Anyone out there with chains on rear wheels of Workmaster 35/40?

[MiserableOldFart]

It looks to me like there is room for chains without putting wheel spacers on the tractor, but without chains in my hand to see for sure, I'm a little worried that I'm going to order chains and they won't fit. From the pictures it looks like the Aquiline MPC type will fit easily, though pricey. Not sure about the even more pricey talons, though. I added 1.25" spaces on my previous TC26DA and then put huge chains on it and it was a bull in the snow. I'd like to get the Workmaster 40 to be as well.

 

[MiserableOldFart]

Well, having received no responses, I am going to bump this thread up one last time (for now) and say I've decided to forgo the chain idea and try Gripstuds on the rears and the chains on the front. I tried using cheaper studs on my TC26DA and they pulled out. They were designed for motorcycles though, and these have a different design with a stronger base and much wider flutes on the screws. They are outrageously expensive, and I'm hoping they work enough to give me some traction in the snow and ice when clearing snow.
I'll report back here in a few months on the efficacy of this product.
My bad for not actually measuring the clearance on this tractor when I bought it. It has a lot more clearance than my TC26DA did and I could see that easily. Why anyone would produce a tractor that doesn't leave clearance for standard chains is unfathomable to me. It's not like snow or mud chains are unusual on small tractor. I'm afraid to add wheel spacers because of the weight of the tires in installation, and possible warranty issues. Hopefully the studs will get me through the winter, and I'll be able to give a fair review in a few months.
The other alternative I was considering was to build a set of chains on small side chains, that would clear the sides of the fenders, with slightly larger cross links, and hope they didn't break. The amount of work and cost, not to mention risk, in that was substantial, and I hope the studs will make it unnecessary.
Price of the recommended number of the recommended studs including tax and shipping is just north of $600. Yikes.

 

[kwbretired]

What happens in summer months, do you remove the studs or leave installed? Can you ride/drive on blacktop?

 

[SmallChange]

Not exactly what you asked, and maybe too late, so, sorry. But FWIW I put Aquiline MPC chains on a WM25 with R4 rears, no wheel spacers. It took some fiddling around to get the little D-shackles to lay flat enough not to scrape on the insides. Turns out, I could fix it by twisting the chain ends in one direction, so their torque held the shackles flatter rather than making them stand up. Radially out from the tire, there was plenty of room.

I'm curious about the studs, too. Since using the chains in the winter, I got my gravel driveway paved, and I read about people scarring up the new blacktop a little, so last winter I didn't put chains on. We got very little snow, so I'm not sure I won't need chains, and am wondering what to do.

 

[MiserableOldFart]

What happens in summer months, do you remove the studs or leave installed? Can you ride/drive on blacktop?

Haven't got there yet. Illegal on NY paved roads (they are oversized for winter and illegal rest of the year), so I'm sure I'll be taking them off for summer. It's a pretty serious investment - not as much as chains but still expensive, so I'll likely put them back on next fall. I don't generally go on paved roads in the winter.
On the good side, they don't come out like the ones I tried on my TC26DA. Those weren't made for tractors and they pulled out of the tire.
They seem to provide pretty good lateral traction - the tractor doesn't seem to want to slide to the side as easily as my TC26DA, but of course, it's also a substantially heavier tractor with larger and heavier filled rear tires, so I can't be 100% sure the studs are responsible for that.
As expected they are nothing like the big chains I had on the smaller tractor in the deep snow, but with chains on the front, I haven't been lacking for traction so far this winter. We haven't had any really big snows yet, but I'm pretty confident they will work out okay. The six foot rear blade is a little small for this tractor, and I'm hoping to find an 8 foot one used between now and next winter.
There is also a lot of chatter online about grooving and siping R4 tires for use in the snow. I don't think that would work well with the studs, though.

On a separate issue I have found Edge Tamers to be a big help when moving snow with the loader.

Oh, and on yet another issue, I thought the lower links were causing a lot of rattling noise, but it turned out to be the ROPs rattling at the front of the hinges. Some plastic shims seem to have that under control, so now most of the rattling comes from the rear blade, which will only be on a couple more months, I hope.. The TC26DA never rattled from the ROPS, but this one is designed a bit differently and is made to be easier to fold.

 

[LouNY]

Are you doing enough road travel to worry about tire studs in the summer?
As I understand it those studs leave a noticeable hole when removed.
Any way you have to April 30th before it becomes an issue.