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Kubota Tire Swap?

T

Tim in New York

Member
My little Kubota came with R4 tires, which are pretty useless in snow or mud. Chains helped a lot. I just saw 4 ag tires on CL that came off a slightly older and smaller Kubota. They are the same size rim - 12 front and 16 back, but a bit smaller in width than what my tractor would take for ag tires. 7-12 and 11.2 x 16 versus 6-12 and 9.5 x 16.

Would I have problems if I put these on? I rarely use the loader with heavy material - that is about the only potential issue I could think of.

Thanks,
Tim
 
You would have to confirm that the tires have correct rolling circumference as to what is recomended for yours, ie front to rear. The ratio between them needs to stay the same. Ag tires are useless in snow,on ice as well by the way.
 
Is your tractor 2 wheel drive or 4 wheel drive? Makes a very big difference as for 4 wheel drive diameters have to be matched so the differential does not get tore up.
 
I have R4 tires on my L3560. 4x4
I have differential lock for the rear wheels.

I too wish I had bar tires.

My Farmall C has bar tires, no need for chains.

My Jubilee has bar tires and requires chains.

In my opinion, the width of the tire makes all the difference.
Farmall tires are half the width of the Jubilee.
I have a JD270 garden tractor with Bar tires.

I think the bar tires have a smoother ride on my Farmall and JD..

I would ask your dealer if you can change tires.
 
Some other possible options. Check out the link for your R4s. Both my turf and R4 rears on my BX25DLB have rim guard in them. Makes a big difference for summer loader work. I do all my snow removal with turf tires with no chains and no traction issues. Mud may need chains no matter what. As far as what you are asking, I would measure the outside diameter of my R4s to get the ratio of front to rear, then do the same on what you want to buy. If the ratio is the same, they should work. No matter what, I would keep my originals.
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It's generally assumed that agricultural tires on tractors will be great in snow, but the rubber is generally pretty hard, and don't do as well as one thinks. 4WD is a big plus, but chains are the ultimate if you want traction.

Note that if a tractor has ag tires, regular ladder chains can fall between the lugs and become useless. There is a type of chain with a loop that causes the ladder rungs to become an X and stay on top of the lugs.

Happy plowing !
 
With our skytrac having the R-4 type tires and the farm tractors all having R-1 tires or tractor lug tires. I don't see a big difference in mobility on snow or ice. Neither one is worth much on ice and both go about the same in snow. I plow snow with the tractor and load hay with the skytrac or the loader tractor depending on whether I have to start the skytrac to get to the hay. I'd just keep on keeping on with thos efor the price of tires these days.
 
R1 and R4 aren't exactly 1-for-1 as far as sizes go. For all we know the tires are the EXACT SAME diameter even though the sizes are "one size off."

What's important here are the diameters of the respective tires, and their ratios to each other, front to rear. This is because there is no differential between front and rear, and the front needs to "lead" the rear slightly to so the front pulls you through a tough spot and pulls you around corners.

You're going down one size front and rear, so the ratios to each other SHOULD be within range.

If you've got time measure your tires and then go measure these. IF they're close, buy them.
 

You just need to calculate the difference in circumference between your current front and rear and the new ones, if the difference is similar, no worries.

Manual might even list approved front/rear combinations.
 
Thanks all for the input. My R-4s are loaded, and chained in the winter. I think I will chalk this idea up to a good one to avoid, given the potential issues and the fact that the chains probably would not fit the ag tires very well.

Tim
 
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