ATV-chain all 4 tires?

[joeyd]

My neighbor stopped me on the road today and questioned my having chains on all 4 tires. He has a Polaris and the dealer would not sell him chains for the fronts. I have a Kawasaki 750 Brute Force and bought my chains on line. Does anyone know if chaining up the fronts on the Brute Force will hurt anything? I ran chains on the fronts last winter and didn't notice any problems over the last year.

 

[sunnyside360]

I've had chains on all four wheels on different ATV's --- Honda Rubicon, Foreman and Rincon; and on Yamaha Grizzly 700. Never had a problem. I know others who run chains on all four wheels also without issues.

 

[R_Walter]

I only chain up one rear tire on my Foreman 400. Goes everywhere fine until the depth of snow causes high centering. I would think that even with all 4 wheels chained up, high centering would still be the limiting constraint.

 

[joeyd]

R.

Getting high centered is not a problem with the chains on. The extra traction allows me to push snow with my front blade so there is nothing to get stuck on. Without the chains I do tend to ride up on the snow and get stuck.

 

[WilliamBos]

My neighbor stopped me on the road today and questioned my having chains on all 4 tires. He has a Polaris and the dealer would not sell him chains for the fronts. I have a Kawasaki 750 Brute Force and bought my chains on line. Does anyone know if chaining up the fronts on the Brute Force will hurt anything? I ran chains on the fronts last winter and didn't notice any problems over the last year.

Probably because of the auto diff lock Polaris uses.

 

[whistlepig]

I have never had a need for chains on my Polaris. The springs on the blade trip or the blade rides up on the snow before the Polaris runs out of traction. You can get high centered with chains. All four wheels are hanging in the air when you get high centered.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I would never buy any thing with an auto-differential lock/auto4 WD. PIA to steer when they lock up for no reason on hard ground and have to stop, back up to get them unlocked. Some things I had rather do for myself. My wife has an Olds Bravada with auto 4 wd and no way to lock it out or in. Used to be a real dangerous situation when we lived in northern Canada. Friends lived up a hill that would glaze over in spots in the winter. The Olds would kick into 4 wd when it spun the come out when it gained traction, the slide sideways, kick back in, and repeat. Dangerous as all heck to drive that way. I prefer to shift it myself when I need it whether it is in an auto or ATV.

 

[WilliamBos]

I would never buy any thing with an auto-differential lock/auto4 WD. PIA to steer when they lock up for no reason on hard ground and have to stop, back up to get them unlocked. Some things I had rather do for myself. My wife has an Olds Bravada with auto 4 wd and no way to lock it out or in. Used to be a real dangerous situation when we lived in northern Canada. Friends lived up a hill that would glaze over in spots in the winter. The Olds would kick into 4 wd when it spun the come out when it gained traction, the slide sideways, kick back in, and repeat. Dangerous as all heck to drive that way. I prefer to shift it myself when I need it whether it is in an auto or ATV.

I agree. That is why my next/first ATV will be a Yamaha Grizzly.

 

[JustMike]

You are better to run all 4 chains and here's why. If you encounter any ICE on the trail and only run chains on the rear you'll find it hard or impossible to steer as the rear with chains will push the front.
I have a Brute Force 650I and run 4 chains. Makes it almost unstoppable!:thumbsup:

 

[whistlepig]

I would never buy any thing with an auto-differential lock/auto4 WD. PIA to steer when they lock up for no reason on hard ground and have to stop, back up to get them unlocked. Some things I had rather do for myself. My wife has an Olds Bravada with auto 4 wd and no way to lock it out or in. Used to be a real dangerous situation when we lived in northern Canada. Friends lived up a hill that would glaze over in spots in the winter. The Olds would kick into 4 wd when it spun the come out when it gained traction, the slide sideways, kick back in, and repeat. Dangerous as all heck to drive that way. I prefer to shift it myself when I need it whether it is in an auto or ATV.

I have never had that problem with my Polaris.