Wide tyres, duals or tracks.

[Will 1594]

Always used to run a couple of tractors on dual wheels., drill tractor on duals all around.. When we went up a size in tractor we ended up on 710's on a JD and a Magnum. I felt that 710's alone were not enough to support the weight of a Magnum especially when conditions are tender underfoot........ Magnum went down the road and we settled into lighter 200 hoss tractors on decentish tyres,,,,,, but with another tractor change this year I find myself looking for a set of dual wheels, time will tell if we go full circle again

Mr c. We have 800 on and a set of duals 380/105/50 , it measures 3990 mm overall , I think a good extra wide front set makes a big difference ,

 

[Farmer Roy]

Err, I think I’m running 480 x 46 on the rear of my current tractor ( 300 hp FWA )

we tend to like tall skinny tyres for CTF / Row Crop work, with a nice long footprint, rather than wide tyres

duals same size, don’t use them often, but when I do they are on 1 metre “cotton reel” spacers ( our row crops are on 1m rows, tractor on 2 m wheel spacing, our narrow row crop spacings still fit into a 1 m system - 250mm or 333mm rows - so everything is in multiples of 1 m ) & it is surprising the difference the wide spacing on the duals makes in soft going. The outside duals are running on 4 m - just float across soft ground even with 480’s
But yeah, you gotta be careful turning, especially using the turning brakes, always run the duals at a lower pressure than the inners, it works a lot better with 12 m gear than little sh!t . . .

 

[Mr Charisma]

The 800 38 tyre will carry a lot of load at lower pressure shame it dos not fit on lower hp tractors easier to swap than duels

Tractor is a Puma 240 and is currently sat on 650 75 38 , tyres of choice would be 800's but with no crops in the ground I'm having to be careful of any money I spend, I can put a set of duals together on a reasonable budget

 

[Mr Charisma]

Mr c. We have 800 on and a set of duals 380/105/50 , it measures 3990 mm overall , I think a good extra wide front set makes a big difference ,

As in my reply above what I would really like and what I can warrant spending are quite a distant apart.

 

[Brisel]

Preventing compaction is cheaper than repairing it. Width isn’t the only factor if you’ve got a quality tyre run at low pressures with minimised weight and trailed kit. My 8370R has 800 and 600 Axiobib tyres run at 12psi. Subsoiler use has gone from 25% of the field lifting tramlines and headlands every year to just lifting the occasional muck heap site.

 

[ajd132]

If you don’t de-stabilise soils by cultivation big tractors run well without damage. No tilled soils have held our quad track very well this year, you can see where it’s been on the 12m CTF lanes but it’s really no damage. Where we cultivated it’s far more visible. Cultivated soil=compaction=more cultivation=hamster wheel effect. Small tractors after ploughs have caused more damage in my area this year than I have with a 30t tractor and 12m drill. (I still aim to get rid of the beast though, more for reliability and cost worries than the weight).

 

[Will 1594]

Tractor is a Puma 240 and is currently sat on 650 75 38 , tyres of choice would be 800's but with no crops in the ground I'm having to be careful of any money I spend, I can put a set of duals together on a reasonable budget

20.8 42 s with a 38 stepper will match , make your own like i did, what you got on the front

 

[Mr Charisma]

20.8 42 s with a 38 stepper will match , make your own like i did, what you got on the front

I've gone down the "cheapo" route tbh , found a set of worn 650 75 r 38 and done a deal for a set of rims and spacers.,I have the clamps on farm all done for reasonable money, front wheels will just have to be okay as they are unless ?

 

[Will 1594]

I've gone down the "cheapo" route tbh , found a set of worn 650 75 r 38 and done a deal for a set of rims and spacers.,I have the clamps on farm all done for reasonable money, front wheels will just have to be okay as they are unless ?

What size fronts have you . Might have a set 750/50/30 spare if we get another wider pair
£1500. Tyres 40%. Good enough for drilling

 

[TWF]

you do zero till, full stubble retention, CTF, keep an eye on fungicide & insecticide use ( ie - try to avoid damaging soil biology / fungi as much as you can ), maybe add cover crops as well, you may find you don’t need to be mole draining in the future . . .

I hope your right. But I have been scratch tilling nearly 20 years and DD on and off for eight years and still mole regularly. Mostly Hanslop clay over very slow permeable clay.

 

[Teejay]

If you are fitting duals to the solid rims are people drilling them or using the existing holes in the middle of the rim?

 

[Two Tone]

If you are fitting duals to the solid rims are people drilling them or using the existing holes in the middle of the rim?

Avoid drilling new holes if you can.

EDIT:
I should have read your post properly.
Solid wheels are a pain. You will have to drill holes if there aren't any near the outside of the centres. As @Brisel correctly says, don't try to use the ones near the centre. This will cause far too much torque on the clamps.

Best to find somebody with a Mag-mount drill to drill them for you.

 

[Brisel]

You need the clamps closer to the outside so they tighten themselves as the torque slips the rims around. Far too much torque nearer the centre of the wheel.

 

[Chae1]

Been drilling recently on land you rarely drill this time of year and without 900 tyres you would make a deeper wheelings turning on the headland and you can generally run ph very shallow not churning it too sh1te . Duals never was as good . Big tyres are a pain sometimes but if you direct the tools for the jobs you can usually have success .

I hope your right. But I have been scratch tilling nearly 20 years and DD on and off for eight years and still mole regularly. Mostly Hanslop clay over very slow permeable clay.

I imagine our saturated soils are somewhat different to those in drought stricken nsw.

We use 900s for drilling.

 

[Clive]

Preventing compaction is cheaper than repairing it. Width isn’t the only factor if you’ve got a quality tyre run at low pressures with minimised weight and trailed kit. My 8370R has 800 and 600 Axiobib tyres run at 12psi. Subsoiler use has gone from 25% of the field lifting tramlines and headlands every year to just lifting the occasional muck heap site.

getting pressure right is key - there is nothing we do in a field with a tractor above 8psi now and control traffic strictly

 

[Brisel]

getting pressure right is key - there is nothing we do in a field with a tractor above 8psi now and control traffic strictly

What about grain carts? Open on a tramline then load into the trailers confined to the tramlines? Is your auger the right length for this?

 

[Clive]

What about grain carts? Open on a tramline then load into the trailers confined to the tramlines? Is your auger the right length for this?

yes they don’t leave tramlines

 

[Tomtrac]

Avoid drilling new holes if you can.

EDIT:
I should have read your post properly.
Solid wheels are a pain. You will have to drill holes if there aren't any near the outside of the centres. As @Brisel correctly says, don't try to use the ones near the centre. This will cause far too much torque on the clamps.

Best to find somebody with a Mag-mount drill to drill them for you.

I used the holes nr centre for the eye bolts for a season but had to rely on the r clips too much to keep clamps over centre and lost one or two off ( not More than a mile or two on road tho) so just set off with plenty off cutting fluid and kept going up with drill size with 1/2 “ drill and used a step up drill for last drill hole to match the “d” eyes for the clamps

 

[Will 1594]

I used the holes nr centre for the eye bolts for a season but had to rely on the r clips too much to keep clamps over centre and lost one or two off ( not More than a mile or two on road tho) so just set off with plenty off cutting fluid and kept going up with drill size with 1/2 “ drill and used a step up drill for last drill hole to match the “d” eyes for the clamps

If you use wheel weight holes you need the extra spacer on the clamps .like in the second pic too the right ,so they over centre ,because of different angle

 

[DrWazzock]

Lost a bettinson in a wet hole while putting salt on the beet land. Couldn’t get the bar steward back on so ditched the other one as well. Carried on. No noticeable difference in sinkage. Sometimes wonder why I bother doing things “ properly”.