Understanding Tractor Tire Tread Terminology

Tractors are used for a variety of tasks and work in all types of terrain—from farming and landscaping to snow removal and maintaining small acreages. Helping tractors maximize their efficiency and productivity are tires featuring different types of tread, each uniquely engineered to deliver optimal performance in particular applications and conditions.

More Stable. Last Longer. 

In southern Indiana, the Dubois County Highway Department road crew mows 1,400 miles of roadside shoulders all season long, racking up 1,200 hours on each of the county’s four mowing tractors each year. Mowing on steep shoulders, carrying heavy bar
mowers, running on pavement—it’s tough duty for tires, which is why Dubois County Highway Department mechanic Max Hopf got so excited when he compared a set of Alliance 550 Multiuse radials against the department’s ag-style R-1 tires.

• Stability? Better.
• Traction? Every bit as good.
• Power hop? Gone.
• And wear? No contest.

Tractor Tires Cut Farm Fuel Costs

Fuel is one of the largest expenses for a farm and while farmers can’t control the cost of fuel, there are some steps they can take to reduce the amount their tractors use—such as ensuring optimal wheel slippage and proper tire inflation pressure. In addition to improving fuel efficiency, optimal wheel slippage and proper pressure can lead to other cost-saving benefits such as decreasing time in the field, reducing yield-sapping soil compaction, and minimizing wear and tear on equipment.  

Just how much can you save by improving farm equipment efficiency? A bulletin from Michigan State University Extension estimates that poor tractor performance wastes nearly 150 million gallons of fuel each year in the U.S.

Improving the Performance of Existing Farm Equipment with Tires

Farmers with hopes of purchasing equipment this year, whether new or used, are discovering one of the most challenging markets in recent memory. Reuters recently reported that the supply of tractors in North America is the tightest it’s been in 18 years. One option available to farmers is to take steps to improve the efficiency and productivity of the equipment they’re already running and wait for the market to cool. A simple, easy, and cost-efficient way to give existing equipment a boost is with new tires.  

Alliance Flotation Tractor Tires

Some problems have plagued farmers forever, like uncooperative weather and wet fields, while other issues are more modern, like the effect super-powerful and heavy tractors have on farmland. Farmers can’t control the weather or the need for larger tractors, but there is one solution that addresses the issues posed by both these problems: flotation tires.