How much tire chain

[arrow]

I have a 4wd JD 750 with ag tires. For 20 years I have been logging and snowplowing a 300 ft drive with no tire chains. Until this year everything was fine. Perfect situation of wet and ice here in the Northeast. Normally a 60' 15 inch oak I can take out in 2-3 skids. This year I was making 5 trips for that same size tree to get it out as the tractor constantly lost traction. Skidding a quarter of a mile, this was getting tiresome. Chains seem to cost anywhere from $100 -$700 to outfit the 9.5 x24 tires depending on the configuration and style. This is a rocky,sloping, ground obstructed terrain. What chains would be cost effective and do just fine for my situation?

 

[Casco1]

I'm running these

http://www.bbchain.com/main_frameset.asp?SRC=tire_chain_index.asp

Check out the site there's a lot of info here

 

[KCFlame]

The ones I bought for my 11.2X24 ag tires were regular truck tire chains and they work good enough for me. They were straight ladder type and made from a heavy guage steel, case hardened. I bought the set new for about $52.00 if I rem right which included tax.

Yes they slip thru the ribs a bit, but they also give me more chain (bigger links) so it does not seem to be a big problem. I push snow on both gravel and asphalt (all uphill) and both were iced over these last two snows. I think the bigger chains make up for the other style which links the cross chains together.


http://www.aawheel.com/SiteResources/data/files/SCC.pdf

(takes awhile to load) and the ag/truck section is toward the end about 3/4 the way down in the doc.

AA Wheel where all of your truck tractor trailer axle suspension wheel CRC cargo bars load locks mufflers

It is also where I bought mine from, picked them up so cannot tell you about shipping.

They have the SCC chains and there are the same choices for types of chains as the other link.

 

[GaryE]

If ice is your biggest issue I would recommend V Bar chains. They are not the best in mud, but for the conditions you described I would say they are your best bet.



vbar chains - Google Search

 

[Northland]

I have a 4wd JD 750 with ag tires. For 20 years I have been logging and snowplowing a 300 ft drive with no tire chains. Until this year everything was fine. Perfect situation of wet and ice here in the Northeast. Normally a 60' 15 inch oak I can take out in 2-3 skids. This year I was making 5 trips for that same size tree to get it out as the tractor constantly lost traction. Skidding a quarter of a mile, this was getting tiresome. Chains seem to cost anywhere from $100 -$700 to outfit the 9.5 x24 tires depending on the configuration and style. This is a rocky,sloping, ground obstructed terrain. What chains would be cost effective and do just fine for my situation?

I use my 30 HP Kubota for skidding and snow plowing as well. I too live in the mountains.

I had 4 link v-bar chains on my R4 rear tires until this winter when I bought 2 link v-bars chains for the front R4 tires. My tractor can now climb my 10 foot snowbanks, my tractor drives straight and it doesn't skid sideways at all.

I bought all my chains from Tire Chains by Tirechains.com The front ones were $100 and the rear ones were $168. Shipping on top of that

 

[arrow]

That might be the ticket to get front chains as well. I like the idea KCFlame had about the truck chains. BB Chain has a square link chain that I hope they can find a size to outfit the rears. A smaller diameter chain for the fronts of the same type should do the trick. These are supposed to bite pretty good in ice and I won't have the concern of breaking off a vbar with all these rocks the glaciers dumped in New England. I wonder why they don't make a square link tractor chain unless the square links bite into the tires as well.

 

[Destructo_D]

That might be the ticket to get front chains as well. I like the idea KCFlame had about the truck chains. BB Chain has a square link chain that I hope they can find a size to outfit the rears. A smaller diameter chain for the fronts of the same type should do the trick. These are supposed to bite pretty good in ice and I won't have the concern of breaking off a vbar with all these rocks the glaciers dumped in New England. I wonder why they don't make a square link tractor chain unless the square links bite into the tires as well.

One of the things we do at the company I work for is build snow chains... you have a wheel, we can make snow chains for it....

The Square link does not bite into tires and if you give us the tire dimentions.. we can make chains for it... cross chain sizes are 9/32 (7mm), 5/16 (8mm), 3/8 (10mm), 7/16 (11mm) and 1/2 inch (13mm)... unfortunatly, for most of you, we are located in British Columbia, Canada.

 

[Lou_B]

I have had good luck with standad 3/8" tire chains (duo-grip from tirechain.com) on the rear tires. Last year I also ran front tire chains.

The rear tire chains need to be made tight-tight-tight so that they do not grab onto any part of the tractor when you are working it hard. This is easy to do for rear tire chains.

Front tire chains come very close to tractor parts when making tight turns. The chains can shift a bit even though they are properly tightened. This year I've skipped the front tire chains.

For your application, I'd recommend 3/8 inch hardened rear tire chains. These should give you the traction that you need and should not break the bank.

Lou Braun

 

[Northland]

Front tire chains come very close to tractor parts when making tight turns. The chains can shift a bit even though they are properly tightened. This year I've skipped the front tire chains.

Lou Braun

That was the problem I had with my Kubota B7800 but several TBN members suggested reversing the front wheels. This provides a few more inches of clearance. I did this and put my v-bar chains on and have no problems.

I live on edge of the Cambrian Shield (NE shore of Lake Superior). That is the oldest rock in the world and we have lots of it. Based on my experience I wouldn't worry about the v-bars falling off. The chains are very well made.

 

[Northland]

One of the things we do at the company I work for is build snow chains... you have a wheel, we can make snow chains for it....

The Square link does not bite into tires and if you give us the tire dimentions.. we can make chains for it... cross chain sizes are 9/32 (7mm), 5/16 (8mm), 3/8 (10mm), 7/16 (11mm) and 1/2 inch (13mm)... unfortunatly, for most of you, we are located in British Columbia, Canada.

Based on your location, the amount of snow you receive and the driving conditions you have in those mountains I would imagine that you would know all about tire chains.

Does your company have a web site?