chains for snow/tire ballast

[jsturock@hotmail.com]

Want to hear more on tractor chains have a tn 75 da 4x4. Want to plow snow with it .Question is front chains only rear chains only or all around? Also looking at rim guard. will this help dig on ice . Also plowing on hills with ice what kind of chains and were to buy.

 

[tessiers]

All depends on your tires.

I had a MF with ag tires and a set of nice H-bar chains worked real good

Changed to Forestry tires (basicly smaller and closer spaced bars on the tire) and never needed chains much.

Now have a JD with Industrial Tires and with H-bar chains it rides worse than terrible. I hate the industrials, worse of both worlds, flat with no traction like turfs but still cuts up lawn like ags.

With Turf tires you can get away with regular cross bar chains.

I never used front chains, really never needed them I guess.

Weight will help anyway you can get it, weather rim guard, weight box, or implement. I personally like the backhoe for weight, then the front tires don't matter much.

 

[Duffster]

Want to hear more on tractor chains have a tn 75 da 4x4. Want to plow snow with it .Question is front chains only rear chains only or all around? Also looking at rim guard. will this help dig on ice . Also plowing on hills with ice what kind of chains and were to buy.

Loader, front plow, front or rear blower, rear blade???????????

I would go chains all the way around.

Fluid will help, the heavier the better.

 

[JoeL4330]

Hills and ice, you'll want chains on the rear ...and if you want to steer and have 4 wheel braking on ice, then you also want chains on the front, which are a small marginal cost in addition to chains on the rear, and easy to put on if you can lift the front with a loader. I have turfs all around and they are compatible with ladder chains ...on the rear I have "four link" (spacing between cross chains) ... they ride harder than "two link" but weigh half as much and are all I can do to put on ...my fronts are reinforced (spiked, sorta) and the nice thing about chains and all the weight (loaded rears) is that they will break up the ice on the drive.

 

[bpattie]

just my 2 cents, love to know if I am wrong. My dealer told me not to put chains on the front. They said it causes to much wear to the front end.

 

[tessiers]

I never ran chains on the front because I never thought I needed them, I am used to larger ag tractors where the rears do the work and the fronts just assist, I am also used to independent braking and don't get over dependent on the front wheels steering, again from my farm days. Just my 2 cents, probably only worth a penny though.

 

[20 20]

Use chains every winter up here, but only on the back, feel it causes to much wear on front end parts. Same reason I don't leave it in 4wheel drive on paved surface.

 

[psj45703006]

Hopefully you will read this before making a mistake. The largest mistake being buying a set of chains from tirejunk.com.... All there chains are absolutly CHINA, ask them. If you have no pride and say the china set will do, know that tire chains take a beating and buying domestic or import of good quality will service you much better in the future. Take into account you will most likly be using your chains in the worst of weather. If they break you will need to remove them so the cross chains dont ripe your fender off your rig. Alright enough with the ranting, Some simple steps to outfitting your machine 1- how much clearence do you have from your fender to your tire(assuming you will be chaining your rears. I would never recomend fronts chains unless its the last resort. Its hard on front end components.) 2- How much will the chains be used and on what surface, tar is hard on chains you may want a harder material. Good chains will have different grades of quailty. This is why your seeing such a price difference. Back to the surface, if your driveway/ road is asphalt you may not want to go to aggressive unless there is a safty issue. ok onto styles there are two ladder and patteren. ladder is the clasic style and it looks like a ladder when you lay them on the floor. patteren is for lack of a better explanation a skidder chain. Although skidder chains are patteren style thay are not the only style out there thay make patteren styles in much less aggressive styles. Anyway there is so much more. I would call a local distributer ask questions ect. If you cant find someone local call BB Chain ask for Pete he is really informative. 1800.698.2640

 

[rambler]

Want to hear more on tractor chains have a tn 75 da 4x4. Want to plow snow with it .Question is front chains only rear chains only or all around? Also looking at rim guard. will this help dig on ice . Also plowing on hills with ice what kind of chains and were to buy.

Would help to know what 'plow snow' means to you - loader bucket, front or rear blade, front or rear blower?

'Here' we plow snow with a rear mounted blower, so with a bigger tractor you kinda _want_ a little slip in the tires, I have fluid in mine & really never ever wanted chains on the 90 hp 2wd tractor. With the weight of the blower on the rear end, if I slip on ice - rare to happen, pick up the blower & you can drive forward, get set up at a different angle. I'd not want to get too much traction with a snow blower, you can damage things.

I've heard a lot of cautions about chains on the front end, I'd see what the manufaturer says about that.

Me, I'd do fluid & see how it goes, if you really deal with a lot of ice then you will need rear chains, if it's just hard packed snow the ag tires will get you pretty far.

--->Paul

 

[davygp38]

I just ordered a set of the duo style chains from tractortirechains.com. I have a kubota L4400, with r4s. the price with delivery, and a set of stretchers, and a stretching tool was $344.00. I priced 5 other places on the net, and this was the best price. Their customer service was very good, and I am waiting to see the quality. The chains I needed were for 17.5 r24L, so it is a mid range tire. They were up front with me about, having to backorder them. They have called me back, to keep me up to date. I think they are worth a try. I'll let you know if the chains turn out to be junk, or what when they arrive. By the way, My tires are filled. I am doing some land clearing in a wet hole, to make a "plond" (food plot/pond) I have a Grapple bucket for getting the logs, brush etc out, and really need better traction. I live in the northeast, and this will extend my working time A lot

 

[LBrown59]

All depends on your tires.
I had a MF with ag tires and a set of nice H-bar chains worked real goodChanged to Forestry tires (basicly smaller and closer spaced bars on the tire) and never needed chains much.Now have a JD with Industrial Tires and with H-bar chains it rides worse than terrible.
I hate the industrials, worse of both worlds, flat with no traction like turfs but still cuts up lawn like ags.With Turf tires you can get away with regular cross bar chains.I never used front chains, really never needed them I guess.Weight will help anyway you can get it, weather rim guard, weight box, or implement. I personally like the backhoe for weight, then the front tires don't matter much.

Sounds like me.

Loader, front plow, front or rear blower, rear blade???????????
I would go chains all the way around.Fluid will help, the heavier the better.

Not me.

just my 2 cents, love to know if I am wrong. My dealer told me not to put chains on the front. They said it causes to much wear to the front end.

Smart Dealer.

I never ran chains on the front because I never thought I needed them, I am used to larger ag tractors where the rears do the work and the fronts just assist, I am also used to independent braking and don't get over dependent on the front wheels steering, again from my farm days.

 

[The Haymaker]

Dunno where you are in the NE, but these guys make a serious product.

If the professionals are using them, they gotta be good!

 

[AndyMA]

DO NOT PUT CHAINS ON FRONT TIRES... Just ask dealers and guys who repair all the damage caused by them like RickB on this site.

On a TN75 depending on tire size you may have trouble with room for chains. I have 16.9x30 R1's and the fender clearance won't allow chains. Have never needed them any way.

Andy

 

[mykleh]

I'll chime in with most of the same comments.. I have a NH1620 with rear turf filled tires and rear ladder chains. most of the time in the early season or cold weather I don't need the chains for blowing but I have needed them after a "warm up" because of "glazing over" as I have a gravel driveway and don't scrape/blow it down to the gravel just close to it and it is for a cabin in Northern Wisconsin and if I don't get up there for 2 weeks I can use them when I have 18" or more to move. also if you are bucketing piles or using a blade you'll need them more than me. I would start with rear filled then rear chains.. there are plenty of horror stories of guys on here that have to redo the front end after using chains all the way around. I did have to flip my tires around to get the clearance to run the chains. they also are great for working in the woods, pulling stuff out/up etc...

 

[lungdoc]

I do use chains on the front of our Deere 4320 but don't abuse it and haven't had any problems. Will stay in 2WD when possible but the chains really help for steering and braking. Totally depends on the hills involved - my father in law never needed chains for his flat lot but I sure do for our hilly drive/road. I don't think the grip I am getting with chains on hardpack snow is any higher than I get on gravel with bare tires, so not really clear to me that that would abuse the front end more than running in 4wd on gravel in the summer (which guys do with FEL all day long).

 

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