Chains Chain clearance on TC 26 (or 23) DA

RADIUM · Jan 21, 2011

Backing up is a pain in the a## gives me a stiff neck even with the camera and large side mirrors you still always want to look back force of habit. I posted a video of me snow blowing the backyard in new video section check it out, now there is no comparison to the tractor I have now at 60 hp, but that TC 26 took care of the yard just as efficiently just took a few more passes being only 5 foot, it still managed to throw the snow as far what you see in the video. I was always astonished how that little tractor could throw snow, you should see the driveway over 1500 feet with heavy drifts going across the field and the TC 26 would cut right through don't be afraid of buying a front mount snowblower, you'll never believe how fast snow blowing is compared to your bucket or even a plow I wish I had video of it working it's an incredible tractor for its size most people would never know or believe it unless they owned one. Take care

MiserableOldFart · Jan 22, 2011

Radium, is your driveway paved? I have always wondered how well a blower would work on our rocky "gravel" road here.. I doubt I would ever pick up and really large stones, but there is always the chance of some decent sized ones.. I would guestimate that 1500 feet is just about what I have to deal with here, maybe just a little more..

RADIUM · Jan 22, 2011

My driveway is gravel 2 inch flat rock and some bluestone, since I was 8 years old now 55 I have maintained that driveway with gravely , Ford, MF, new Holland I honestly can tell you in all that time I have personally never broken a chain or any kind of damage other than paint chip's ;-). The best way to maintain a stone driveway set the snowblower shoes or skids to maximum height for the first few weeks of storms, then lower them to minimum and continue to maintain your road. One other advantage with front mount you can put a blade on your three-point hitch to scrape lower and use in the spring when things start to melt to remove the layer of slush. So with a little bit of practice and some chipped paint you'll be fine especially width HST you could slowdown and lift the blower when you hear rocks bouncing around inside the blower, but that's only in the beginning of the season or at the very end take care

dave1949 · Jan 22, 2011

Don't know if your tractor is assembled like my TC40, but for the purpose of getting chain clearance, I removed the inside 'skirts' on my rear fenders. They are metal plates held in place by 4-5 bolts.

I actually like it much better, I can see what's going on below the rear end of the tractor now. That's a great advantage when doing clearing work out in the woods, since I can tell by looking if there are sapling spears below before backing up. Those spears, sharpened by the FEL blade, have the capacity to do great damage to filters, radiator, lines and hoses.
Dave.

pushmower · Feb 3, 2011

Can you swap the wheels to mount them dish out? I did this with my R4s (TC24) and gained 1.5" per side. Plenty of room for the chains now, and more room to work on chains and the 3pt hitch stays.

MiserableOldFart · Feb 6, 2011

Thanks for the info, guys. My wheels are installed wide. I don't think they install any other way, and if they were any narrower, I'm sure I would have rolled the tractor by now. The Catskills do not have much level ground to work on and even where the ground looks "level," it isn't at the tractor wheel size.. I've often wondered if I could get a shop to make me a set of spacers so I could put the wheels another inch or so further out. That would take care of the chain clearance issue and give me a little more margin of safety as well. Might not be easy to install with the weight of the filled tires, but once on, would probably be a good thing.