clamp or wedge wheels? what's better?

casey in SD

casey in SD

I never noticed that before; that thing does "squat" a little, don't it? :>) I didn't even know that IH put 34s on those larger tractors.

I just laid eyes on the wedge type last month; farmed for many, many years with the clamp style and never, ever had a problem.

I will agree with the other fellas tho, ya gotta keep 'em tight. I would check the clamps ever so often, just because.

Although maybe, it was because I had a neighbor get sliced in two because the rim lugs came loose on his tractor and I was always thinking about it. Dunno

Allan

Think about it, my 1066 ruined a set of tires in first 1000 hours. Tires had so many lumps and bulges you couldn't drive it in high gear. With duals I got between 8000 and 9000 hours out of tires. Exact same tire as originals. You put enough torque down there, somethings got to give.

I agree with ya; two things in this area changed our lives forever. Clamp on duals for flotation purposes and the packer to follow the plow.

The duals to get the tractor up on top of the ground and the packer to eliminate those darned tractor tracks. In the old days, we used to see those tracks in the corn height clear up until the fourth of July due to the soil compaction.

To this day, when I hear or read of someone following a plow with a disc, I wanna scream, "Get a packer, 'cause you're still farming back in the 40s!". I just cannot imagine crawling into a plowed field with a disc. :>)

You've got me wondering now tho. I wonder if the wedge locks had anything to do with tire size? When we move from 16.9 x 38 to 18.4 x 38, that is a huge difference as far as traction goes and maybe more stress is put on the clamp?

Dunno,

Allan

One of the merriest rides I ever had in my life was 1066 on hard frozen ground with 12 ton manure spreader behind. They don't have rides at county fair with that much thrill, even yet.

You may have hit on why my 966 has clamps and not wedge locks. It came with 16.9 38 tires, not 18.4 38 tires.

I had clamps on my 966 and one worked loose plowing and almost ruined a wheel. I had wedges on my 1486 and had trouble getting them to come loose and after overhauling the rear end had one devil of a time to get them to lock, but once they did...never came loose.

If you want to move the wheels I'd suggest saving the money, and check the clamps. If you plan to leave them in the same spot forever, the wedges will do it.