Snow Chains for snow & ice -- what mistake is it most important to avoid?

[LouNY]

No I've only had this place for a bit over 25 years, but I have lived in or maintained similar locations for many,
I used to always either have chains in the vehicle or if a pickup I'd carry two spares all chained up and ready to throw on.
And still do on occasion carry a set of spare chained up wheels and tires.

 

[Avenger]

Disclaimer: I have not read all of the posts in this thread. A few, but not all. Apologizes if this has been covered already.

I got my chains from tirechains.com last winter. I sprung for the duo-latter style chains with the cleats. I think, for all 4 tires + 4 spring tensionser + shipping, it was around $1500. I installed them by jacking up the tractor, moving the valve stem to the top and letting the air out. It has to be at the top, because my tires are filled with juice. Letting the air out shrinks the tire. Wrap the chains around the tire either by lifting them up (which sucks) or using the tire to spin them on (which works better, if they don't get bound up, fall off around the axle, etc.). Once they are on, hook the inside first as tight as possible. Work the chain around the tire, getting it even and well placed. Hook the outside hook and secure it as tightly as possible. Set spring tensioners, and air up the tire.

Tight chains are happy chains.

Last year, before I got chains, I got my tractor stuck on a small piece of sloped ground. The cold, hard rubber simply slid on the ice. It wasn't much of a slope, and I was in between another hill and my house. The tractor was sliding sideways toward my house!! I backed down into deep snow, worried that I might get suck there too. Put some traction sand/gravel down on the ice and was able to get out. My driveway was too the point that I could not run up it with the tractor unless I got a decent run at it. And plowing downhill, sometimes the back end would want to come around the front. My driveway is kinda steep. Those events convinced me to get chains.

I started my research here. And to be completely honest, I found much of the info lacking. I found posts of people saying not to use chains, keep them loose, etc. I was simply looking for the best chains/patterns to buy. Not if I need them. I know I need them.

I did discover though that with chains, you get what you pay for. Chains that are cheap will fall apart or break more commonly. The rounded edges on some chains allow the tire to spin easier and this causes breakage too (that's why I went with the cleats). I found that using spring tensioners will not pop off the chain as easily as bungee cords, pull better, and are a major pain to install.

With chains, I don't slide on the ice anymore. I don't spin out (not on purpose anyway), I stick like glue. They add weight and traction. I got up and down my driveway with ease. Even pull people out of the ditch on the county road when they slide off!


That image, I did get the truck out, but needed more shoveling and tugging. But I got him out. Would not have even attempted it without chains.

Check out my videos, I don't have a video of installing them, but several of me showing them and one of the removal.

 

[Avenger]

I forgot to mention my most important mistake to avoid!

Don't cheap out. Get good quality chains, all the way around. Put them on before the snow flies and take them off when the mud has dried.

 

[fruitcakesa]

I forgot to mention my most important mistake to avoid!

Don't cheap out. Get good quality chains, all the way around. Put them on before the snow flies and take them off when the mud has dried.

Good advice

 

[Looking4new]

Spare Change; you say you are in the 'states. How about looking at Canadianchains.com. The Canuck buck is worth 30% less than the US buck. Or better said, you will pay 30% less for the chains than a Canadian would.

 

[SmallChange]

Your driveway is almost as steep as mine, mine runs 14 degrees in most places and hits 16 degrees in a couple,
mine is not paved and does require considerable maintenance summer and winter.
I made a video a while back driving done it one warm January day.

Dang, LouNY, that's a pretty scary driveway. I'm not sure whether the curves are more thrilling, or the extra steepness at the end to shoot you out in front of road traffic. But it looks nice and smooth and flat!I bet you DO work hard maintaining it!

 

[SmallChange]

[...]

That image, I did get the truck out, but needed more shoveling and tugging. But I got him out. Would not have even attempted it without chains.

[...]

You framed that and hung it over the mantle, right? I sure would.

 

[shooterdon]

Lou,
I nearly purchased a 50 acre lot in Northern MI that would have given me a drive much like yours and was also on a seasonal road. It was gorgeous in every other respect and had 200 ft of lake frontage. I am so glad I had the sense to walk away from it.

I admire your ability to keep that road in such good condition and your success in dealing with snow and ice.

My experience with chains is limited to putting them on a Polaris UTV so I could plow with it. It was almost two hours of frustration, and sweating even on those small tires. I stopped using the UTV once I got a plow truck. This year will be my first year using a tractor with a blower. and if I have traction issues I will try studded tires first. Not to save money...but for ease of installation and hopefully only doing it once every few years. I doubt I have more than a 5-6* slope and then for less than 10-15 yards at a time.

Amazing what a tractor can do with the right chains.

 

[CobyRupert]

My experience with chains is limited to putting them on a Polaris UTV so I could plow with it. It was almost two hours of frustration, and sweating even on those small tires...

This year will be my first year using a tractor with a blower. and if I have traction issues I will try studded tires first. Not to save money...but for ease of installation and hopefully only doing it once every few years. I doubt I have more than a 5-6* slope and then for less than 10-15 yards at a time.

Amazing what a tractor can do with the right chains.

It should take less than 5 minutes a tire to put on a small UTV chain. What went wrong? The first time I put chains on my garden tractor snow blower, I put them one on inside out, so that took a couple minutes to redo. Even deflating and inflating a small tire for chain installation only adds a minute or two. What gives?

Will you have a separate set of studded tires and have to swap them twice a year? Or screwing in and unscrew studs at the beginning and ending of winter? I can't imagine either one of these option being quicker than putting on chains.

 

[LouNY]

Lou,
I nearly purchased a 50 acre lot in Northern MI that would have given me a drive much like yours and was also on a seasonal road. It was gorgeous in every other respect and had 200 ft of lake frontage. I am so glad I had the sense to walk away from it.

I admire your ability to keep that road in such good condition and your success in dealing with snow and ice.

My experience with chains is limited to putting them on a Polaris UTV so I could plow with it. It was almost two hours of frustration, and sweating even on those small tires. I stopped using the UTV once I got a plow truck. This year will be my first year using a tractor with a blower. and if I have traction issues I will try studded tires first. Not to save money...but for ease of installation and hopefully only doing it once every few years. I doubt I have more than a 5-6* slope and then for less than 10-15 yards at a time.

Amazing what a tractor can do with the right chains.

I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong ideas, I don't like tire chains but I have used them for so long and am aware of the extreme increase in traction both for working and for stopping that I can't understand not using them.
I was around 8 or 9 when I had to start helping mount chains on tractors. We used to spread manure every day and when the fields got snow covered the tractors of those days required chains to be able to move while towing a manure spreader.
Also when plowing snow with the 2wd tractors without chains you would be stuck or hung up especially trying to back up any kind of slope or hill.
Back then we used the old double ring chains that worked great in snow and mud but they where so rough riding on frozen ground or paved roads that you could only do about 4-5 mph with them.
Back then the roads where not plowed like they are now and most people did not have a 4wd vehicle so cars where common place even for the sedans and the few pickups around.
When the 4wd drives started to be more abundant lots of people would swear they didn't need chains. Nothing like backing up with a big old Pontiac sedan to a Jeep or Scout to pull them out of a snow bank or ditch and showing how well 2wd with chains was compared to 4wd without.
Then it was look out my first 4wd an old used scout with chains, talk about a learning experience.Put chains on the front and you could go better then on the rear, but when it came time to stop the rear end would pass the front before you could blink.
Now in the present time I chain up both of my yard tractors, usually just the rears even though I do have chains for the front of the 4wd I don't mount those unless a major ice storm is forecast. My sander/plow truck has rear chains only as there is not room on the front those chains are mounted on summer tires and swapped on and off as I expect them to be needed, the truck normally has studded tires all around. I can back into the shop jack it up under the differential, grab the impact and have the prechained tires mounted up to the truck in just a few minutes. I carry chains for my daily driver pickup all winter even with studded tires on it I've only had to crawl around in the snow once to chain that truck up.

On the farm we chain up one or two of the smaller 2wd tractors that we feed in the barns with and they stay chained most of the winter (that is so they can safely haul filled self unloading wagons from the silage location to the barns).
The larger 4wd tractors get the chains on and off frequently during the winter feeding season for getting up and down hills with baleage in the loaders and feed wagons behind them. Those chains will see a lot of paved road miles as the second farm is about 3 miles from the home farm, so packed snow and ice then pavement then mud snow and manure and return, lots of hills and low traction places.

Over the years I have mounted and used almost every style of chain for tractors, trucks and cars from the temporary strap on type and easy on cable ones to the good studded Euro's.
The only common one that I haven't used are the skidder ring types, not doing logging in deep snow I haven't ever needed those.
I am contemplating getting a set to put on the rear of my utility vehicle this winter, haven't decided yet if I do they will be the studded diamond pattern ones.

Lou