Traction Chains up front

[Jay4200]

I know Deere engineers do not recommend chains on front, but in 10 years of TBN, I cannot recall anyone actually posting about damaging the front axle that could actually be attributed to chains on the front axle.
This is probably a good question for your dealers. I'm sure most would respond "it's not recommended", but have they actually seen failures?

I'm not buying it - just doesn't make sense. Firstly, travel speeds on snow/ice are going to be slower than on dirt. When I'm running my snowblower, I run in 3rd gear max. I might use 4th when moving with the blower up - but definitely not blasting along in 7-8th like I do all the time in the summer. I'm also not doing any fast fwd/rev shifts (although clearing with a loader might create that situation - although I'd never do that). Any shock load created by spinning then catching on ice will pale in comparison to spinning in dirt/mud then catching a rock. Traction with chains on snow/ice is never going to be as good as on hardpack dirt either, so the front/rear binding doesn't hold up there. I've been running v-bars on my front wheels this year with nothing on the back, so I don't have the binding issue. The alledged full-loading on the front problem also doesn't hold water, since front wheels are geared to overrun rears on almost all tractors, so virtually all of the load transfers to the front anyway.

I still worry about it, but I don't buy it. Maybe next year when I run 2-link ladders on all 4 wheels...

JayC