I'M SHOCKED! THE BEST TRACTOR TIRE TREAD FOR SNOW & ICE!⚡❄️🚜

We think it's so cool that we can take polls of our tractor community to get more information for ourselves and to share with everyone. We recently took a poll of everyone's favorite tire tread for snow and ice. We'll cover the results and share our interpretation and our personal viewpoint.

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This video is for entertainment purposes only. Good Works Tractors (Good Works Lawn & Power, LLC) cannot be held responsible for content found in any video. Always reference your owners manuals, use extreme caution, and proceed at your own risk.

[addictedtobedrock]

What I’ve learned through life, doesn’t matter if it’s mud, snow or whatever, people will argue about what tire is better.

[mbob]

Hi Courtney. I live where we average 170 inches of snow a season. Everyone in my neighborhood uses R3s. Just saying.

[watauguy]

I've moved a bunch of snow, growing up in Michigan. Almost always using a truck with a plow, not a tractor. The rule was to always use a tall, narrow, snow tire. This did a couple things. More weight per square inch, to prevent slipping, and less bogging down in deep snow. The tractor ran R1's (R4 and R14 didn't exist) and the plows ran tall and narrow. So my pick would be the R1's for the tractor.

[jasonbrowncoaching]

I have 2025r TLB. My driveway is 700 ft long with 20% grade and two switchbacks. I push snow uphill with R4s and haven’t had an issues. Last storm we got last year here in New Hampshire was 3 feet of snow too.

[sethwilliamson]

There's more to tires than tread pattern. If you consider winter tires for the road, they're formulated with a softer rubber for improved traction on ice. The rubber on the R4 is very hard for long wear on hard surfaces. It turns rock hard at freezing temperatures. Very slippery on ice.

[BackyardMaine]

I have the turf tires on my 1025R here in Maine. My neighbor has the same tractor with the R14 tires and there is no comparison. Even with chains my turf tire work better. We get a lot of snow in Maine and I have never even needed to use 4 wheel drive using a 47 inch blower. I think with slippery snow and ice the more tire you have in contact with the ground the better. My view based on experience with my tractor.

[danbelden]

We get around 70” of snowfall a year. Last year we used 2 1025r’s with 54” snow blowers on the versa treads and they did well except for on the steepest driveways. We also used a John Deere rear steer machine not sure of the model, but I drove it during several storms and it did really well with just the turf tires on the same driveways.

[Tomkat]

Turf tires on my cx2510 and i have very good traction in the snow. I live in northern Maine.

[Ininvesting]

I run AG tires with chains on rear on my JD 855 with a blower. It's a mountain cabin so driveway is long, steep and unpaved. This setup has always got it done and with there being so much snow there's always ice underneath which no tire will help with that's where chains do the most work.

[williamevans]

I’ve used all four styles of tread and have experience in Ag, construction, ground maintenance, and snow removal. Here’s my take.

R4 Industrial / Float tires are easy on job sites by utilizing tight lugs in the center to make a flattish center strip. The center strip floats the tire minimizing dig, lessening damage to surfaces or turning the lot into a mud pie when wet. However this works against you when moving snow as it significantly reduces the amount the tread engages the ground.

I’ve used R1 Ag / Paddle lugs for a lot of snow removal. They are not my first choice but the tractors employed were primarily used for ground engaging work. They are better than the Industrials as the lugs are spread out and tall allowing more pounds per square inch (PSI) on the ground. They will get the job done but will cut up soft surfaces instantly requiring you to back drag over the work area.

Side Note: Any tread / cleat that floats or spreads out the tractors load is going to work against you in snow. That’s why Ag tires will outperform bar tracks in snow.

If setting up a tractor specifically to move snow, I would look at the R3 Turf and R14 Hybrid. The reason I say both is because there are very aggressive turf patterns and too aggressive Hybrids. A tight turf pattern is not going to work as it floats the tire in snow. A very aggressive hybrid may not have enough knobs / lugs which could reduce the performance down to a R1 Ag tire. There is a sweet spot, you want the most tread contacting the ground without significantly reducing PSI on the ground.

The Goodyear R14 hybrid shown in the vid is a good proven mud / snow pattern. Callisle Versa Turf Is an example of a more knobby pattern. Anywhere between these patterns should perform well in snow.

[bobcatbuilder]

I liked my turf tires for another reason. When using tire chains, there is more of the chain in contact with the ground giving awesome traction

[juleswinnfield]

You nailed it.... people get sucked up into marketing/advertising hype. L3560 with rear blade with R3 tires. Knocks out my snow work great.

[jimmeyer]

The best tire is the one I have on my tractor. They are paid for.

[kellywilson]

My RK25/TYM came with loaded r-14 rear tires, Havent had any troubles pushing heavy snow .

[michaelcangley]

My grandparents lived in the mountains of West Virginia back in the 1960s. Their neighbor had an Economy PowerKing tractor. Back then Ag tires were the only option. It was roughly the size of a 20 series John Deere. In the winter, he would swap the tires side to side reversing the tread pattern. They received heavy snowfalls and heavy drifting. It seemed nothing stopped that tractor when he was plowing. The local county owned a couple of WWII surplus 6x6s that would even hang up. My grandfather's neighbor was always able to retrieve them. I don't know how, but it really worked.

[PurpleNovember]

Totally depends on the snow conditions, tractor, and snow removal method. Turf tires or R4’s siped, anything siped is good.

[sunseeker]

Great video and so accurate. Our research shows the same results. R14 is 1st in class, then Turf Tear. Keep tractoring

[cslikesorange]

Good topic. Thanks for discussing it. For 12 years I cleared snow with my BX (first with a bucket and then with a pusher). It had the turf tires. Without chains, I would say they turf tires were not great. We had some years with early snow when I wasn't ready and didn't have the chains on yet. However, I put some simple chains on front and back and it had plenty of traction and moved a lot of snow. Last spring (2022) I purchased a B2601 with the R14 and used that with a pusher last winter. It did ok, but we had a lousy winter (low snow) and things got icy so it did struggle. I would say without the ice it did pretty good, but not as good as the turf tires with chains. However, versus the turf tires without chains, hands down the R14s had much better traction. That being said, though, I have ordered wheel spacers (yup - went with Bora) and square link chains for the back wheels with the R14s. Hopefully we get some snow this winter...

[jamess.putman]

This is all good information. But the Best tire for me, for snow removal in Alabama is the tire that came on my tractor. The wide lug industrial tire. I'm on disability and can't afford to buy tires and wheels for every weather. When you poor you use what you have . Thank you for the info. Love your videos.

[terryslipp]

I grew up on a farm in an area of higher snowfall. There is no comparison between the R3s and the R1s or R4s….the R3s exceed both the R1s and R4s. Even the R14s can’t compare to R3s in a good snowfall when it comes to traction. The turfs are truly tractor snow tires!