# Truck Snow Tire Questions



## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

Sorry if this was a repeat but didn't quite find what i was looking for browsing through the forums.

Couple of quick simple questions.

Basically our tires are all worn to the point they would go another summer but not through the winter. Looking at either just buying a new set of all terrains for them, or possibly buying snow tires for them.

We do snow plowing for our farm and a couple other places. Neighbors, landlords, parking lots etc. Most of the time we are on hard packed snow on top of gravel. Some of the plowing is blacktop/concrete too. In the event of a large snowfall we have much larger equipment available at our disposal so the plow trucks do not need to be able to tackle everything, but at the same time we don't want to be using the bigger stuff more than we need to.

When the trucks are not plowing during the winter they are pulling trailers. An occasional heavy load of bales, but not many of those in the winter, mostly just a skid steer or load of cattle.

Due to the towing we need to stay with "E" range tires. Currently we run Bridgestone Dueler A/T 695's on the trucks. These have worked well for us as a good all around tires. Both plow trucks are 02/03 GMC/Chevy 2500HD EC/LB Duramax/Allison 4x4 trucks with 265/75/16's on them. One has a Hiniker Straight Blade the other has a Blizzard 8100PP. The other truck that is the main run around truck for the farm is a 2011 in the same configuration as the other trucks but with 265/70R17's.

We have started running snow tires on the cars and have been very impressed which is what got me thinking on the subject.


My questions are:

Would it be worth our time doing the snow tires seeing as how we do not have to completely depend on the trucks and will run them hard the rest of the winter when not plowing (about 5,000 miles average on each of the plow trucks, 15,000 or so on the newer truck).

The three tires that we would decide between would be the Blizzak W965, Firestone Winterforce LT, and the Michelin LTX Winter. The Firestone is cheapest and looks like a good tread pattern but I'm no engineer. The Michelin is the most expensive and looks least agressive. We are Michelin fans but their pickup truck tires seem less impressive off road. The 2011 came with their LTX A/T2's and they were less than impressive which is sad seeing as how they are the most agressive Michelin offers. The pricing on them could come down as We just applied for their Advantage Program due to the volume of their tires we use on Semi's and Ag/Construction equipment. The Bridgestone's look a little less agressive and are more money.

In order of price from high to low: Michelin, Bridgestone, Firestone

My Prediction based on experience for wear from longest to shortest: Michelin, Bridgestone, Firestone.

Traction is the main concern and from just looking it seems like best to worst would be: Firestone, Bridgestone, Michelin.


With a snow tire I'd be more concerned about the traction and value versus the wear. To me its more of a purpose built tire which makes longevity less important.

I'd like to hear some reviews from anyone that has used them.

I'd also like to know if it would be that much more beneficial to go to a 235/85R16 versus the 265/75R16. Keep in mind when worn down we would most likely run them in the summer when we do need mud traction. I don't think we go through trailer tires fast enough to burn these up in that dept. But it is an option.

How many seasons should are people getting out of these before just running them down during the summer?


Thanks again. any other helpful information is always welcomed.


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## plowin-fire (Jan 31, 2011)

The Bridgestone are a spendy tire, but they do perform better than the firestones. Either one is going to be considerably better than a standard A/T tire as well. I prefer the Bridgestone because they are non-directional unlike the Firestones. That way you can rotate them easier, and seem to have less wear issues on the edges.


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

Thanks for that info, bridgestones have always outperformed firestones and sometimes its about the science and engineering and not what my eyeball thinks.. Anybody run the new michelins?


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

any further insight on this? thank you.


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## plowmaster07 (Feb 1, 2009)

All good info on here. Thanks for asking the question!


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## krashemall (Oct 23, 2012)

I know these are not snow tires per say, but after my brother put these on his plow rig, he didn't have traction issues anymore. I like them so much after I drove his rig plowing last season that I put them on my suburban. I hardly had to switch to 4wheel drive they gripped so nice. They have load range E in the size you talked about and are provisioned for studs if your area allows them. Oh and I threw a lot of mud the day I turned around in a less than dry area one day as the snow was melting.

http://www.kellytires.com/cfmx/web/kellytiresel/details.cfm?product=316

I got my LT285/75R16 E SAFARI TSR for $222/each plus mount and balance.

I plan on getting a set for my new plow rig just as soon as I get this used plow working.

Good luck in your search.


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

I'll look at them but Kelly's have not impressed me in the past. especially considering their price.


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## plowin-fire (Jan 31, 2011)

According to Michelins website, the LTX Winter is rated 7 out of 10 on snow and ice. But 10 of 10 in wear and longevity. I would vote for the Bridgestones out of your choices. 235 vs 265? The 265s will ride better, look better. Load rating is about the same between the 2. The 235s will have slightly better traction due to a smaller footprint. Ecomony may be slightly better as well with the 235s.

What would I do? Being a tire dealer with endless choices, I am currently running 285/75-16 Mastercraft Courser C/Ts on my plow trucks. Why? They are a great "hybrid" A/T as they are called. Good amount of siping, large tread blocks for better wear, but still grip like crazy in the snow and ice. I am considering having my next set studded and swap them out in the summer for the tires that came with the truck. I like the 285s for the softer ride, and they fill the wheel wells betters on my super dutys. 

Other tires I considered in order are the General Grabber A/T 2, Nokian Rotiva A/T, Hankook Dynapro ATM RF10. These are all A/T's but the Generals are Snow Rated. Also they are In the middle of the price range. There are better options out there, but I didnt want to spend $250+ per tire.

If I were going strictly a winter tire, I would choose the Mastercraft Courser MSR or Cooper Discoverer M & S. Same tire. Other good ones: Nokian Hakka's, Bridestone W965s. The Mastercrafts/Coopers are the best bang for the buck I think though. Nokians are top of the line and perform very well. But they are spendy.

These are just my findings from experience and talking our distributers. I am sure others opinions vary. These work for me.


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

Checked out those kelly's and they do look agressive. Much more than the ones we ran. Let me know how well they wear.

Ended up ordering a set of Blizzaks for the main plow truck. The other truck doesn't get used much and we have too many partially worn tires to burn up. The 2011 will be getting a set of winterforces because they do not have Blizzaks in 18" sizes at this time.


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

I can say both sets of tires equally performed well during our 20" two day blizzard were in. Finally on the tail end of it. Wet heavy snow and soft ground. Been quite the treat. 

I cant really tell which tire performs better as both trucks are soo different. The Blizzak truck being older and lower to the ground as well as having a plow whereas the Winterforce truck sits much higher and doesnt have a plow in the way. 

In this wet heavy snow these tires seem to just ride up on top of it, pack it down and bite hard on the packed snow where most other tires would spin out. Took the truck with the winterforces through roads with 3' drifts or so. Just kept it going 30-40 and it never felt out of control or like i was even close to getting stuck. Weve been shuttling all of our workers around with this truck. 

The Blizzak plow truck has been impressive too. Its hard to compare this blizzard but I seem to remember never being able to go anywhere when we had our last big blizzard in which the truck had transforces.


Outside of the snow, the winterforces do a little better in mud but at the same time throw rocks like crazy and will hold them for miles at a time before launching them. They also have fairly noticeable howl that sounds even weirder when blasting through drifts. 


Both sets of tires have proven to be well worth the investment this year and have shown that the advantage on a pickup is even greater than on a car. 


On the car side of things, my WS60 Blizzaks managed to drag the rear end of my jetta around through some deeper hard packed snow for quite aways as my parking brake was froze. The winterforces on the other Jetta get the job done too. Havent gotten a chance to really play with the Michelin X-Ice xi3's on my fiances mustang yet. Maybe tomorrow.

Just a short update on the tires. Better get back to it. Good luck to everyone else cleaning up this mess.


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## tebletlawns (Oct 26, 2010)

I ran my new set of Blizzak's yesterday and was very pleased! Pulled a loaded trailer all over unplowed roads with no problems. By the end of the day still gripped the packed snow just as well. I have a question though, should I swap them out for every storm or ride them out for the winter?


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## Spool it up (Oct 30, 2012)

*i swear by bfgoodrich a/t k/o's. *


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

I used to like the BFG ATs for snow but you still cant beat a dedicated snow tire for the ice traction which the BFGs were less than impressive at in my opinion. 

i wouldnt swap them for every storm just swap them on and off for the season. Put all of ours on between nov. and december then take them off in march.


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## Mark13 (Dec 3, 2006)

Good bit of info in this thread. You guys do about the same with pickups as I do and had the same questions about tires.

One thing I thought I'd pass on is that my winter tires are 235/85/16 and I notice more sway in them with my gooseneck then I do my 295/70/17 summer tires. Both are load range e toyo m/t's. Just the narrower tire is significantly less stable. I plan to switch to 265-285/75/16 for my winter set for next season as my 235's will be bald.


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

Bridgestone Blizzak W965's on 03 Dmax



















Firestone Winterforce LT's on 11 Dmax


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

Firestone Winterforce's on 06 Jetta TDI



















Bridgestone Blizzak WS60's on 00 Jetta TDI


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

Michelin XDN2's on 07 Kenworth T600. Snow rated tire, performs fairly well for a semi tire.



















Michelin X-Works XDY's on 01 Freightliner. Put these on just before the snow. They don't do very good on ice but deep snow they do alright. Bought them mainly for mud in the fields and such.


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

Michelin X-Ice Xi3's on 06 Mustang



















And just a picture of the tractor I spent all night in during the Blizzard pulling cars/trucks/semis etc out. Moved about 30 vehicles with it, pulled out the county grader and even took it down the interstate that night to avoid the deep drifts on the backroads. Tires are Michelin Agribibs on the rear and Michelin Omnibibs on the Front.










Picture this summer when it was brand new.


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

Heres some pictures showing the wear of the Firestone Winterforce LT's. Didn't expect them to be outstanding but the Blizzaks are definately wearing better. Lots of heel toe wear on the steer tires and with them being directional unfortuneatley that cant be corrected, I may rotate them backwards towards the end of the season though if it gets worse. The drive tires are down to 10-11/32 the steer tires are 15-16/32. Just rotated them today. 7,000 miles on them so far.


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## beanz27 (Dec 22, 2012)

I personally favor Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs. They aren't the quietest on the road though, they tend to howl everytime we get really cold pavement. But amazing traction.


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## Buswell Forest (Jan 11, 2013)

When it was time to buy another set of drive side tires for the F550, I went with Stratham tire's own design recaps on Michelin carcasses. They have held up fine, and are awesome in snow.


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## theholycow (Nov 29, 2002)

Wow, great reporting, durallymax! I love your format. Did you buy all those since October?









Any more thoughts on traction in various types of snow and ice?



durallymax;1566907 said:


> Picture this summer when it was brand new.


Looks like it's equipped for working at a landfill, but that looks like a farm or a capped landfill in the background...what kind of blade is that?


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## jasonv (Nov 2, 2012)

Spool it up;1545155 said:


> *i swear by bfgoodrich a/t k/o's. *


Really? I used to swear A/T them. :realmad::realmad::realmad:
POS with poor traction. Barely better than a Dunflop AT20.

OP: Look at GOODYEAR SILENTARMOR in 245 width. They're very nice tires with an aggressive-but-not-offroad tread pattern, rated for SEVERE SNOW SERVICE. They're probably the best all season truck tire for use on the snow in conditions like you describe.


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## REAPER (Nov 23, 2004)

plowin-fire;1504050 said:


> If I were going strictly a winter tire, I would choose the Mastercraft Courser MSR or Cooper Discoverer M & S. Same tire.


Absolute best snow tire I have ever had and will never run any other in winter. 
But, they are strictly a snow tire and must be switched 1st sign of spring. Thumbs Up


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

theholycow;1567001 said:


> Wow, great reporting, durallymax! I love your format. Did you buy all those since October?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Haha I didn't look where you were from, must not be a lot of dairy operations around you. That tractor is setup for packing silage. No different really than working a landfill, except its packing feed for cows, instead of trash. Pushing it into a horizonatal silo then packing it is the most economical way to store large amounts of feed. Most of the bunkers are between 30 and 120' wide by 150-250' long with 12' walls. The key is density. The higher the density, the less chance for spoilage. We aim for over 20lbs/cu.ft. The tractors are both weighted over 35,000lbs.

Heres the process if you've never seen it before.

Below is a video from Claas showing the european style. Its essentially the same concept, however they are chopping for biomass instead of feed. They are using the 970. Claas also makes a 980 with an 880hp MAN V12. Their choppers are a top brand out of the main players (Claas, Krone, NH, Deere). All of the are direct drive too. Many people can't believe there is literally a belt running from the motor to the cutterhead, just like a lawn mower. Except a slightly larger more expensive belt. Krone also uses this design. Deere doesn't like it because it requires mounting the engine transversly. However the sacrifice in their design using a 90* gearbox is about a 10% loss of efficiency. The Claas machines with heads generally cost $400,000 on up. I could go on all day but Ill stop.






Below is a video of us just messing around. We don't actually haul with those. we have a 940 Claas which has a V8 Bi-Turbo Mercedes rated at 470hp.






Both of the above videos show corn silage which is chopped directly in the field. The heads used are row independent heads. The are basically a large saw, you can drive any direction you want to, the rows do not matter. Often times its better for soil conservation to plant a field on way but more economical to chop it a different direction.

Below are some pictures of the corn silage side of things.

Opening a field. We drive the tractors/trucks behind the chopper during the first pass through the fields. This takes less time than unhooking a wagon to hook it to the chopper, but it does require a little more skill and communication.










View from the drivers seat. Every truck and tractor carries a roll of towels and glass cleaner during silage season.










Here is an image of normal side loading. We side load on the right, as do many other americans. California operators sometimes load to the left. Most of the rest of the world also tends to load to the left. I don't have an answer why. The right side feels more natural as the controls and monitor are all there, so your focus is already on that side.


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

theholycow;1567001 said:


> Wow, great reporting, durallymax! I love your format. Did
> 
> Any more thoughts on traction in various types of snow and ice?
> 
> Looks like it's equipped for working at a landfill, but that looks like a farm or a capped landfill in the background...what kind of blade is that?


To continue my derail on my thread below is information on the Hay and Cereal Grain process.

We chop alfalfa, various types of grasses and some green cereal grains (rye,triticale,oats) as well for feed. All of these crops along with corn silage share the same end goal. We need to chop the material into uniform size pieces (generally 19mm) and pack it tight and seal out any oxygen so that fermentation can take place. Once fermented the feed has a slightly sweet smell and a brown appearance. Same concept as sauerkraut.

For the "greens" we have to cut them first. We use two triple mowers like the one shown in the pictures below for cutting and crimping the crops. The crimping action squeezes the crop to break the waxy layer on the stem and speed up the drying process. Back in the day we would cut the hay and chop it a day or two later, now we are cutting it then following it up with the chopper in as little as 6hrs. The mower below is a Pottinger 34' mower. For transport the rear two mowers fold up vertically. We have the tractor equipped with automated steering to streamline the entire process and reduce waste and stress.

Cutting alfalfa










cutting rye










Once cut, we allow the feed to dry in the field for a while then we will go out and merge the windrows together to form larger windrows. This keeps the chopper full and reduces the number of times it has to go across the field. Ideally the more spread out you can have the windrows after cutting the better. This promotes faster dry times,. but you need a big windrow for the chopper. It all depends on the crop, we sometimes will put 120' of windrows into one, other times we will only do 50-60'. Its all about keeping the chopper between 3.5-4mph and having smooth lump free windrows going into it. The merger shown below is an Oxbo 34'. It has 3 floating sections that form a continuous pickup with switcheable conveyors in the back. For transport the sides fold up and back to make it less than 10' wide. This process is usually done at 6-12mph.

Merging rye.










merging alfalfa


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

theholycow;1567001 said:


> Looks like it's equipped for working at a landfill, but that looks like a farm or a capped landfill in the background...what kind of blade is that?


Continuing my derail.

Once the hay is merged, we chop it. below is a picture of us chopping hay that "got away" from us. Meaning we cut it down too fast, didn't get it merged fast enough and didnt get it chopped quick enough. On a hot dry day like that, the hay drys very fast. When it gets too dry, the chopper "gums" up. literally a gummy film starts to build up on everything, making it all less slippery and plugging everything up. We have a large water wagon that we use to pour water on the windrows to help "clean the chopper out". Generally you do not want to see any dust when chopping it.










Here is a picture of us chopping good hay. Not to dry not too wet. The tiny box you can see half way up the discharge spout is actually a moisture sensor option. It reads the moisture real time and logs it. It also has a monitor on the feedrolls to judge the gap. These two readings work together to provide a rough number of tonnage chopped. Its about as accurate as the average MPG's in your car, but the moisture meter alone is very accurate.










Ill get onto the bunker silos next but first two more pictures of the final process we use the chopper for. Something called earlage/snaplage. Its a process that you do in between chopping corn and combining corn. When we chop corn we look for around 70% whole plant moisture. When we do high moisture shell corn with the combine we are looking for 30% kernel moisture. When we do dry shell corn for sale, they charge to dry it down to 13.5%. Snaplage is done when the kernel moisture is in the high 30s. Essentially what we do is use an adapter plate to mount the combine head onto the chopper. The combine corn head is designed to pull the corn plant down and strip the ears off leaving the rest of the plant shredded on the ground. The corn head for the chopper shown earlier is designed to cut off the entire plant and feed it into the chopper. The combine head allows us to chop just the cob and kernels. This gives a product with more volume than just regular corn, but good digestibility and high feed value.

Here is the setup.










Heres a bad picture in action. Its hard to take pictures because we generally drive 6-8mph during this process.


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## beanz27 (Dec 22, 2012)

You have much larger equipment then we have lol. We cut our alfalfa and hay fields with an 8840 CIH Swather with a 16' head. Wish we had that tractor with the mowers lol. Then we have a big V rake to put two rows together if we have someone buying the alfalfa for haylage.


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

theholycow;1567001 said:


> Looks like it's equipped for working at a landfill, but that looks like a farm or a capped landfill in the background...what kind of blade is that?


Now onto the bunker silos.

We start with an empty bunker, then line the inside walls with heavy plastic. This is to avoid spoilage along the walls due to rainwater running off the crown of the pile. Also helps seal out oxygen. Once we finish filling we will cover the pile with an oxygen barrier. essentially large 1,000' rolls of saran wrap. Then we flip the wall covers over onto the pile and finish with a final top cover across the top. Then we cover with half cut tires, or truck sidewalls tight tire to tire across the entire bunker. Its bad work. Stinky, smelly, hot but its the only way they have found to work.

Empty bunker.










Lined walls with a little bit of hay in there already.










The guys packing the bunker. We always try to run at least two tractors. We don't drive crossways often, just for the finishing touches. Its safer than getting close to the edges going the opposite direction. All it takes is one soft spot and over the wall you go.










The finished bunker ready to be covered.


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## Mark13 (Dec 3, 2006)

Always neat seeing your pictures. Compared to around here (IL/WI border) you run a lot of unique equipment/brands. But then again anything that isn't Deere, Cat, Case, or NH is out of place around here. The only thing Claas I ever see is the combines. 

Do you still have the semi that if I remember right you gave hardly anything for and were working on redoing?


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

theholycow;1567001 said:


> Looks like it's equipped for working at a landfill, but that looks like a farm or a capped landfill in the background...what kind of blade is that?


Final pictures. These are of the corn silage pile. We need more tractors for this one as the feed comes in much faster. We only chop corn silage once a year which is why we make on big pile. There is 7,000-8,000 tons in this pile.

Packing it










Photo op with all of the tractors.










Finished pile ready to be covered










Finished pile from the backside. I try to get the guys to always use the progressive wedge style where you keep an even ramp and just keep going up, versus the carryover pile where you go up a short ramp the spread the feed over a long level push. The wedge allows for more room for feed. The carryover works in smaller bunkers, but the ramp con sometimes get too steep to go much higher.

If you look close you can see a skid steer at the lower right hand side of the pile.


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

theholycow;1567001 said:


> Wow, great reporting, durallymax! I love your format. Did you buy all those since October?
> 
> Any more thoughts on traction in various types of snow and ice?
> 
> Looks like it's equipped for working at a landfill, but that looks like a farm or a capped landfill in the background...what kind of blade is that?


To actually finish answerog the rest of your questions. No we did not buy all of them since october. The ones on the 06 jetta are on their 3rd season, the ones on my 00 jetta are on their 2nd. The XDN2s were on the Kenworth when we bought it. The Michelin X-Works XDYs, Michelin X-Ice Xi3's, Bridgestone Blizzak W965's, and Firestone Winterforce LT's were all new this fall though.

We have been lucky. Looks like more snow next week though. Just damn cold now. no extra reporting on traction yet.

The Blade is a Grouser Hi-Lift 2200. 12'. We used to use Degelman but now use the Grousers.



jasonv;1567006 said:


> Really? I used to swear A/T them. :realmad::realmad::realmad:
> POS with poor traction. Barely better than a Dunflop AT20.
> 
> OP: Look at GOODYEAR SILENTARMOR in 245 width. They're very nice tires with an aggressive-but-not-offroad tread pattern, rated for SEVERE SNOW SERVICE. They're probably the best all season truck tire for use on the snow in conditions like you describe.


I am too biased against good years for many reasons.



beanz27;1567138 said:


> You have much larger equipment then we have lol. We cut our alfalfa and hay fields with an 8840 CIH Swather with a 16' head. Wish we had that tractor with the mowers lol. Then we have a big V rake to put two rows together if we have someone buying the alfalfa for haylage.


We used to have an 8840. First self propelled one we bought. had a 16' head as well. Then moved to a 2250 New holland with an 18' sickle head. Then onto an HW365 NH with an 18' discbine. Big mistake there. The power unit was great but the 18' head couldn't take the stress. every stone we hit we would have to drop the cutterbar and replace a section of the discbine. Got expensive. I think if we would've had the smaller head we would've been okay. Others in the area do not have problems with the smaller heads as much. We kept running the HW365 when we bough the Pottinger V10. In the process of replacing the HW365 with another triple mower though. Can't justify another V10, but possible an 8600 or Kuhn or something. This one will not have crimping rolls like the V10 does. We don't want to go away from crimping, just want to be able to have some wet hay and some dry hay to make the logistics a little better.



Mark13;1567150 said:


> Always neat seeing your pictures. Compared to around here (IL/WI border) you run a lot of unique equipment/brands. But then again anything that isn't Deere, Cat, Case, or NH is out of place around here. The only thing Claas I ever see is the combines.
> 
> Do you still have the semi that if I remember right you gave hardly anything for and were working on redoing?


There's a lot of Claas choppers here. More per square mile than anywhere else the rep says. Great service, good performance and good reliability.

We grew up as an IH farm, CNH fell behind the times though and we switched to the new Massey 8600 series. Having some hiccups with them though and working on switching to Fendt. We do run CAT skid steers and have a John Deere 1560 drill, just bought a brand new John Deere corn planter too. used to have a John Deere chopper, caused a lot of hard feelings with us and Deere. We have a lot of Beef with them and the dealer, enough that we wont own their tractors at least for a long time. Deere as a company has a lot of work to do. Their stuff is okay, but their service support and mostly ego suck.

If we end up switching to Fendt, I'll just tell people were the shades of green farm, Deere planters, Claas chopper, Houle manure equipment and Fendt tractors. Haha.

Yes I still have the old KW. You must be on another board I frequent. I havent gotten anywhere with it yet though. Im assuming you are talking about this one?


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## Mark13 (Dec 3, 2006)

That looks like the truck. 

I've never really had any exposure to most of the equipment brands your family runs. I see them in the farm mags sometimes or at a show but that's about it. When I'm up your way occasionally I do see more of what I would consider an "off brand" compared to Deere or CNH which is 99% of what I see around here.

I'm on a bunch of forums so I can't say exactly where I saw it. I'd guess dieselplace or duramaxdiesels possibly.


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## beanz27 (Dec 22, 2012)

John Deere choppers are ok, but they have their issues. You cannot beat a Claas, they are hands down the best. New holland follows that in my opinion. John deere has too big of an ego and their prices are insane when you can buy a better tractor from case or another dealer for sometimes less then the JD with 8000 hours on it. Ridiculous lol. Oh well.


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## theholycow (Nov 29, 2002)

Wow! That is a lot of great information and great photos...was not expecting that!  

Around here we have plenty of farms but they're small and I don't see much of how they operate. They certainly don't operate on a scale that allows them to use equipment like that.

With those half-tires weighing down the oxygen barrier, do you get rainwater collecting in them, turning them into a mosquito factory?


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

theholycow;1567254 said:


> Wow! That is a lot of great information and great photos...was not expecting that!
> 
> Around here we have plenty of farms but they're small and I don't see much of how they operate. They certainly don't operate on a scale that allows them to use equipment like that.
> 
> With those half-tires weighing down the oxygen barrier, do you get rainwater collecting in them, turning them into a mosquito factory?


the half tires hold water and make nasty stuff. not too terrible though. the whole tirea are bad. We only use them on steep slopes. They are filled with bugs, rats, mice etc. The truck sidewalls are the nicest to handle but expensive and do not stick to the slopes as well.

The tires sit on top of the main plastic layer. The oxygen barrier is a thin layer put on before the top cover. All of it is cut back a couple feet at a time for feedout and thrown away. We get together with a couple relatives and just order a semi load each spring.

We milk 700 cows at our home farm and another 600 at another dairy. All jerseys too.


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## jhenderson9196 (Nov 14, 2010)

Here in Rhode Island, big corn production means a 2 or 3 row head behind a 1086 size tractor. Your pictures remind me of how penny anti we are.


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## beanz27 (Dec 22, 2012)

jhenderson9196;1567521 said:


> Here in Rhode Island, big corn production means a 2 or 3 row head behind a 1086 size tractor. Your pictures remind me of how penny anti we are.


as in Pull behind combine pulled by an IH 1086? Wow. Normal farm around here is between 2-3k acres. Most around here have 6 or 8 row heads. Hell there is one farmer near me farms 15k acres, runs a 24 hour operation in fall, and has 24 combines, all of them traded in after 1 year of use. He runs all 8 row chopping heads, except for his new cat combine, that things got like a 12 row chopping head, and I've heard he can get up to a 16 row head for it lol.


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## durallymax (Nov 2, 2011)

beanz27;1568469 said:


> as in Pull behind combine pulled by an IH 1086? Wow. Normal farm around here is between 2-3k acres. Most around here have 6 or 8 row heads. Hell there is one farmer near me farms 15k acres, runs a 24 hour operation in fall, and has 24 combines, all of them traded in after 1 year of use. He runs all 8 row chopping heads, except for his new cat combine, that things got like a 12 row chopping head, and I've heard he can get up to a 16 row head for it lol.


no hes referring to a chopper. Sounds like you live near the grain belt where they dont exist.

your stats sound a little of unless that guy is doing a lot of custom work. 24 combines is severly overkill for 15k acres. 3-5 combines could easily support that many acres depending on conditions.

Im guessing the guy runs Deeres? Theyre big into Multi Unit Deals with the bigger farmers. They prey on them hard. The way the deals are setup generally is that the farmer gets a new fleet every one or two years.

Almost sounds like boyds but theres a lot of similar operations at that size.

The Lexion combines will support 16 row heads and even they become too small for thr big models.


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## jhenderson9196 (Nov 14, 2010)

He is right . Grain production is almost non-existent in RI. Corn is chopped for silage. A few small farms raise flint corn for meal. One farmer I know bought a small combine for harvesting flint, but sold it after 2 years.


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