Tire Chains - best style

[Jay4200]

What would give better grip climbing hills: a duo-grip or 2-link ladder chain?

I'll be climbing a gravel driveway that has a fairly steep section with my 4x4 Kubota (w/ turfs), and will be pushing a 650# snowblower in reverse. I'll probably put chains on both front and back, but hope to get a freebie set of truck chains that I can kludge onto the front wheels. I was originally planning on a 2-link ladder chain for the rear, but saw the duo-grip chains which look pretty cool and are cheaper, although they don't appear to have as many cross-links as the ladder.

41-14-20 Tire Chains

I've never bought or used chains on my tractor before, so any other relevant advice is appreciated.

thanks - JayC

[Gordon Gould]

I would definately go with an "H" pattern like the "duo-grip" with either v-bars or studs. Mine has welded studs and they make my tractor virtually unstoppable on ice and snow. Good in the woods to but not for asphalt.
They are made in Norway. Brand name is Tellefsdal and were less money through my dealer than any internet chains I could find.
Here is a picture I had from this spring. Blow it up to get a good look at the chains.

[Jay4200]

Hey Gordon -

Yup - those chains ARE nasty alright. Nice road grader too - is that a DIY?

I tried to find distributor/dealer information for Tellefsdal chains in the USA, but had no luck. Do you have any contact information I could try?

What do you suppose those chains would do to concrete? I park my tractor in a concrete-floored garage bay.

JayC

[JerryK]

I have chains simular to the Duo-grip with bars. The bars really chip up the concrete in the pole barn. Since I park in the barn, if I ever bought new chains, I would go without the bars. But, heh, that is just me....

[JCB]

2 link ladder chains on my truck are pretty awesome and I'd recommend them for anything, but gordon's chains look nasty and probably have even better grip.

That said even standard chains are a huge improvement and if you are parking on concrete pay heed to what Jerry said.

[Gordon Gould]

I bought my chains through Desmarais Equipment in Orleans, VT.
802-754-6629. Andy is a good guy to talk to. There is a distributor in Manchester, NH. Will have to get back to you on info there.
I also park in garage. I put down an old piece of plywood on concrete floor.

[lungdoc]

The two link chains may be smoother on hard surfaces. I use 4 link V-bar front and Duo-ladder combination chains on the rears. Work very well in anything I've encountered. The V-bars do dig in a lot. I cover concrete with some old plywood (and just move a couple of pieces to drive out) to prevent damage.

[jonsstihl]

since we are on the subject of protecting concrete. just thought I would share my experience.

I used to work at a ski hill driving the snow cats grooming the trails and they had carbide ice picks on the tracks that would shatter the concrete so when we pulled them into the garage for maintenance we drove them up on sections of old conveyor belts from a quarry. That saved the concrete.

I suppose those horse stall mats or rubber mats for stairs would work also. the conveyor belts where only about 3/4 inch thick but they did the job and looked cleaner than a bunch of plywood lying around.

although plywood is cheap if you have some scraps lying around

[arrow]

Any chains will help a great deal. I have 4 link regular chains on all tires and even these made my tractor virtually unstopable when pushing snow or skidding logs in snow and ice. I have ags on my tractor and found the chains to fall nicely into the ground as the tires rotated. I do not snug up the chians any more tightly than I can by hand meaning I do not use a leverage device.

[Gordon Gould]

Could not find the info on the distributor in Manchester, NH. Sorry. It was an old e-mail. I e-mailed a question to Norway and the response came back from Manchester.