B7800 Tire Chains

[SuperDave]

To all those people out there that have made posts regarding chains. Thank you. I put 4 link v-bar on the rear R4's and 2 link v-bar on the front R4's. I would have never thought of flipping the front tires to get space and this provides plenty of clearance. With these chains on, I can go virtually anywhere. As well, the front chains keep the front from wandering into the ditch when I snowblow my mile long driveway. In retrospect, I should have got 2 link for the rear as this would have probably been a smoother ride. If you use bungee cords to keep the back chains tight, you shouldn't get the chains banging against the fender. I purchased the chains from tirechains.com.

 

[ChuckinNH]

Thanks for posting your experience with adding the chains. I am assuming that there were no clearance issues on the insides of the tires. The B7800 looks like it has more room there than the B3030 does.

 

[SuperDave]

No clearance issues. I may actually leave the front tires flipped around for the whole year as this will enhance stability. With the front tires flipped they still track inside the rears.

 

[ovrszd]

No clearance issues. I may actually leave the front tires flipped around for the whole year as this will enhance stability. With the front tires flipped they still track inside the rears.

I flipped my fronts last summer, thinking that stability gain would be good. It actually has minimal effect since the front axle oscillates. Unless of course you frequently find yourself on such a slope that the uphill rear tire is far enough off the ground to rely on the front to keep from tipping over.

What it does is plow real bad when turning. I mow with mine so quickly flipped them back in.

Glad to hear you could run chains on the rear. I'll have to try that on mine.

 

[bota7800]

How much did your chains cost? I did a quick search after our last storm and 2 sites listed chains at over $500 per pair! Yes, rear wheels are large but that seems excessive.

Does anyone have experience with chains on asphalt? I have one section of my drive that I cannot get up when it is icy but I don't want to ruin the pavement either.

Thanks.

 

[ovrszd]

Chains are going to definitely "mark" your asphalt. If it's solid pavement they won't break it apart but will sure leave a trail.

As for price, I recently paid $375 each for chains to fit 17.5x25 tires in the 2 link design.

There's a significant difference in price for 2 link versus 4 link design. If you seriously need chains, go for the 2 link design. With 2 link you are always running on a cross bar.

 

[bialecki]

I put 4 link v-bar on the rear R4's and 2 link v-bar on the front R4's... As well, the front chains keep the front from wandering into the ditch when I snowblow my mile long driveway.

I heard that using front chains in 4 wheel drive mode is not recommended due to the difference in the ratio in which the front wheels rotate versus that of the rears. If the front wheels are not allowed to slip damage over time can occur to the transmission. Now I read this on tractorpoint.com and the moderator who wrote this seems to be knowledgeable and it makes sense as it is also noted on many SUV's that have part-time 4 wheel drive.

 

[Northland]

I heard that using front chains in 4 wheel drive mode is not recommended due to the difference in the ratio in which the front wheels rotate versus that of the rears. If the front wheels are not allowed to slip damage over time can occur to the transmission. Now I read this on tractorpoint.com and the moderator who wrote this seems to be knowledgeable and it makes sense as it is also noted on many SUV's that have part-time 4 wheel drive.

I read the same things but then I did a lot of research here and elsewhere and found that you won't damage your front axle/tires if you put chains on them. If you were operating where your tires don't slip and loose traction then you might do some damage but we wouldn't need chains if we weren't slipping and loosing traction. This same principle applies to 4x4 Hi or Lo on my Toyota truck whereas my AWD Subaru runs in real four-wheel drive all the time without damage but then it has a limited slip diff on the front and back.

I too took TBN member hayden's advice (and others) and put 2 link v-bar's on the front R4 tires after turning them around. I too had 4 link v-bar's on the back and the wish I had 2 link chains. You can add more cross chains but it gets expensive and it's tough work getting them on right. I added the one from each side (to another section) I had to take off because the chains were too long when I first bought the rear chains.

My front chains were less then $100 per pair and the rears were $169 or so - both from www.tractorchains.com Great prices, web page and service from them!

My B7800 will now crawl right up my 10 foot snowbanks. Chains on the front and rear tires are the way to go!

 

[canoetrpr]

Northland et. al.:

Where do you park your tractors? Do the vbar chains damage the concrete - if you park them on concrete?

I was under the impression that I did not have enough clearance on my L3400 R4s for chains but after studying several other posts here I think that I do if I want them.

My driveway is 100% ice right now as we had a thaw and ice rain. I was surprised but the tractor did fine today on it. The drive is quite flat though.

However, the other day I was stuck for a couple of minutes after I dropped off a round bale in the pasture.

How much hassle are they to put on btw?

 

[John_Mc]

Where do you park your tractors? Do the vbar chains damage the concrete - if you park them on concrete?

Yes, they will damage concrete. A few strategically placed scraps of plywood has protected my floors for the past few years now with no troubles.

How much hassle are they to put on btw?

They can be a pain until you learn a few tricks... it's a fair amount of weight to hassle with, and you always seem to wait until it's too late to start putting them on (in my case, I have yet to install them in weather that is over about 15 F.

The technique I've settled on (as posted by a member from Norway, if memory serves... can't remember his name or country for sure):

For rear tires: Lay the chain out on the ground behind the tractor, with the side of the chain you want out facing up (I know this sounds strange, but read on...). Loop a rope through your rim and tie it back on to the middle of the end cross chain. Do not tie it to the ends... this just makes more hassle getting it seated. (you can tie the rope at the 1/3 and 2/3 points of the cross chain if you wish). Drive forward. The chain is pulled up and over. Keep driving till the end of the chain you tied is pointing almost straight back (this would be at about the 8 or 9 O'clock position fo rthe right rear tire, 3 or 4 O'clock for the left). With very little fidling, you can just lock your chains on and be good to go.

I've used this technique several times now and am still amazed at how much less work it is than other methods I've tried. It seems to just roll the chains on nice and tight from the start. Some minor shuffling, and I'm done. With other techniques, I either had to spend a whole lot of time shifting the chains around to get them tight, or I'd lock them on after a bit of adjustment, then drive around a bit and get off and re-tighten. No need for that now.

John Mc