thing about this forum. You can throw your line out, but ya never know whats gonna come back.

                                                                         Thanks again,    Kevin

its kinda hard to tell from your pic but if your tractor has the 5 bolt wheels and the heavy duty trans .you could put on the extra set of wheels.

i mean 2 on each side .it wont turn as easy as before but will go just about anywhere and shouldnt mess up the lawn as long as you dont turn sharp.

later chris

Hell yea, make it a dually. 

Marshall wrote:

I was thinking of "tricking out" the spare tractor. I am trying to keep some perspective though.

snowshoveler wrote:

Hi Chris. I actually had to go check on this. Since I've had my original tractor I have left the wheels weights on and really wasn't sure if it had bolts. No it doesn't. Shows you much attention I pay to the machine. It goes straight onto the axle and is held on with a clip pin. The tires are only 18x8.50x8. I am wondering though, how wide of a tire could I put on that, as long as it fits within the unit. Maybe even a higher tire. Is the size of the tire dictated by the width of the rim? The dually idea sounded nice though.  LOL.

                                                                                               Thanks,   Kevin

the dual wheels are usually found on the tractors with 23x10.50 x12 tires.

they sometimes use a collar that fits between the 2 wheels where the bead is and then are fastened together with 4 bolts like used on your wheel weights.

the collar is about 2 inches wide,very similar to the collar used on semi truck only smaller.

there is another way that uses 4 small pieces of pipe  that are put on over the bolts between the wheels,sometimes there are strips of steel weilded to them for stability.

i hope you can picture what i mean.

you could do this to your tractor and would work pretty good. but it really depends on the transmission you have.

it needs to be a heavy duty unit. and im not familiar with your type of tractor.

later chris