tire chains

[Garandman]

Here is a link to my chain experience posted in another thread. I've tried a variety: Ladder style with v-bars, then went to Duo Grip with v-bars, and finally OFO EKO 8 (studded, European style).

The OFA EKO8 chains was night and day difference in terms of traction.

Thats what we got as well. This week I pulled a delivery truck up the hill after he got stuck in the snow. And I can travel in deep woods. They were about $500.

 

[John_Mc]

Thats what we got as well. This week I pulled a delivery truck up the hill after he got stuck in the snow. And I can travel in deep woods. They were about $500.

Looks like something different on your fronts vs your rears?

I've been very happy with my OFA EKO 8 chains. I still need to get around to selling my V-bar Duo Grip chains. As noted in the write-up I linked, they were just too rough a ride on hard surfaces at higher speeds - I though tI was going to shake either tractor or myself to pieces. They were fine for work in the woods, however: Forward traction was similar to the ladder style v-bar chains, and lateral traction was greatly improved. One thing you can do to improve the ride on the duo grips a bit: add a ladder style cross link in each of the big gaps in the duo grip pattern

 

[Garandman]

Ofa doesn’t make them for the front size. Those are studded ATV diamond chains. They fit well and add a lot of traction, without overpowering them.

 

[tmcj]

I put the Aquiline MPC chains on my Max26xl this winter and they worked awesome for snow and ice. They stayed in place very well without tensioners. They are well worth the money!

 

[broadsword6]

Hi fellas, I am joining in to this thread a little late, so I apologize if I miss something already said. Just wanted to add that TRYGG chains from Finland are, IMHO, the industry standard. I have had them for 20 years or so on various tractors and they just do not fail. Currently have them front and rear on my Branson 6640, pushing an 84" snow pusher and am 84" drag blower. It is unstoppable and has directional control with the pusher down. Relatively easy to install and remove and they sell a stretching tool to make hook up easy. They are not cheap, but in my experience economical solutions consume in time what they conserve in cost.
Hope that is useful.

 

[LD48750]

They are not cheap, but in my experience economical solutions consume in time what they conserve in cost.
Hope that is useful.

I have a lot more time then money.

 

[broadsword6]

...and therefore you probably have a lot more fun! Sadly I have the other problem, far less time so I have to solve equipment performance problems with money. The trick is to make sure the investments made in equipment work reliably when I need them to. Not as much fun, but gets the job done. Hope you enjoy engineering some great tire chain solutions. Best Regards

 

[xtxpete]

Hi fellas, I am joining in to this thread a little late, so I apologize if I miss something already said. Just wanted to add that TRYGG chains from Finland are, IMHO, the industry standard. I have had them for 20 years or so on various tractors and they just do not fail. Currently have them front and rear on my Branson 6640, pushing an 84" snow pusher and am 84" drag blower. It is unstoppable and has directional control with the pusher down. Relatively easy to install and remove and they sell a stretching tool to make hook up easy. They are not cheap, but in my experience economical solutions consume in time what they conserve in cost.
Hope that is useful.

Must be something about living in Ontario, as I really like how the TRYGG chains perform on our 2wd Cx 90! But I'm new on here so what have I got to say,lol!

 

[Garandman]

Hi fellas, I am joining in to this thread a little late, so I apologize if I miss something already said. Just wanted to add that TRYGG chains from Finland are, IMHO, the industry standard. //

Trygg chains are not made in Finland, they are made in Norway. TRYGG Kjetting

Ofa chains are made in Finland. Eko | Tractor and Snow chains | Products | OFA

Both Ofa and Trygg say they are hardened chain. Ofa says their Eko chains are made from Boron steel. Trygg does not state what their chain is made of, that I could find.

The Ofa Eko8 chains for the 15-19.5 rear tires on my tractor were $485 plus shipping. They weigh 121 lbs so the distributor delivered them by truck.

Trygg offers some 5mm (37 lb) and 7mm chains (72 lbs) (TRYGG Kjetting) in our tire size of 15-19.5 which perhaps hold up just as well as the 8mm Ofa.

 

[broadsword6]

Thanks Garandman,
Not sure why I thought they were from Finland. It clearly says they are from Norway on the very solid wooden box they come in. Senior moment I expect. BLUF is that they are darned near indestructible. fit really well, do not come off and provide remarkable traction in conditions one cannot even stand up in. They are slightly more expensive in Canada, but then everything is. I suppose my point was that even though they are a bit pricey, they are brilliant and work when I need them to.
Kind Regards to everyone.

 

[fishhead]

Hey Garandman,
Are your front tires 27x8.5-15?
If so can i ask where you got those and how they are holding up?
Tough tire size to get a good chain

Thanks

Ofa doesn稚 make them for the front size. Those are studded ATV diamond chains. They fit well and add a lot of traction, without overpowering them.

 

[John_Mc]

Hey Garandman,
Are your front tires 27x8.5-15?
If so can i ask where you got those and how they are holding up?
Tough tire size to get a good chain

Thanks

You aren't kidding. All I can find for that size are ladder-style chains (2-link or 4-link, available in plain or studded). I wonder if it would be possible to turn them into something like a duo-grip style chain by adding some links connecting pairs of cross chains?

 

[LouNY]

It looks like these would fit your tires;
KIMPEX Diamond V-Bar Tire Chain | Kimpex USA
They are made for atv/utv's

 

[Cougsfan]

I have gone to both the TRYGG and Ofa web sites. Neither site is all that friendly or useful in selecting an exact style and/or doing value engineering (How much do you pay for what you get). I have wrote to them both to see if they will give a quote so I can compare them to Aquilines MPC's

 

[Garandman]

Hey Garandman,
Are your front tires 27x8.5-15?
If so can i ask where you got those and how they are holding up?
Tough tire size to get a good chain

Thanks

Yes.

The Ofa distributor is Windy Ridge Corporation in Tamworth, NH. They weren't particularly responsive via email and I did everything by phone - very responsive.

They said Ofa's were not available for the front size (27x8.50-15) and that they'd shipped many ATV studded diamond chains for this application. They fit well and work well. The Kimpex product above seems very similar in specs and price.

I have gone to both the TRYGG and Ofa web sites. Neither site is all that friendly or useful in selecting an exact style and/or doing value engineering (How much do you pay for what you get). I have wrote to them both to see if they will give a quote so I can compare them to Aquilines MPC's

Rears. Aquiline MPC is much lighter - 5.5mm - so i'd expect them to be cheaper than the Eko8. Ofa also has an Eko9, not sure of sizes or prices.

The Acquiline AST chain is 10mm and looks more like the Ofa Eko8, they seem to run about about $200 more. Aquiline AST

 

[Cougsfan]

So here is what I ended up doing:

I bought some 3/16 chain and added some additional cross stitching to the cross links. So I have $130 in the original chains and $30 in additional chain plus a couple hours of my labor (I charge myself $1,000/hr for my labor). I started out using lap links but ended up just welding the cut 3/16 links back together. Won't know how well they work until next winter. They are obviously not as high of quality as a $300 set of chains (welding isn't my strong point), but I think they will work just as good and last for years. Only one is done and I still have the other chain to do as soon as I can afford some more of my labor.

 

[LouNY]

So here is what I ended up doing:
View attachment 599094
I bought some 3/16 chain and added some additional cross stitching to the cross links. So I have $130 in the original chains and $30 in additional chain plus a couple hours of my labor (I charge myself $1,000/hr for my labor). I started out using lap links but ended up just welding the cut 3/16 links back together. Won't know how well they work until next winter. They are obviously not as high of quality as a $300 set of chains (welding isn't my strong point), but I think they will work just as good and last for years. Only one is done and I still have the other chain to do as soon as I can afford some more of my labor.

I like your chains and your ideas, I have considered building my own also. I was going to price out the studded chain in bulk,run the two tread loops then fill in the cross pieces and outer runs.
One thing I see in your picture is that your cross chain ends are what I would consider backwards, the crimped open side next to the sidewall will chew into the tire sidewall. One time in my younger years I put a smooth street chain on backwards and in only a few hours of use it had chewed numerous chunks of rubber out of the sidewalls.
The opening needs to be facing out from the sidewall with the smooth side to the tire.
Lou

 

[Gordon Gould]

They will be way ahead of what you originally had for sure. Very good make over on your part :thumbsup:

Like Lou says - just turn them over like they were in the first picture you showed us and you'll be good to go.

gg

 

[John_Mc]

I like your chains and your ideas, I have considered building my own also. I was going to price out the studded chain in bulk,run the two tread loops then fill in the cross pieces and outer runs.
One thing I see in your picture is that your cross chain ends are what I would consider backwards, the crimped open side next to the sidewall will chew into the tire sidewall. One time in my younger years I put a smooth street chain on backwards and in only a few hours of use it had chewed numerous chunks of rubber out of the sidewalls.
The opening needs to be facing out from the sidewall with the smooth side to the tire.
Lou

Yeah, he just has them on inside out.

Let us know when you try them out. I bet that makes a lot of difference.

 

[Cougsfan]

Thanks for pointing that out Lou. I just put them on to see how they would fit and took them back off. In all honesty, it has never occurred to me that the cross chain ends could easily chew up a tire. Makes sense and will keep it in mind when I put them on for real use.