Front Chains

tiogajoe · Nov 18, 2018

After having my front end slide around while pushing snow I'm putting chains on the front of my 2610. My dealer suggested 2 place vbar ladder chains but did not have any in stock. I have a set coming from tirechains.com. I have R1's on my machine with loaded rears. I use edge tamers along with a 6' rear blade for snow removal. Just wondering if anyone else is using chains on the front and how you like them? I plow my gravel drive along with a few of my neighbors drives. I run into trouble when I get on any kind of hill. To be fair the snow was very wet and heavy...I was surprised how much I could push. BTW the edge tamers work very well on gravel drives.

LouNY · Nov 18, 2018

I have a set of front chains but I almost never bother with them, I have adequate traction with the style chain that I run now, I would conservatively say that they have twice the grip of two link spaced v bars.

If they are forecasting a major ice storm I will get them out, I've only used the front ones for a few storms.

Egon · Nov 19, 2018

Front chains add a lot of traction and really help the steering.

mikester · Nov 19, 2018

With chains on the front you have to keep watching out for the chains walking or moving side to side while driving. There is a potential for front chains to catch on your steering linkage and cause a lot of damage.

On my R4's the double ladder chains are difficult to get and keep tight and require several adjustments to get snug. Make sure you have a good set of spiders to keep chain tension on the outside of the wheels and away from your steering components. I imagine R1's may have similar problems.

For me front chains work as intended and are cheaper than a set for the rears. I only put them on when the driveway turns into an ice rink and I've lost all traction. They are also rough on concrete floors. For those reasons I only put them on if I have to and take them off as soon as I can.

VictorW · Nov 19, 2018

My CK30hst has R4 tires and once it gets icy or hard packed, the R4s slip and it's hard to steer. I bought from tirechains.com and chain all four tires. I didn't want the fronts doing all the work if on ice. The two link ladders work well on R4s but the chains like LouNY, even without the extra cleats, would be good on R1 tires. I had those on a previous tractor with R1s. My rears have the 3/8 inch link and the fronts have the .204 link. As mentioned, just get them on as tight as possible and use chain tensioners. As mikester mentioned, it can take a few extra times to get them tight after rolling. The chains will set in some tire grooves and get lose. To help the install, you can let some of the air pressure out, mount the chains, and then re-inflate. I get the side links as tight as possible and haven't had them move side to side and probably could run without tensioners.

CobyRupert · Nov 19, 2018

tiogajoe said:
After having my front end slide around while pushing snow I'm putting chains on the front of my 2610. My dealer suggested 2 place vbar ladder chains but did not have any in stock. I have a set coming from tirechains.com. I have R1's on my machine with loaded rears. I use edge tamers along with a 6' rear blade for snow removal. Just wondering if anyone else is using chains on the front and how you like them? I plow my gravel drive along with a few of my neighbors drives. I run into trouble when I get on any kind of hill. To be fair the snow was very wet and heavy...I was surprised how much I could push. BTW the edge tamers work very well on gravel drives.

The steering problem is when you're pushing snow? With a front end plow or loader? Or when pulling (or pushing) it with your 6' rear blade? If your pushing a front end plow or FEL, front chains may help to steer, but only so much when the weight is taken off the front by the act of pushing. But better than not having them.