Chains L4400DT front Chains?

[GotSnow]

Hello,

As my login name implies we get more than our share of snow in Idaho, this year in particular.
So I now have a L4400DT, loader, and rear blade. Long term I will buy a blower.
The tires are Ag with filled rears and H pattern chains on the rears as well.

But I am having trouble finding chains for the front tires; 8.3 x 16.
Anyone have a good source?

Also anyone running filled front tires? I am plowing snow on 10-15% drive that is ~1000 ft long so traction will be an ongoing issue. The rear chains helped termendously, but I want to add as much weight as possible to keep the center of mass as low as possible.
So I am thinking about filled front tires and front chains. Any down sides to this? The drive is gravel so it does not matter if the chains chew up the drive.

 

[lp333]

Have you tried TireChain.com?

 

[Greenfield Dave]

There are NUMEROUS posts in this forum that have said not to run chains on the front tires. Apparently, it puts too much torque on the front drive train, causing teeth to grind, and swear words to become prevalent. I don't think they recommend fluid either, possibly for the same reason. That makes no sense to me, because if the bucket is full, the weight is on the front axle...

Post pix of these Idaho snows you speak of...

 

[GotSnow]

Thanks for the feedback.

tirechains.com does not have that size listed but I will give them a call and see if they have a solution. The local tire/chain dealers say that they cannot help since it is a strange size.

I also have read those that suggest the front chains and front filled tires are a bad idea but I am skeptical. As you point out it is basically the same as a bucket full of gravel. Also it seems to me that the front steel weights that are common on many types of tractor are also basically the same thing. Has anyone seen or heard an official word from Kubota on this?

The first picture is the L4400DT and my supervisor.

The second is a shot of a driveway. That section is not too bad ~2-3 feet deep in places. But around the bend it was at least 5-6 feet deep in places. The rear blade was no use. I ended up shoveling out with the bucket.
We are somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-6 feet of actual snowfall this winter, but it has not broken above freezing for any length of time during the last month so it just piles up and then the wind blows it into drifts. In some places the snow is only a few inches thick and then in others it will be many feet thick.

 

[GotSnow]

Here is a shot of the rear tires and chains.
The bungee cords are a short term solution.

I have the rear tires set out as far as possible. I will do the same with the front tires as well.

 

[RFB]

Gotsnow,

Get these for the rears:

tirechains

I run vbar chains on the front, and chains like yours on the back, and my rears are filled with Rimguard, and the backhoe stays on for more weight.

The vbars were from 16 inch pickup tires. I cannibalized another older chain set as well to add additional cross-links to the front set, and linked them with lap links.

I "got snow" as well.

 

[jmc]

snow.JPG is a great photo!

John

 

[Waltert]

Hi All,
On my old L245 DT I just picked up a set of chains for my front tires that were close in size and added a few links here and there to make them fit, easy fix , worked great. I got the type with x looking spikes, they chewed through just about everything.
Walter

 

[lp333]

GotSnow, my BX24 runs with chains on all four from Tirechain.com. With the FEL and a 3PH snowblower, it has excellent front/back weight distribution. This little machine is virtually unstoppable in either direction... even going up (or down) icy hills. I have no doubt that chains will do wonders on your L4400DT.

 

[Hammy]

I've got a very similar machine as yours. I run v-bar chains on all four tires. I think the fronts do more then the rears to be honest and on my hilly driveway, chaining up all four was a must. I don't see an issue and I couldn't find it anywhere in my owner's manual saying not to do so.

I bought mine from Tirechain.com.

Craig