Large R1 Rear Tire chains Good Options

[RickB]

The same style you have in front will give as good of a grip or better on ice than those bear paws.
Double ring chains are always a good option on R-1 tires.
There comes a point where you are spending exponentially more dollars to gain marginal performance improvements.
An awful lot about getting around to care for cattle in winter is how you go about getting where you need to be, and making better choices about the necessity of getting to certain places at all.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Would it be worth fixing up a set of ring chains or just getting the talons up front? I'm leaning towards the talons since they look like great ice chains.

To me that would come down to the price and condition of each set. A like new of either type would be better then a worn out set of the other.
My personal preference is to have the most aggressive chains on the rear and something less or no chains at all on the front. That is to let the fronts have their ten percent rotation advantage without the chains binding things up and stressing the front axle parts when you get down to the hard going.
I don't have enough experience yet with a 4WD tractor in the snow to say that my current plan works the best but so far (one winter) it seems to be working for me.

 

[arrow]

Would it be worth fixing up a set of ring chains or just getting the talons up front? I'm leaning towards the talons since they look like great ice chains.

Since you always ride on the chain part, Talons would probably be the smoothest riding. I have 2 link ladders and they are not smooth. We used ring chains on our skidders and they were quite smooth (well, as far as a skidder can be smooth) Different beast all together as you only knew you had chains on by seeing them and hearing them. Just the rings were 10" across.

 

[arrow]

Double ring chains are always a good option on R-1 tires.
.

If I know what you are talking about, do you mean those chains with a couple set of rings attached to their cross chains on every cross chain? If you are, I can tell you right now that they are terrible on ice but real good in mud.

 

[RickB]

If I know what you are talking about, do you mean those chains with a couple set of rings attached to their cross chains on every cross chain? If you are, I can tell you right now that they are terrible on ice but real good in mud.

I mean double ring chains. Anyone that sells tire chains will call them that. I've used them for 40 years, there's not much you can teach me about them. Your opinion, of course, may not agree with mine.

 

[arrow]

I mean double ring chains. Anyone that sells tire chains will call them that. I've used them for 40 years, there's not much you can teach me about them. Your opinion, of course, may not agree with mine.

I'm not trying to teach you a thing. I am curious however as to why you've had success with these and on ice, i've had not so much. Maybe I'm trying to teach myself. It may have something to do with the size of the chain itself on larger R1 tires. My use has been with smaller tires with these. They are even purported to be good on ice but that has not been my experience. My opinion is formed by experience as is yours. As to why our experiences have differed probably gets to the crux of the matter. If the op is looking for smoothness, these are not the chains he's looking for.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Double ring chains are a whole different critter then Canadian or Bear Paw chains. I apologize if I entered some confusion there. Double rings are good chains for the money and better if you need to work on pavement some.
tractor tire chains

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Fellas,

I appreciate all the opinions, honestly. I basically have to climb hills in the winter time to feed round bales. I have as direct of a route to the feeders as possible. I do try to move them close to the access gets but its still not on flat land so a different path Pavement is a small concern but it is there (not my driveway but a township road) since quite often some individuals get stuck trying to climb the hill on the township road up to my driveway for the barn.

Double ring chains are certainly the most cost effective IIRC, they just dont seem like the would hold well on a side slope that well. The talons look excellent for pure ice, but i'm not sure of their traction in mud? I think "bear paws" or big ring chains if you will, were just a pipedream since I saw a cheap set on craigslist. Maybe I should just stay consistant and get the v-bar duo's on the rears as well to keep equal traction?

 

[arrow]

Double ring chains are certainly the most cost effective IIRC, they just dont seem like the would hold well on a side slope that well.

I have found this to be true. They seem to "skate" more sideways than standard chain. There are several things I do not like about the duo's primarily the large gap between link sets trying to achieve a centered chain joinery. You can get a cross over for these however that mitigates this gap. .. If you find yourself on icy side hills then vbars and Aquilines come into play. Personally? I think a set of 2 link ladder chains would do you. They grip well on ice even w/o vbars. If you are concerned, there is a "square" link that is more expensive that grips ice even more. There is enough chain with 2 link to ride proud on lugs and they are smoother riding than 4 link. The truth of the matter is any chain helps tremendously including 4 link ladder. When particular preferences, conditions and tire sizes come into play, that's when choices need to be honed.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

I have found this to be true. They seem to "skate" more sideways than standard chain. There are several things I do not like about the duo's primarily the large gap between link sets trying to achieve a centered chain joinery. You can get a cross over for these however that mitigates this gap. .. If you find yourself on icy side hills then vbars and Aquilines come into play. Personally? I think a set of 2 link ladder chains would do you. They grip well on ice even w/o vbars. If you are concerned, there is a "square" link that is more expensive that grips ice even more. There is enough chain with 2 link to ride proud on lugs and they are smoother riding than 4 link. The truth of the matter is any chain helps tremendously including 4 link ladder. When particular preferences, conditions and tire sizes come into play, that's when choices need to be honed.

Well that was my basic theory/thought behind this thread. Large ag tires are a unique area. My conditions are not exactly straight forward for the most part. I have the Duo-V-bars on the fronts and I actually bought extra patterns to minimize this gap. In the process I bent the snot out of a pair of "HD" chain pliers. But thats another story. I was not even debating about 4 link chains and I basically rate those with the double ring, better than nothing but less than ideal. I think I'm limited to v-bar 2 link's or duo ladder v-bars for my options along with the much priceir Talons. The longevity of the v-bars are worth the extra expense IMO. Thanks for the respone arrow.

I guess the problem was I was looking for a decision between 2 link v bar ladders, v-bar duo grip with cross chains, or the aquiline talons. I have pretty much decided against the bear paw/ring style due to the occassional need to travel down the township road.