[farmbig01]

We are in the process of trading for a 9770. The thing is that it has the 76x50x32 floaters instead 20.8x42 duals like we have always ran before. The dealer has no other combine with 42" duals on the lot we can trade tires/wheels with. So what do you guys think of them? We are all no-till so i guess we could possibly benefit from them, but what about the ride quality of them? If we ran them a year and didnt like them how hard would it be to find someone out there to trade tires/wheels with?

 

[redhat]

Way more float than 20.8R42 duals and ride just as well or better. Typically cost a fair bit more than duals so if they are the same money go for it. If you run alot of corn you might want to consider running stalk stomper ahead of the tires and you will not have any stubble damage. They will out last two sets of duals.

 

[caseihafx8010]

We have an 8010 with the 76 50 32 float tires it will ride good but it is worthless in mud will do nothing but spin I like the 900 65 32 r2 tires a lot better it will run in any conditions never ran any duals to compare them to but I think they would ball up

 

[mike216]

We ran floaters one year. No-till beans behind wheat you could see every track the floaters made. Beans were shorter in the tracks. Didn't have the problem with duals. I guess the beans roots couldn't grow out pass the wide tracks. On a 20" tire the root only has to go 10" to the side and it's out of the track.

 

[greentech]

We are very wet this year and actually, duals that are spaced wide enough work great in mud. And they do less damage than any rice tire. There are a few guys running floaters around here and they swear by them but they all run 4wd with them so the mud performance is decent.

 

[ebertfarms]

our 9650sts has 77x44 floaters on them and they are incredible, maybe its the type of soil and the mud it makes but for our operation they work like a dream in mud and standing water. we run narrow rear tires compared to most guys that seem to run 1050 rear tires so we can steer pretty decent without the assist of brakes, and no we dont have 4wd.

Overall they'll outsell duas anyday, just saw a used set go on auction for $14,000 with rims for an STS so you'll always get the resale if you dont like them. Most guys here are making the switch to wide floaters instead of duals, the ride is probably better and they have less of a footprint. We're running stalk stompers this year to save the tires some. once they get hard its not bad, but its still preventative. Rather spend $800 and save the tires then a stalk going through the tire just right and spending $5000 for a new one.

 

[binbuster]

We have the 76x50s on our 9870. Yes they will spin more in wet conditions but they will not cut down. You have to realize that that tire will only get a hold of the top 2-3 inches of soil, it won't push the saturated mud out of the way like rice tires. Instead it traps the mud underneath it. We have the 28-26 rice and cane in the rear and they help propel the combine sufficiently through really wet conditions. We farm some really low peat ground that sits right on top of the water table like "jello" if ya know what I mean! If you rut farms up like this you will be paying for it for years.
The only other drawback is moving down the road first thing on a cold morning. You won't stay in the seat at over 13 mph or so till after a couple of miles.
We farm some hills also. With the wide stance I like how stable these tires are on hillsides and when going through waterways, etc.

 

[cliffcutter]

If a big floater tire goes flat, there you'll sit not being able to move.

If one tire or the other on a dual wheel setup goes flat, you'll still be able to "limp" the combine to firm ground to fix the flat.

That's one advantage of duals vs. big single tires. Another advantage is no stubble damage if you run in row crops.

The other day I observed the installation of 710 metrics in a dual wheel setup w/ 20" spacers and a used RWD axle was also installed on a new 9770. I'd hate to get that beast stuck in the mud.

I know of someone who has big single 35" Logger tires that have been on 5 different combines he's owned, the latest being a 9670. He's on 22" rows and the tires have never given him a problem due to the fact that they are a very tough tire designed for industrial use.

 

[Jason Hildebrand]

I'm surprised that nobody had brought up the 1100s on R46s I don't know the exact tire size but I know Don Boles used to run them on his 9860. I did some research on them compared to 76x50x32 and the 76s don't have near the weight carrying ability to handle big headers like 42 duals or 1100R46s. Plus the 76s don't have much height to them which gives them less flotation and a smaller footprint. And it lowers the auger height for us guys that use grain carts. Just a thought, we have run 20.8R38 duals for years now and it works for us but they are by no means the best combo.

 

[Don Boles]

1100/45R 46 R1W.
Yes they do have a lot of gross flat plate area, and they are so high only Deere has enough room around the tire to fit.
You have to use 28L-26's on the rear and place the rear axle in combine highest position to level.

Don

 

[nix]

My neighbour got his 09 9770 last week and he got the duals on it, he is very happy with how stable it is compared to his old one... i guess duals are better for side swaying with a hopper on

 

[kinzepower]

Those Firestone floaters are very susceptible to stubble damage. They are also still a bias ply tire. The weight of the combine is not spread over the 'gross flat plate' evenly, there is a disproportionate amount of weight that is carried by the massive thick sidewalls that creates compaction underneath the sidewall.
Personally, I would not take them on a bet.
JMHO

 

[placeholder]

I have to ask, if your combine currently has duals on it and you're going to a 9770STS what combine do you have now? If it is an STS you should be able to switch your duals over to the new combine...

 

[cowgirlchaser]

I ran a combine with the floaters once and they sucked. If it got wet they would just make a bigger rut. Plus they would spin and bog down. They were terrible when you had to move down the road. Would bounce you out of the cab. You had to move at night when they were hot not in the morning when they were cold, or you couldn't stay in the seat. When we bought our 8010 we had 900 metrics on it, and I ran it for awhile. I hated them to they bounced to much on the road. I had the dealer swap them out for 20.8 duals. I have never been happier. Duals will go through more mud, and do less damage to the field than a floater. I know a guy that had floaters on a STS and duals on a 9600, and the duals would go where the floaters wouldn't. Plus those ruts the floaters make are terrible to close up.

 

[akrumy32]

floaters suck. Ran floats on a 06 8010 and they were terrible in mud. You are also running over stalks all the time which is not good. Took them off and put a set of duals on and could not be happier. Made all the difference, ran alot nicer in wet conditions, less damage to field for no till operations. A nice wider stance for hills. Had a flat with a dual, simple drove on a block and changed tire in field, try that with a flat float with a full hopper with extentions!! just my 2 cents

 

[teninchcob]

Just to show how much variation there is in conditions in different parts of the country, around here the floaters win hands down. We have 3 identical 9996 cotton pickers, two with 76x50x32 floaters and one with 20.8x42 duals. When it gets wet the one with duals has to stay home.

 

[akrumy32]

funny how that works

 

[cowgirlchaser]

Well I will let you know if Iowa is any different than Maryland. Whatever happens duals still ride better on the road.

 

[bent]

I used to run 73X44X32 Goodyear logger tires on my old 9600. We haven't had mud for decades, but they worked great in ground that was to wet for any other combine. All my ground is no till, so it was important to not leave any track. As logger tires, there is no problem with stubble damage.

They were to much work to put on 9650, so I put new centers in them and run them on my grain cart now.

 

[farmerjeff]

we are in heavy clay here in ontario and have 1100R46 floaters on the front and 28LR26 on rear. we find that the radials on the rear steer a little better than the bias 28L26's did. we are very concerned with compaction while harvesting corn and then planting no till soys into the stubble the next year (ruts, uneven drying, puddles). we set our system up so the front floaters go right over a corn row and the rear tires go right over anther corn row. this is HUGE for flotation because the rows have so much support under them from roots that is lacking between the rows. we run a 9860 (duals) and 9660 (floaters) and dont even think about bring the dually machine into the field if its too wet because we want to leave those fields as level as possible and without ruts for next year. JMHO

as an aside i would love it if john deere made about a 10" axle spacer so that i could run the 1100 over 2 corn rows for even more flotation