Chans for Kubota B2150

[bildom]

I have a Kubota B2150 with turf tires and a 60" rear blower mounted on it. I've added front weight to even out the weight distribution. My gravel driveway is mostly flat but has one short, steep hill in it. I'm considering getting chains for it. Would standard ladder chains work ok or should I consider something more aggressive? I'm assuming it would be better to use them on the rear wheels rather than the front? Thanks.

 

[RNeumann]

Rear blower=rear chains. Ladder chains will be fine on a 4WD machine. I have V bar chains but they have left marks on my shop slab floor. I don’t think I’d do V bar again.

 

[bildom]

Thanks

 

[LouNY]

The European style or aquiline type are the only style I will ever recommend,
I have used all the others, this style will provide much more traction with the smoothest ride you will have with chains. Your traction increase will help prevent paved area damage.
Aquiline Tire Chains

 

[dnw64]

I got my Aquiline-equivalent OFA Eko 8 chains last week. They sure are impressive looking! I hope they stand up to the hype. Just waiting for my spacers now (I ordered 2-1/2" ones).

 

[LouNY]

You will be impressed,
of course I hope they are not needed much :thumbsup:

 

[dnw64]

...of course I hope they are not needed much :thumbsup:

Me too!

I grooved both front and rear tires, so I think that unless there's actual ice I should be ok. But I DO have a pretty steep section near the bottom of my driveway, so we'll see. At least I will be going down with a full pass and can come back up taking as little as nothing if need be...

 

[bildom]

Update: So I ordered ladder chains for the B2150 (turf tires) and I tried unsuccessfully to install them yesterday. I didn't realize that I didn't have the required clearance between the tire and inside fenders. From what I can gather, I'll either have to install wheel spacers to accommodate the chains, or look into rubber tire chains. Any other thoughts / options? Maybe I don't even need chains. The tractor is 4WD HST with a heavy (800 lb.) rear blower and 350 lbs. of front weight.

 

[RNeumann]

Most folks use the wheel spacers. Only you can decide if you need the chains. The other option would be to “break the rules” and get front chains. Typically turf tires are the best tires in snow when compared to ag and construction style tires.

 

[RNeumann]

If you go the spacer route I believe BXExpanded has them. They seem to sell quality products.

 

[bildom]

Most folks use the wheel spacers. Only you can decide if you need the chains. The other option would be to 澱reak the rules and get front chains. Typically turf tires are the best tires in snow when compared to ag and construction style tires.

Thanks. I actually thought about front chains. What is the downside to chains on the front?

 

[RNeumann]

Too much weight out back......

I have front chains but I have a front blade. It will depend on how steep that hill at your place is and how much weight the rear blower is. It will probably be fine for a homeowner. If you were a pro or you were clearing massive or multiple snow loads at once it would matter more.

 

[mykleh]

when in doubt don't forget to see if you can just turn your wheels I know on my NH the offset worked in my favor just turned them around and flipped on the chains.. with Turf tires it doesn't make that big a deal with direction of tread..

 

[Brimfield]

Thanks. I actually thought about front chains. What is the downside to chains on the front?

I am ordering a 2nd set of chains for the front of my Kubota L3800. I had 2 link chains up front before, they wore out . Like you I have a 60" snow blower on the rear . The price for rear chains and spacer was more than I wanted to spend. The front chains are perfect for me, 1/4 mile driveway on a steep hill. So no downside to front chains here.

 

[RNeumann]

Front are obviously much cheaper and easier to install- based on size, weight and access around the tire.

 

[dnw64]

Front chains alone will make a big difference. Not as much as rear, but a definite improvement.

 

[Threepoint]

Update: So I ordered ladder chains for the B2150 (turf tires) and I tried unsuccessfully to install them yesterday. I didn't realize that I didn't have the required clearance between the tire and inside fenders. From what I can gather, I'll either have to install wheel spacers to accommodate the chains, or look into rubber tire chains. Any other thoughts / options? Maybe I don't even need chains. The tractor is 4WD HST with a heavy (800 lb.) rear blower and 350 lbs. of front weight.

Late to this thread, or I would have replied before you ordered chains. I see also that in a separate thread you've asked about adding 3" wheel spacers so that chains will have enough clearance.

You don't say where you're located, but FWIW I doubt you'll really need chains with your setup. I've plowed snow for 25 yrs with my B2150 HST with turf tires and a 6' rear blade and never needed chains for traction. My rear tires are loaded, but the rear blade is probably only 250 lbs. My only traction issue has been that in snow over 8" the angled blade can slide the rear sideways if I'm trying to make a full pass. You will be blowing snow, with the blower set square to the line of travel, so that kind of sideways force shouldn't be an issue. Before I dropped another $250+ on a set of spacers, you might want to try your setup out as-is.

 

[TimP]

I too have a B2150 with Turf tires, and use a rear blade for snow up to 6" and never had any ttraction problem. When the snow starts to stack up on the sides, the blade will sometime catch and swing the rear of the tractor a little just as dnw64 has stated.

But for snow over 6", I mount my 60" 3 PT blower and never had any problems with traction whatsoever.

 

[Threepoint]

Bildom, by the way, congratulations on your B2150! It's a beast of a compact tractor, one of Kubota's home runs, IMO. I've had mine since 1993, and it's done everything I've ever reasonably asked of it, and then some. :thumbsup:

 

[John_Mc]

Whether you need chains or not depends on your location and whether you have hills or not. I would never be able to get by without chains on my tractor here in VT. It's not that my area gets tons of snow, it's the hills and the temperatures dropping low enough that the ice hardens to the point where it's tough to do anything with it. There's one east-facing hill on my driveway where once it ices up it takes a lot to get rid of it. If I'm on it with my tractor without chains and try to hit the brakes when going down hill, I'll quite often just keep sliding until I reach the bottom.

If you read through the posts in this thread and others on snow removal or chains usage, you'll notice a pattern: folks from the more southerly states are saying you can get by without chains in the winter. Folks from the northern states are debating what type of chains are best. I suspect the ground stays just enough warmer that there is less of a need to deal with hard ice conditions as you get a bit further south.

Where are you located? I'd suggest filling in tyour profile with that info, since often the suggestions you get will be influenced by location.