Chains Chains on front tires only VS. rear only

[vtsnowedin]

I have a 2oo6 Kub L28oo. It seems to have lotsO traction plowing in the snow, even when it is deep. However using an angel plow when making the first plow after a heavy storm keep a line is tough. Also when re plowing the piled up snow on the berm in order to give the next new snow someplace to be moved to also is a tad difficult to keep a line on. I now lift the plow half way up the depth of the berm n just plow it twice, so more time n fuel/ware an tare.

So I also am considering adding chains to only the front, more so for steering vs additional traction. I keep my hoe on the back all winter/the time so the rear set of wheels seems to get plenty of traction due to all the weight. However, with only a 28hp motor that probably does not weigh that much, thus not keeping the front wheels from spinning in the snow n ice I suppose compared to the rear.

I also have AG tires on all 4 corners that still have lots of lug remining.

I like the one person's suggestion to put studs in the front tires. I may check into buying a set of both wheels n stud tires. Than just change them out in the fall n spring when the loader bucket mounted is remounted in order to lift the tires off the ground for easy change over (I remove the loader bucket for snow plow lifting and replace the bucket with a 4 foot + - wide by 6" square piece of box steel mounted on both the end of the loader arms and hydro ram ends thinking this will help keep the ends from twisting and being bent back if only one arm should take big hit sometime, see below foto).

AS it happens I was operating a Kubota L2800 plowing snow this week while my JD 5045E was in the shop for a hydraulic problem. The L2800 had good ice chains on the rear but the tires were not loaded. It carried a back box blade on the 3PH but it was too light to make up for the empty tires. No chains on the front. It had a "Sno-Way" plow mounted in the bucket which had power angle from the bucket curl plumbing. As you noted it had a hard time holding a line with out chains on the front and you could not brake steer into the work as the go pedal is on the same side as the split brakes.
But I must say it did a very good job for what it is. The hydrostatic tranny works fine and the power to weight ratio is right and once I got used to driving something orange I had no problem. If it was mine I would add a set of light pickup truck style chains to the front end if there are no clearance issues. These round link un studded chains would slip first and not fight the high performance ice chains on the rear. I'd also load the rear tires as this tractor is very tippy with anything in the bucket and nothing in the rear. The chains it has on the rear are the same style as these on my JD.

 

[Billrog]

Great looking chains I'd like them on all 4 wheels.

 

[vtsnowedin]

They are as good as they look. People working in the woods around here usually have all four chained up with no apparent problem. Of course they are not using CUTs so have some extra metal to count on. I haven't done mine as yet as I haven't needed them but give me a freezing rain day on an ice road and I'll have them on by coffee break.

 

[meanstreak]

I'm using chains on the front only, it's a Kubota L35 and I have no doubt the front axle on this industrial TLB can take the limited extra stress the chains will exert on the machine.
I'm doing it this way for two reasons...the first reason is the same as yours..no room for chains on the rear without spacers, the other reason is the amount of use it gets here in SE Conn. usually we get minor snow with only occasional heavy snow fall...

I'm not worried about it, but I don't abuse my tools, careful judicious use of front wheel asist will help keep any wear to a minimum.

Just wanted to put this out there, I had a tc45d and wanted chains just on the front because it was to costly for the rears, well went to my dealer told them why and they ordered a set for me, put them on for a season or two just for snow removal, long story short, tore up the front hubs 600$ fix and the mechanic said it could have been a lot worse. He went on to say never put chains just on the front because it changes the gearing ratio, huge no no. He said the a hole behind the counter should have known this. So I ordered the double v bar chains from tire chain in Pennsylvania for the rear and no rough ride either. They do have some weight to them so watch your back putting them on the first time.

 

[Oldpath05]

I was going to put chains on my L3400 front tires after a few years of use, but my dealer frown on it, said on these size 4x4 tractors the front end are just to assist the traction.

Maybe tractor manufacturers are making these size tractors so chains wont fit and probably dont want people putting them on, rear or front until the warrantee is over, their thinking might be, chain increase traction, traction will increase the push pull load, increased push pull load will increase the chances of something breaking while the tractor is under warrantee.

Therefore they want these tractors to spin in mud and snow, get stuck, then that will make you to want buy another tractor, it's the increase tractors sales philosophy.

 

[RickB]

I was going to put chains on my L3400 front tires after a few years of use, but my dealer frown on it, said on these size 4x4 tractors the front end are just to assist the traction.

Maybe tractor manufacturers are making these size tractors so chains wont fit and probably dont want people putting them on, rear or front until the warrantee is over, their thinking might be, chain increase traction, traction will increase the push pull load, increased push pull load will increase the chances of something breaking while the tractor is under warrantee.

Therefore they want these tractors to spin in mud and snow, get stuck, then that will make you to want buy another tractor, it's the increase tractors sales philosophy.

Hogwash. The recommendation to avoid the use of front chains only does not vaporize when the warranty runs out. The first sentence of your own post proves that.