Best tires for traction, mowing on hills

[dgeary]

Hi all,
Moving from the flatlands of Illinois to the hills of Harrogate, Tennessee. Brought the 1650 cub out to mow the yard with which is about 1.5 acres. There is not a flat section of ground on the property.
I am having problems with traction on the grass. It seems that the tires will spin at the least bit of moisture. I managed to get the yard mowed but had to wait until the grass was dry. Even then, it seemed to spin out easily on the steeper sections.
The current tires are Firestone Turf 23x10.50-12. Not sure how old they are. Seem to be badly checked but hold air. I have 10 psi in them at the moment. Looking for suggestions to get better traction. New tires? If so, what works best. Chains? Other ideas?
Thanks,

 

[Jay Fetters]

Ag style tyres will provide the best traction. Another option, which is probly the oldest method, is adding weight. Either wheel weights or weight on the rear of the machine. Both will provide more traction. The problem with chains, and sometimes ag tyres, is that they will really tear up your lawn if they break traction.

 

[mgwin]

Looks like it may be too much air in those rear tires also. That don't help any.
Another tip: only mow when it is dry.

 

[1811Cub]

As stated above, Ag style tires, properly inflated , with wheel weights/loaded tires/weight box will give you the advantage you need to conquer most inclines. But if/when traction is broken with them, you will damage the turf.

 

[dgeary]

Looks like it may be too much air in those rear tires also. That don't help any.
Another tip: only mow when it is dry.

Marty,
As I mentioned in my post I am running 10 psi of air pressure in the rear tires. Per the manual, it's supposed to be 12 psi. I think I could drop pressure to less than 5 psi and they would still look like they do in the pic. This does bring up another possibility. Maybe the rubber on these tires has hardened due to their age and there's no flex left in them?

 

[jack casey]

Marty,
As I mentioned in my post I am running 10 psi of air pressure in the rear tires. Per the manual, it's supposed to be 12 psi. I think I could drop pressure to less than 5 psi and they would still look like they do in the pic. This does bring up another possibility. Maybe the rubber on these tires has hardened due to their age and there's no flex left in them?

You nailed it, tires are rock-hard and tread does not flex and grab w/o spinning. Call Carlisle and talk with a tech, describe property, may just need their Turf Tires.
Jack

 

[jkluewer]

Drop dow a few more psi in the tires and see if traction improves.

I run 7 psi in the rear tires when mowing.

 

[John Ware]

Marty,
The key to hillside traction is weight. You can easily add water to the rear tires. They make an attachment that tractor supply has that attaches to a garden hose or Amazon has it. Search for Milton S-466 tire valve adapter.
If you plan on keeping the tractor or running it in the winter, some antifreeze should be added. That is done by removing the tire valve core and using a small funnel to put it in. Another cheap weight for your tractor is to put a dead/worthless car battery in the tool box under the seat. I did it years ago to add a second battery because I kept burning out the generator. This also made a big traction improvement when I added the battery. You can also add wheel weights but they can be pricey. If you can figure out any way to add weight to the back, you will improve your traction.

 

[tlavalette]

Hi all,
Moving from the flatlands of Illinois to the hills of Harrogate, Tennessee. Brought the 1650 cub out to mow the yard with which is about 1.5 acres. There is not a flat section of ground on the property.
I am having problems with traction on the grass. It seems that the tires will spin at the least bit of moisture. I managed to get the yard mowed but had to wait until the grass was dry. Even then, it seemed to spin out easily on the steeper sections.
The current tires are Firestone Turf 23x10.50-12. Not sure how old they are. Seem to be badly checked but hold air. I have 10 psi in them at the moment. Looking for suggestions to get better traction. New tires? If so, what works best. Chains? Other ideas?
Thanks,
View attachment 154430

Anything would work better than that tread pattern. They pretty much have zero traction.

 

[mgonitzke]

When it is time for new tires on my 782, I'm leaning towards either Carlisle Versa-Turf or Goodyear R14 tires...they are kind of a cross between turf and lug tires.

Your biggest problem is the 40+ year old rubber is rock hard, and that tread pattern of tire has no traction.

 

[1811Cub]

The R14's look good

 

[mgwin]

Those would look good on a 4x4 truck!

 

[dgeary]

Guys, thanks for the responses. Per some comments, my current tires are not great for traction plus the fact that they are old and hard makes it even worse. I like the Carlisle Versa-Turf tire tread per Matt Gonitzke. Also been looking at what other folks have on their lawn tractors/ZTR's in the area. I think at this point, any new turf tire is better than what I currently have. Been considering the Carlisle Turf Master which is supposed to be good on hills per Carlisle.
Thanks again.

 

[mgwin]

I am partial to Carlisle Tru Power ags.

 

[MarcHeld]

Be very careful on those hills. I was once jockeying up and down a hillside and jerked the hydro lever too fast from reverse to forward and the front wheels popped a wheelie and before I knew it the machine was upside down on top of me. Fortunately, I didn’t get hurt apart from a couple of bruised ribs. Crawled out from under the machine, flipped it over, straightened the seat and finished cutting the grass.

 

[Beltrack]

I just replaced my original tires on my 109 this winter. 51 years. I give them an “A” for longevity, but they were like wood. They’d spin on spit. I put ag tread on. Oh my goodness the difference! I appreciate the above warning. I can see how a wheelie is entirely possible.

 

[MarcHeld]

Another hillside experience.
Before owning my 1811, I had one of those MTD riding lawn mowers with a single cyl Briggs & Stratton. Mowing on a grade with those mowers will kill the engine because of the slinger oil system. The engine internals blew to smithereens, thanks to that grade. My Cub Cadet with the pressurized automotive style oil system never once hiccupped on that hill. (Other than the flip over)

 

[MarcHeld]

Hi all,
Moving from the flatlands of Illinois to the hills of Harrogate, Tennessee. Brought the 1650 cub out to mow the yard with which is about 1.5 acres. There is not a flat section of ground on the property.
I am having problems with traction on the grass. It seems that the tires will spin at the least bit of moisture. I managed to get the yard mowed but had to wait until the grass was dry. Even then, it seemed to spin out easily on the steeper sections.
The current tires are Firestone Turf 23x10.50-12. Not sure how old they are. Seem to be badly checked but hold air. I have 10 psi in them at the moment. Looking for suggestions to get better traction. New tires? If so, what works best. Chains? Other ideas?
Thanks,
View attachment 154430

Nice drawbar.

 

[bpientka]

Interesting video testing tractor pull with different tires.

https://www.messicks.com/school/tag/r14-tires