How often do you go over soft spots? Our loader tractor is a Massey 165 and it's got 7.5-15's on it, and they carry pretty good for their lack of flotation width. We used to have a loader on our Oliver 1755, and it had 11L 15's on the front. One blew out and we had a 7.50-16 on it for a spare, then went to dump dirt in mom's garden in the spring- the 7.50 sunk right in while the 11L stayed on top. What were the other tire options for you model? A 10.00-16 tractor tire costs about 2x as much as a good 11L-15. We priced them out last year while looking for new fronts on our Massey 285. Now it's got 11L 15's on it. If you don't encounter much for soft spots and the smaller tires seem to carry ok, there is no reason you can't keep using that size. As for 3 rib vs 4 rib, we haven't noticed much difference between them. The 285 had 4 ribs on it, but they were pretty much bald so they didn't grab anyway. Now it's got a pair of used 3 ribs on it and they grab, but I can't compare to a pair of 4 ribs. Our 1855 Oliver has one of each, and both do their job so I can't complain about those either. I would stay away from General tires though. One of the 4 ribs that was on the 285 was a General and it's weather checked horribly, and has been for the last 5-8 years. The other one was a Firestone and overall the rubber stayed in better condition, it just wore down a little faster. Donovan from Wisconsin
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