Snow Chains on front tires??

[guyrich]

Kubota L4760 with turf tires. Would I cause a problem if used chains on front tires only? I have the backhoe for weight on rear tires.
Guy

 

[Captain Dirty]

Turn your steering wheel from lock to lock and note how close the front tires are from the frame or exhaust. On my L45 the naked, LF tire clears the tailpipe by a fraction of an inch. If I were to mount chains, they would batter the tailpipe (and likely themselves against the frame) when I would inevitably forget and turn the tractor hard. I do not know if front wheel spacers are available and would work to increase clearance.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Adjust the steering stops accordingly.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Kubota L4760 with turf tires. Would I cause a problem if used chains on front tires only? I have the backhoe for weight on rear tires.
Guy

Probably ok - especially on snow. But in more "normal" traction conditions youll have to be carefull that they arent the only wheels working to make you go. Chains can grab a root or rock and pull/jerk hard enough to MAKE you move ... or break - whichever comes first.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

I always wondered that as well. Never had a use for them, as my winter use is almost all flat. Never slid the front end on ice, which if I did, would be a reason for me to investigate chains on front.

 

[Captain Dirty]

In a dozen years of ownership I have not needed chains, front or rear. I use the tractor in the woods, and an unnecessary reduction in maneuverability would probably result in hitting more trees.

 

[arrow]

Kubota L4760 with turf tires. Would I cause a problem if used chains on front tires only? I have the backhoe for weight on rear tires.
Guy

Other than clearance for chains, there is little to no problem.
You can mitigate this with either spacers for front wheels or find or fabricate smaller gauge chains that would normally fit on a garden tractor.

 

[rScotty]

Kubota L4760 with turf tires. Would I cause a problem if used chains on front tires only? I have the backhoe for weight on rear tires.
Guy

I used lightweight front chains in the snow in the mountains for years without problems. They were without studs, and made from cut down radial sports car chains. No reason you cannot do so as well. But there are some things to be careful about.

The turning clearance is one thing. That one should be obvious.

Also keep in mind that the the drive shaft and axles on the front are not nearly so strong as the rears....

That doesn't mean they are weak. The fronts can probably pull the tractor and the mounted hoe anywhere, even uphill. But you do not want to ever get into a situation like pulling a trailier uphill in snow where the fronts are pulling hard in a low gear while the rear tires are not helping at all.
Putting all of that large a pulling load through the front axle alone will stress or break some front drive components - things like axles and driveshafts for example.

And of course you want to be very careful about loads in the front end loader bucket. That applies whether chains or not.
Anytime the tractor is in 4wd, tires need the ability to slip as needed to remove driveline windup. Being careful to always allow one wheel to slip is how compact tractors are able to do limited 4wd work without having a center driveshaft differential.

So bottom line is like anything else. Yes you can do it. Just be smart and careful.
luck,
rScotty

 

[alexinPA]

I'm using light snow chains on front of my new LX2620 all winter. Easy to install lifting front with the loader. Fit perfectly and no restrictions in turning. Got snow chains for rear but didn't have to put it on this season.

 

[camshawn]

I used front chains for yrs with our smaller 15 hp tractor plowing snow with no problems. Sometimes I was just being lazy and did not want to chain up all 4 corners. With the larger tractor, I haven’t has the need yet but do have them if needed.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I don't see a problem, as long as they don't rub on anything ... I run chains both front and back!

 

[Carl_NH]

Have used front chains on my R4s for 14 years for steering and traction in snow - works well, they are inexpensive 10MM link 14" car type chains. Im on my second set - first ones lasted 8 years. for $30

 

[LouNY]

Nothing wrong with using front chains, there are a couple of things to be aware of when using them.
They will increase your rolling circumference some which will put more lead in the front then without them.
I am not a fan of "ladder" chains I much prefer the studded patterned chains. The ladder chains can increase shock loads from the grip/slip traction they provide. The patterned chains diamond or squares provide smoother more consistent traction which does not give the slip/grip shock loads that ladder chains do.

 

[Skypuppy]

If the only thing you're trying to accomplish is more traction, have you considered front end weights? MUCH easier to deal with than tire chains.

 

[sixdogs]

As LouNY mentioned, chains on the front will increase your rolling circumference of the front wheels and change the relationship to the rear tire circumference. This will do a couple of things.

It will make the front pull less hard, or even totally stop pulling and start pushing because the normal 2%+/- "lead" of the front to the rear ties will change and likely vanish. If so, the rear tires could wind up being the pushers of the front tires, making them more prone to slipping and the front more of a resistance. To what degree I do not know but manufacturers strongly advise against changing tire sizes without keeping tire circumferences at the correct ratio. You could, in effect, turn the tractor into behaving more like a 2WD tractor.

The changed front tire circumference will put added pressure on the front differential and could or would chew up gears to some degree depending how far out of relationship they are. There are lots of posts on this. I have done a few tire size changes over the years and went through lot of math to keep front end tire relationships correct.

In all, chains only the front creates new problems I believe are best left alone because of the problem of unintended damage or even catastrophic damage.

 

[oldpilot]

I had Covid in November/December when I normally fit up for winter, so I never got around to putting chains (or snowplow) on the tractor. (I am 94 and Covid left me exhausted for two months, both times I contracted it... Well, I was 92 the first time.) So here I am in SE New Hampshire for the first time since 1970 without chains on the tractor. To my astonishment, the Mahindra goes as well without them as it ever did with them. I do use front-wheel drive much of the time. My chains were only on the rear.

 

[Bavarian]

As LouNY mentioned, chains on the front will increase your rolling circumference of the front wheels and change the relationship to the rear tire circumference. This will do a couple of things.

It will make the front pull less hard, or even totally stop pulling and start pushing because the normal 2%+/- "lead" of the front to the rear ties will change and likely vanish. If so, the rear tires could wind up being the pushers of the front tires, making them more prone to slipping and the front more of a resistance. To what degree I do not know but manufacturers strongly advise against changing tire sizes without keeping tire circumferences at the correct ratio. You could, in effect, turn the tractor into behaving more like a 2WD tractor.

The changed front tire circumference will put added pressure on the front differential and could or would chew up gears to some degree depending how far out of relationship they are. There are lots of posts on this. I have done a few tire size changes over the years and went through lot of math to keep front end tire relationships correct.

In all, chains only the front creates new problems I believe are best left alone because of the problem of unintended damage or even catastrophic damage.

You got this entirely wrong.
The bigger the circumference the harder they pull.

 

[arrow]

As LouNY mentioned, chains on the front will increase your rolling circumference of the front wheels and change the relationship to the rear tire circumference. This will do a couple of things.

It will make the front pull less hard, or even totally stop pulling and start pushing because the normal 2%+/- "lead" of the front to the rear ties will change and likely vanish. If so, the rear tires could wind up being the pushers of the front tires, making them more prone to slipping and the front more of a resistance. To what degree I do not know but manufacturers strongly advise against changing tire sizes without keeping tire circumferences at the correct ratio. You could, in effect, turn the tractor into behaving more like a 2WD tractor.

The changed front tire circumference will put added pressure on the front differential and could or would chew up gears to some degree depending how far out of relationship they are. There are lots of posts on this. I have done a few tire size changes over the years and went through lot of math to keep front end tire relationships correct.

In all, chains only the front creates new problems I believe are best left alone because of the problem of unintended damage or even catastrophic damage.

Ratios vary from manufacturers.
They can be anywhere from 1-5%.
Fronts always pull when going forward. They themselves can be “pushed” by the rears if travel ratios are exceeded by large margins.
What is often forgotten is chains on the front do very little to disturb ratios. Two reasons being that unless one is riding on hard surface and just chaining the fronts, chains have a tendency to sink into whatever they’re biting into effectively negating or lessoning an increased travel ratio. When chaining up both front and rears, one is balancing the ratio anyway very often getting back to factory specs or so close as to not make a difference.
As far as chaining fronts doing damage to gearing, this mostly applies to traction differences due to abrupt change such as slipping on ice and then grabbing. One can also do this without chains if excessive weight is being carried on the fel and this slippage/grip scenario occurs.

 

[mikester]

I have a set of double ladder front chains for my R4's and only put them on if I get really stuck. I've studded my tires with low profile studs for snow blowing and the chains have been hanging on the wall ever since.

My issue with front chains is you really have to pay attention to them walking back and forth and a strong potential of them hooking onto your steering linkages. That's a major issue for me if I travel anywhere at speed ie. going down the road or through deep snow in the fields.

 

[SPYDERLK]

As LouNY mentioned, chains on the front will increase your rolling circumference of the front wheels and change the relationship to the rear tire circumference. This will do a couple of things.

It will make the front pull less hard, or even totally stop pulling and start pushing because the normal 2%+/- "lead" of the front to the rear ties will change and likely vanish. If so, the rear tires could wind up being the pushers of the front tires, making them more prone to slipping and the front more of a resistance. To what degree I do not know but manufacturers strongly advise against changing tire sizes without keeping tire circumferences at the correct ratio. You could, in effect, turn the tractor into behaving more like a 2WD tractor.

The changed front tire circumference will put added pressure on the front differential and could or would chew up gears to some degree depending how far out of relationship they are. There are lots of posts on this. I have done a few tire size changes over the years and went through lot of math to keep front end tire relationships correct.

In all, chains only the front creates new problems I believe are best left alone because of the problem of unintended damage or even catastrophic damage.

Since the front tires are bigger with chains they pull harder. The larger circumference increases the lead due the drive ratio being fixed.