DIY Tire Chains

[trhodes]

I made these in January and they he proven themselves! I used Harbo Freight bulk 5/16" chain and cut and welded the joints. Total cost was about $140.

 

[sea2summit]

Looks nice, what are you using to connect the ends?

 

[trhodes]

Just a 5/16" threaded quick connect coupling. Really not sure about taking them off...with possibility of snow storms from September to May, that only leaves the summer when I don't need them. I don't do any road travel or run over hard surfaces so they should wear ok.

In the one photo above you see the coupling on the end of the nail.

 

[dickfoster]

Looks good. I was thinking of doing something with cable so it wouldn't tear up my asphalt driveway.

 

[trhodes]

I haven't worked with cable much...what would you do - use crimp on connectors?

 

[CalG]

What was your method for "doing the math"?

Radius of the side chains = Nn Links, with cross chains spaced every X side chain links. But then the cross chains need to hold the side chains at the calculated radius. ...

I "rebuilt" some chains, Adding "Canadian" rings to the cross chains. Now the "width" is a bit too much and the connector runs into a cross chain when the chain is just snug on the wheels.

Doing the whole thing over would be more work than the rebuild ;-) So they run a little loose.

I would like to buy or build a replacement set though. 'just don't want to make the same mistake twice.

 

[trhodes]

I estimated where I wanted the side chains to lie on tire then Pi x D= chain length. Guessed I wanted a cross chain every 12-14". Divided that and think it was 17 cross chains.

 

[PILOON]

I also have modified and or made my chains.
Bought the side attachment things in bulk and cut and welded all sorts of car chain bits (mostly studded ice type) and placed them every 3 link.
Makes for a nice ride with rarely any slippage.
I store them in a 5 gal bucket hanging from the edge so as to not tangle them up.
I liberally toss oil in there to deter rust.
Having the special chain tool sure makes the job easy.

 

[bjmsam]

Today I built similar chains for my Kubota L3710 with loaded 14.9-24 R1 tires. It's great to hear that yours are effective on a larger tractor! Rather than welding, I used quick links to allow for adjustment and reconfiguration. I spent $150 total.

3 buckets of 5/16" chain
15 packs of 5/16" quick links
1 pack of 31" EPDM tie-downs

25' x 12" / 1' = 300" so one bucket yields three lengths of 100" and the quick link adds about 2". In my case, 102" / PI = 32.5" is an ideal diameter for the chain to end up in the middle of the rear tire sidewall. It's about 24" from that point over the tread to the other side, so from the remaining 200" + 300" chain I made twenty rungs, ten for each tire, spaced 10" apart. I bypassed two links per rung which will come in handy when the tires are replaced (the current lugs are pretty worn).

 

[roadhunter]

Nice work. You could cut links in half and weld them in for extra grippers as well.