Tire Chains - best style

[RoyJackson]

One of our members, Arrabil, uses 2 link ladders on front and rear of his Deere 4200. His drive is steep (I can surely attest to that!) and paved.
He's never slipped or slid when doing his drive since adding chains.

The pic is of his rig...and all thanks goes to Arrabil!

 

[Chilly807]

IIRC, mine were $550 Cdn for 11.9 x 24 rears.

Sean

 

[Gordon Gould]

Mine were $365 for 12.4 X 24 in Nov. of 2005

 

[cspot]

One of our members, Arrabil, uses 2 link ladders on front and rear of his Deere 4200. His drive is steep (I can surely attest to that!) and paved.
He's never slipped or slid when doing his drive since adding chains.

The pic is of his rig...and all thanks goes to Arrabil!

Ladders work good on Turfs, but if you had AG tires they are not as good because they get stuck down between the treads.

 

[RoyJackson]

Ladders work good on Turfs, but if you had AG tires they are not as good because they get stuck down between the treads.

Yep, and the OP has turfs...not R-1's.

 

[Don87]

Yep, and the OP has turfs...not R-1's.

That's why I recommended 'ladders' on 2 link spacing.
I used ladders with 4 link spacing on my old Cub, they worked ok, but a lot of spinning.
And that was with a front mount blower, on a paved driveway, on a hill, with loaded rear tires.

 

[whistlepig]

I've got the same chains Gordon does, mine are branded "Norse", but are made by Tellefsdal.
Very well made chain, I drove a fair bit on pavement this past winter keeping a friend's driveway clear, and there is virtually no wear on the studs.

As someone else mentioned, they are meant to be run loose.. the instructions say that the chains should rotate around the tire 30 cm after driving 1 km. Mine do that, no problems with them coming off or slapping the fenders once they're adjusted right. You should be able to get a clenched fist between the sidewall and the side chains.

If you do get them, use the roll pin link fasteners instead of the twist-lock joiners, they come with both.

They really impressed me with traction, very little slippage on ice and snow, both on finished surfaces and around the woods during the winter.

Sean

These look identical to the Aquiline Talons I have just ordered.

 

[RoyJackson]

That's why I recommended 'ladders' on 2 link spacing.
I used ladders with 4 link spacing on my old Cub, they worked ok, but a lot of spinning.
And that was with a front mount blower, on a paved driveway, on a hill, with loaded rear tires.

I went with the 4 link due to cost, weight and the fact that my drive is level. Also, 4 links were what Arrabil recommended for my use.
I know they won't be as smooth to operate as the 2 link chains, but there'll be very limited use on pavement (my drive is hard packed gravel...my neighbor's is asphalt (but I only do his if requestd)).

 

[Chilly807]

These look identical to the Aquiline Talons I have just ordered.

They are quite probably the same, in today's global economy there is an excellent chance they're made in the same factory as the Tellefsdal (Norse) chains.

As I said earlier, I really like them, but I have a gravel driveway and woods use for them. They damage paved or concrete surfaces pretty quickly.

Sean

 

[Chilly807]

I went with the 4 link due to cost, weight and the fact that my drive is level. Also, 4 links were what Arrabil recommended for my use.
I know they won't be as smooth to operate as the 2 link chains, but there'll be very limited use on pavement (my drive is hard packed gravel...my neighbor's is asphalt (but I only do his if requestd)).

I hear what you're saying about weight, Roy. I should have known they were going to be heavy, but was still surprised when I went to shift the crate they came in. Every extra link of chain adds weight, which is a good thing once they're on, but until then..

The instructions for mine recommend looping a piece of rope from each side chain up and over a tire lug,then driving ahead enough to pull the chain up and over the tire. I didn't do it that way (old habits die hard), but for anything bigger it would make a lot of sense.

Sean