Better Traction in Snow?

[DEWFPO]

Hi Gadgetnut, Yes those are the chains I bought for my 29" R4 tires. I haven't put them on yet but they are supposed to fit my 29x10.5x15" tires. You may have 27" tires which are standard on the Toolcat.

The R4's on my Toolcat do not grip as well as the AG tires on my MF tractor even with true 4WD on steep, slippery slopes but 500 lbs of sand has helped (to a degree), although I can feel the strain on the engine when plowing or blowing up the steep (12%+) slopes since adding the weight. Ideally, I'd rather just have the chains on and forego the extra weight. We'll see, I'll test things out this winter. Next big snow forecast and the chains are going on.

DEWFPO

 

[Spudgunner]

I got reminded last weekend why I like chains. We received 6" of fairly heavy snow. Temps at time of snowfall were 29-34 degrees. I got the TC into three situations where I could not move (AKA stuck). All were on gentle inclines and the tires were not buried in the least; however, the snow was such that when compressed by my passage an icy glaze would instantly form in my tracks. When I tried to back out of where I had just plowed, the coefficient of friction between the tire and the compressed snow was so low that I couldn't move. I had 800# of ballast and R4's with about 60% tread. Needless to say the pickup tires with chains are going on this weekend and will stay on for the rest of winter. If the snow had been drier or wetter (slush), I probably would have been OK...but we get a fair amount of this wetter snow here.

 

[jpalasek]

I was trying to plow without using chains. Well here is the results. 15 inches of snow on drive. It did fair on the flat road but on hills was a big problem. So ordering chains. The drive is blacktop. Hate to use chains but no other way. Guess im stuck for now.

 

[gerard]

I have chains on all 4 wheels, have R1's that are loaded and I've never had a problem scuffing up my blacktop. Just use you head and don't spin your wheels. You can tell when your coming close to losing traction, just back off. You don't want to be blasting along at full bore with chains anyway cause the rides a lot rougher.