Tire chains that don't work!

[PILOON]

The link CUP 149 provided could be accomplished easily with S hooks or by welding some spare links to create that sort of pattern.
I personally would add about 2 or 3 links of Vbar ice chain links between every pair of cross chains.
As installed your chains will be about as effective as no chains at all. (and maybe worse as you are filling the spaces between tire lugs)
I suggest Vbar as that is case hardened steel and will wear well.

Some snow remouval guys around here are using HD studs with success.

A tire dealer friend suggested that on those big lugged R4's a guy could screw in big sheet metal self tapping screws (like 1/4") as the tire lugs are so deep and those self tapping screws are case hardened to almost stud hardness.
Just make sure that there is more rubber than the length of the screws, but on R$'s you have probably more than 2" of rubber on the lugs.

 

[AndyinIowa]

Here's a shot showing the same chain style on R1's. The bar style prevents the alignment of the tirechain between the lugs.

 

[GreenWannabe]

It looks to me like Andy has the two-link style chains while the OP has the four-link style. This give Andy the advantage of twice as many cross chains. I would think that adding more cross chains and binding pairs of cross chains together would result in considerable improvement.

On edit - I see that Gizmo2 has the two link style as well, I didn't see right the first time. So my post is basically echoing what the other posts said. Sorry.

 

[pat32rf]

I've always found that by watching yard and auction sales I could pick up old chain sets then use the cross links to build what ever I've needed. If they do logging in your part of NY then there are probably parts stores that cater to logging trucks that sell cross chain and other goodies. This way you can play around til you find what works to keep your chains up where they will do the most good.

 

[schmism]

next time look for chains that sit up on top of the rubber

 

[pitt_md]

I never could understand why anyone would buy a tractor for use on a farm that has industrial tires on it.

No doubt R4's are not up to the level of traction that the ag tires have. I got my MX5000 with R4's that were on it. I grew up on a farm and should have known better but they looked like they might have enough bite to them and I didn't want to tear up the yard. If the OP was anything like me he probably wanted to get as much use out of his tractor as he could and compromised.

 

[Gizmo2]

No doubt R4's are not up to the level of traction that the ag tires have. I got my MX5000 with R4's that were on it. I grew up on a farm and should have known better but they looked like they might have enough bite to them and I didn't want to tear up the yard. If the OP was anything like me he probably wanted to get as much use out of his tractor as he could and compromised.

Truth be known I do own a small farm/horse ranch or whatever you would call it and I am very pleased with the R4 tires. I could not see limiting the tractor's duties by having R1 tires. I would ask why on earth would anyone get R1 tires on a tractor the size of a JD 2320? I would also state that JD does not offer R1 tires on said tractor. All and all I guess you need to own a small farm to understand the duties and the need to rely on a tractor that is used for a multitude of tasks. If I had R1 tires on during this last venture I probably would have buried this little tractor.

 

[tcr]

awsome picture

 

[davitk]

Another option.

 

[Foothill Rancher]

I've never used R-4's but they are suppose to be in the middle of the three types of tire tread for traction,
When I bought my tractor I really wanted the R-4's for the looks, big and beefy, I knew I needed the R-1's but thought I may be able to get away with it, the dealer charged around 900.00 more for the R-4's but all the salesmen said that on the hills and my type of terrain the R-1's were the only way to go, of course they were right and I knew it.
I've torn up more land and roads with chains than any R-1 tire though.