Snow Topic

[llewellynsd]

One thing I have not heard you all comment on was whether or not you all use chains on the tires. I have a small Satoh 4wd (16 HP) with a rear 5' blade and I found myself spinning more than pushing. Do you all think chains would have made a major difference? Would you put them on all four tires or just the back ones? Here in western Maryland I was pushing snow anywhere from 12" to 20" inches. Sure wished at times I had a FEL. But with persistance and some long hours I have the nicest tunnel like driveway of anyone in our neck of the woods. BTW what would a tried sleepy "Instant Face" look like? If they had one on here my post would be full of them. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

Shawn

[WVBill]

I have a small Kubota 14hp 4wd. I have anti-freeze filled turf tires on the back and R1 ag tires on the front. No chains.

With this combination I had very few problems dealing with our 28" of snow and creating a 9' x 4' tunnel driveway like you. I used the 36" FEL to move the snow and then put on the 4' front blade for cleanup.

The only time I spun the wheels was either filling the FEL (and that improved with practice and timing) or just a couple of times with the front blade when I took too big a bite out of the snowbank.

Are your tires filled?

[llewellynsd]

Bill,
No the tires are not filled. I'm not sure in my case that would have made a difference in that it seem that a lot of the places I was having trouble had a thin sheet of ice. I guess maybe it was reminants of prior snow melt.

What size FEL do you have on your Kubota? Did you buy it or was it on the tractors when you bought it?

Shawn

[hazmat]

I have an 18HP New Holland with R4's. Rears are filled. I plow with a rear blade & use the FEL to stack the snow. I have a steep gravel driveway, no problems with traction untill it iced up. Now I slide all over the place.

Ordered some chains for the rear from tirechains.com. One came friday, the UPS driver couldn't find box #2. I put it on to see if it fit OK. Even just the One chain makes a huge difference. I can plow uphill now. I used to have to go downhill before. Even cross-hill was hairy w/o the chains. Can't wait untill chain #2 gets here (still hasn't shown up due to the weather).

[llewellynsd]

Hazmat,
You have just described my driveway and have pretty much convinced me. Now I'm going to take my father up on his offer and let him assist me in making up some chains for the Satoh. He claims he has all the supplys to do it including a special tool require for bending them up. Not quite sure what is involved but he is an old motor head so I'll rely on his wisdom. Now I just got to get him motivated about his previous idea.

If by chance I can't get him motivated where did you get your chains and what was the price per tire?

Thanks Shawn

[MikePA]

<font color="red">llewellynsd:</font><font color="blue">...where did you get your chains</font>

<font color="red">hazmat:</font> <font color="blue">Ordered some chains for the rear from tirechains.com. </font> [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[hazmat]

Thanks captain obvious [img]/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

I paid $150 + $25 shipping + $30 for tensioners = $205 total for Duo-Grips size 12-16.5. Prices depend on tire size.

Here is the url Tirechains Tractor Chains

[WVBill]

My FEL is very small - only about 38" wide. It's a Kubota FEL model B-219. My father-in-law bought the whole rig new in 1978. He was doing landscaping work in Southern California at the time and needed something narrow to fit through the gates into back yards.

[JDGREEN4ME]

I have R4s with 195 pounds of wheel weights on each rear wheel. Use FEL and front blade, did (do) not have any problems. My driveway is level and paved so thats probably why I can get away without them.

[Mosey]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Can't wait untill chain #2 gets here (still hasn't shown up due to the weather).)</font>

hazmat - We have a standing joke in our family that whenever something hasn't showed up, we figure the UPS guy is "trying it out" for himself. He probably cut it in half so now it fits the rear tires of his truck!

I have a set that were for a car and I adapted them to fit my front tires. I haven't tried them yet, only because I've been sick and haven't felt like putting them on. Next time it snows I'll try them out and let everyone know how much difference it makes.