Snow chains for plowing with a rear blade

[In.the.Piñons]

Any recommendations for chains and where to buy them? My tractor is 4wd, should I get chains for the rear, or all 4 tires?

I'll be plowing about two miles of single lane gravel road with a 9ft 6-way rear blade. We don't get a ton of snow or ice here (western Colorado @ 6,800ft ASL), but once in a while we do. Usually it's about 5-7" with a 75 yard section that will drift over if there's wind. I have skid shoes on my bucket to take of any deep sections of snow.

I'd like to think I could get by with studs, but I really, really don't want to get stuck. One of the hills we have here is close to a 25 deg slope.

BTW my tractor has ag tires.

 

[Runner]

I got mine from these guys:

Tire Chains-Best Snow Chains-TireChains.com

Buy tire chains direct from TireChain.com for the widest selection, free shipping, best quality, and prices. Enhance your traction today!

tirechain.com

I have been very happy with them, ordering was easy, prompt delivery and they chains are super heavy duty.

I only run chains on the rear tires, but they make a night/day difference for snow plowing when snow is more than about 4 inches deep.

 

[TractorTYMe]

For AG tires, I recommend studded chains like these Aquiline Aquiline Talon Tractor Tire Chains | Tire Chains 'R' Us

 

[LouNY]

The only style of chain I could ever recommend is the studded Euro type such as the Aquiline Talons, or the OFA's, or the TRYGG SMT's.
Tractor and Snow Chains | Products | OFA

I have used all of these brands and have been pleased with them, my last ones were OFA 9's
One set of the TAPIO's they are quite agressive, last year I got 3 pair of the Eko 9's. Mainly because they cost less.
This picture is the Eko 9's;
this style of chain has the best traction and the best ride characteristics of any tire chain,

 

[oosik]

I ran ladder style chains on my Ford 1700 4 WD. They were a REAL PITA to install because they were so BLOODY heavy. But once installed - all four wheels - I could climb right up the side of my tool shed. They made the tractor ride like a cob.

Chains on the rear tires for traction. Chains on the front tires for added traction and steerage.

Their cost is now not material. Bought them thirty years ago. In 2009 I bought the Kubota M6040. All loaded up it weighs a tad over 10,000 pounds. It's heavy enough to plow my mile long gravel driveway w/out chains. I have a Rhino 950 rear blade for plowing snow.

If, for some strange reason, I had to buy chains again - Aquilline Talon tractor chains. More aggressive than ladder chains and not quite as heavy( weight wise ). And the ride is supposedly better.

Man - I mean to tell you that set of chains I had were REALLY heavy - weight wise. Bought them at Les Schwab tire store.

 

[LouNY]

My Aquiline Talons in 18.4-30 are about 230 pounds for the pair, My Eko 9's for the same tire are the same weight, for the 18.4-32's the Eko 9's are about 240 pound for the pair.

 

[IXLR8]

I would plow our 1/4 mile long dirt road with a rear blade. Never seemed to have any issues with no chains. UNTIL the packed snow turned to ice after a rain, that led to a few pucker factor moments. I got chains for front and rear and never thought about the ice again. That combo got me thru just about everything.

 

[TractorTYMe]

On my tractor I have VERY limited fender clearance, I bought these Aquiline MPC (Multi Purpose Chains)

 

[In.the.Piñons]

The only style of chain I could ever recommend is the studded Euro type such as the Aquiline Talons, or the OFA's, or the TRYGG SMT's.
Tractor and Snow Chains | Products | OFA

I have used all of these brands and have been pleased with them, my last ones were OFA 9's
One set of the TAPIO's they are quite agressive, last year I got 3 pair of the Eko 9's. Mainly because they cost less.
This picture is the Eko 9's;
this style of chain has the best traction and the best ride characteristics of any tire chain,

View attachment 1702141

Unfortunately those (Aquiline Talons) don't come in my size - 420/85/R35.

These are the closest $1,400

Trygg Fast Trac Tractor Tire Chains | Tire Chains 'R' Us

Shop Trygg Fast Trac Tractor Tire Chains. Free shipping on orders over $75. Image is for reference only, tire/wheel/rubber tensioners not included. Chains only. Chains are sold in pairs (2 chains) and will cover two tires..

www.tirechainsrus.com

Or these at $2,300

Trygg SMT Flexi Alloy Tractor Tire Chains | Tire Chains 'R' Us

Shop Trygg SMT Flexi Alloy Tractor Tire Chains. Free shipping on orders over $75. Image is for reference only, tire/wheel/rubber tensioners not included. Chains only. Chains are sold in pairs (2 chains) and will cover two tires..

www.tirechainsrus.com

Any reason to spend the extra $1K on the SMT's?

 

[TractorTYMe]

Trygg Fast Trac should work plenty good for you!

 

[LouNY]

Unfortunately those (Aquiline Talons) don't come in my size - 420/85/R35.

These are the closest $1,400

Trygg Fast Trac Tractor Tire Chains | Tire Chains 'R' Us

Shop Trygg Fast Trac Tractor Tire Chains. Free shipping on orders over $75. Image is for reference only, tire/wheel/rubber tensioners not included. Chains only. Chains are sold in pairs (2 chains) and will cover two tires..

www.tirechainsrus.com

Or these at $2,300

Trygg SMT Flexi Alloy Tractor Tire Chains | Tire Chains 'R' Us

Shop Trygg SMT Flexi Alloy Tractor Tire Chains. Free shipping on orders over $75. Image is for reference only, tire/wheel/rubber tensioners not included. Chains only. Chains are sold in pairs (2 chains) and will cover two tires..

www.tirechainsrus.com

Any reason to spend the extra $1K on the SMT's?

That is an unusual tire size, I don't recall any 35" rims on tractors,
if they are 420/85R34's the OFA's are available in several series in that size.
The 420/85R34 is the same as the 16.9R34 or 16.9-34 bias tire.

 

[In.the.Piñons]

That is an unusual tire size, I don't recall any 35" rims on tractors,
if they are 420/85R34's the OFA's are available in several series in that size.
The 420/85R34 is the same as the 16.9R34 or 16.9-34 bias tire.

Sorry about, they are 34" wheels.

 

[In.the.Piñons]

Trygg Fast Trac should work plenty good for you!

Thanks, I ordered a set of those for the rears.

I priced out the fronts thinking they would be considerably cheaper, but they are still $1200 a set, which is only $200 less than the rears! Anyway, I'll just try the rears and see how that goes. Seems like they have everything in stock, so it's only a weeks wait to get the fronts if I find I need them.

 

[leonz]

4 link carbide V bar ladder chains or carbide road grader chains with chain tensioners-they are a must have.


www.tirechainsrus.com

www.tirechains.com

 

[In.the.Piñons]

4 link carbide V bar ladder chains or carbide road grader chains with chain tensioners-they are a must have.


www.tirechainsrus.com

www.tirechains.com

Thanks for the reminder, I ordered a set of spring tensioners to go along with the chains.

 

[JJT]

When I plow with the Kubota RTV I couldn't do it without chaining up all 4 corners. I use v bar 2 link chains.

When I snow blow with the tractor I've never needed more than the rear tires chained up. I have heavy duty double ring chains, they provide great traction in snow, ice and mud.

With your 25 degree grade and potential ice I would chain up all 4 corners, better safe than sorry.

 

[BackRoad]

I have the Euros also and found without front chains, the leverage of the 8' rear blade loaded with snow would pivot steer the tractor depending on snow conditions and depth...always away from the desired direction of travel of course!

You're running a heavier tractor and blade - keep us informed how yours performs through the season.

 

[LouNY]

Here is a short video on mounting the TRYGG chains, I believe that TRYGG is one of the manufactures that doesn't recommend tensioners and I think actually wants a bit of looseness in the chains.

and my 8050 when she's set for winter

 

[rScotty]

Thanks, I ordered a set of those for the rears.

I priced out the fronts thinking they would be considerably cheaper, but they are still $1200 a set, which is only $200 less than the rears! Anyway, I'll just try the rears and see how that goes. Seems like they have everything in stock, so it's only a weeks wait to get the fronts if I find I need them.

Give it a go, but If when pulling a back blade I found I needed front chains to keep the tractor from pivoting around the rears.

But $1200 is a crazy price. If money matters, your front tires are about the size of picup truck tires - use those. I buy them a the local ReStore or used store. They often have a bin full of unused chains. Get some extras sets to disassemble for the connecting links and bits of chain to make up your tractor chains. All it takes is a vise, a hacksaw, some hand tools, and a few hour's work to resize a nice set of truck chains to fit your tractor.

In fact, it is surprisingly easy to join two sets of truck chains together and make custom chains for the rear tires too.

You have your own choice of patterns. To start, I was just learning how so used to use a simple ladder pattern. The downside of a ladder pattern is the "rungs" of the ladder tend to fall between the treads of the ag tires. To my surprise, the chains worked pretty well even when they dropped between the ag tire lugs.
But not being able to control whether the rungs were on top or dropped between tire lugs made homemade ladder chains a sloppy fit and hard to fasten tightly to the tire.

The next season I added an "X" of chain between each ladder rung. That forced the the chains to ride on top of the tire lugs. They had more traction, but the big benefit was that they fit the tire better. Now when I threw the over-center lever that tightens the chains, they clamped tightly to the tire.

Hint. For the center of the "X" I used a large flat two inch diameter round link. All four arms of the X connect to that round link - which I bought at the hardware store. Everything else is standard tire chain construction.
rScotty

 

[Thomas]

Will you need rear wheel spacers?