Should I lift my Craftsman to fit 31's or just do ATV tires?

Hey guys let me know what you think, should I lift my craftsman enough to put 31's on it or should I just put 10 inch wide atv tires all the way around it??? let me know what you think, thanks

dont put on 31's if you use it for trails or mudding. the monster mowers are good for the " hey look what I got" factor, but aint worth a crap in the mud. the extra 120lbs of dead weight on the front end is just for looks and has no practical benefit for off roading. if you are just looking for a parade tractor, you will still need to beef up the front axles.

rat88 wrote:

dont put on 31's if you use it for trails or mudding. the monster mowers are good for the " hey look what I got" factor, but aint worth a crap in the mud. the extra 120lbs of dead weight on the front end is just for looks and has no practical benefit for off roading. if you are just looking for a parade tractor, you will still need to beef up the front axles.

Yeah It was just an idea but I agree with you I want practical use for trails and mud so i'll prolly just find some 10 inch wide atv tires all the way around, cuz I want to lift it and still look good but I'm only going to lift it about 6 inches so some 25x10x12's would look great all around it and still perform good on the trails and in the mud thanks for the comment I appreciate it

this has a 4" lift on the rear and 2" on the front
26" tires in the rear and 20's on the front.
the Tx is a side input so I just needed a longer belt.
if you have a top input, you will need to add a jack shaft to drop the belt.
I also had to use 4" wheel spacers to get tire clearance for the 12" tires

steering link can be a big pain on the front end lift.
I spliced the front axle and widened it 2" on each side when I did the lift.
that put the front tires out closer to the edge of the back tires and makes it more stable on the trail

rat88 wrote:

this has a 4" lift on the rear and 2" on the front
26" tires in the rear and 20's on the front.
the Tx is a side input so I just needed a longer belt.
if you have a top input, you will need to add a jack shaft to drop the belt.
I also had to use 4" wheel spacers to get tire clearance for the 12" tires

steering link can be a big pain on the front end lift.
I spliced the front axle and widened it 2" on each side when I did the lift.
that put the front tires out closer to the edge of the back tires and makes it more stable on the trail

that thing is a serious beast I love it, but i am going to build my own custom axle It will be like a square C shape it will have two 1.5 inch square tubes where it mounts in and then have 6 inch drops made out of square tube on the sides with my stock axle spindle assembily welded to them so I have full ground clearance in the middle, so it will kind of be like this

6" is gonna be a big lift if you are changing front tires. start with the back and get it where you want it, then find out what you need for the front.
get the frame as level as you can unless you adjust the caster when you do the front axle. any positive or negative caster will make it harder to turn

too much scrub will make it hard to turn too. might want to change the angle just a bit

Not to mention reinforcing the stock spindles - being that lifted, the spindles could easily break off.

I never had any clearance issues when i ran mine thru the swamp back north- even running the stock motor pulley . Only real issue i had was traction- stock turf tires arent worth a dang in thick mud.

yeah i'm thinking only gunna need 3 inch lift in the front, I know i'm lifting the back 6 inches and then i'm going to lift the front accordingly because i'm putting the same size tire all the way around the back ones are just doing to be 2 inches wider but they will all be the same height

I have NO lift on mine and it goes through plenty of mud. I like the big mall crawlers but they only stick to show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTTKerOsANs

I have Two craftsmans. My main one has 22s in the back and 18.5s in the front and does amazing in mud/water/ trails. the only thing i have a problem with is the articulation. The tires alone give you a great lift and after you take the stock pulley of and the mowing bull sh*t of you get plenty of clearance.

My Second craftsman is pretty much for shows and shit but does pretty great in mud and water. lil scary on sidewase hills and stuuf but still has stock front tires so shes not quite done. shes got pretty well a 12 inch lift all around but i left a little lower in the front cause i want to put 20s on the front. Right now shes got 25s in the back and 18.5s in the front

arild365 wrote:

I have Two craftsmans. My main one has 22s in the back and 18.5s in the front and does amazing in mud/water/ trails. the only thing i have a problem with is the articulation. The tires alone give you a great lift and after you take the stock pulley of and the mowing bull sh*t of you get plenty of clearance.

My Second craftsman is pretty much for shows and shit but does pretty great in mud and water. lil scary on sidewase hills and stuuf but still has stock front tires so shes not quite done. shes got pretty well a 12 inch lift all around but i left a little lower in the front cause i want to put 20s on the front. Right now shes got 25s in the back and 18.5s in the front

yeah buddy torque is fricken sweet but the general is too high for me, I don't want mine to flip and still want it to look half way stock even though it has 25's on the back and 23's in the front and is 44.5 inches wide. after the lift, which the front is done, it will have 20 inches of ground clearance which is plenty for me. and it has enough articulation to have the tire on a cement block with all 3 others on the ground

[/quote] yeah buddy torque is fricken sweet but the general is too high for me, I don't want mine to flip and still want it to look half way stock even though it has 25's on the back and 23's in the front and is 44.5 inches wide. after the lift, which the front is done, it will have 20 inches of ground clearance which is plenty for me. and it has enough articulation to have the tire on a cement block with all 3 others on the ground[/quote]

haha yah the general is pretty big. I would never do any serious trail riding with her. your tractors looking pretty sweet right now!! Im kinda debating on giving torque a lil more articulation. Cant wait to see the tires you get!

arild365 wrote:

yeah buddy torque is fricken sweet but the general is too high for me, I don't want mine to flip and still want it to look half way stock even though it has 25's on the back and 23's in the front and is 44.5 inches wide. after the lift, which the front is done, it will have 20 inches of ground clearance which is plenty for me. and it has enough articulation to have the tire on a cement block with all 3 others on the ground[/quote]

haha yah the general is pretty big. I would never do any serious trail riding with her. your tractors looking pretty sweet right now!! Im kinda debating on giving torque a lil more articulation. Cant wait to see the tires you get! [/quote]
hell yeah man I say go for it, maybe even a small lift???? lol I'm pumped just seeing mine coming along good, I can't wait she's getting real close now