Snow Chains for snow & ice -- what mistake is it most important to avoid?

[SmallChange]

I know ag tires make falling between lugs more of an issue, and turf makes it less of an issue. Since I use R4 tires, am I just halfway between these camps, or what?

 

[oosik]

Lou - it's just one of those things that YOU KNOW has to be done. And you will never find a friend that will do it for you - at least, correctly. When I have jobs that MUST be done, especially the tough, manual ones - I write them down on my dry-erase board. Otherwise, I miraculously manage to forget them.

 

[oosik]

SmallChange - if you have to use your tractor in situations where loss of traction will be dangerous - get a good set of chains and install them. On the other hand - if loss of traction may just be inconvenient - well, it's your call.

If you do get chains - get good ones. Chains that will not provide good added traction are simply FALSE HOPE.

 

[nyone]

Hours to put chains on one tire? Wow. I usualy drive over them and put them on loos. Then drive around a bit and tighten them up as needed. I use no other tightening device becids the cam over thing on the chains them self.

I have never tryed the driving them on method. You think that would work on turf tires?

 

[CobyRupert]

Hours to put chains on one tire? Wow. I usualy drive over them and put them on loos. Then drive around a bit and tighten them up as needed. I use no other tightening device becids the cam over thing on the chains them self.

I have never tryed the driving them on method. You think that would work on turf tires?

Yes. Might not be able to hang rope on lug. Might be able to tie chain through rim to pull it up. Depends on how heavy, big chains are.

(IMHO) If you have a way, jacking the (freewheeling) tire a few inches off the ground, then adapting Lou's method, is the easiest way "hang", adjust and connect the chains.

 

[oosik]

Yes - I've tried many methods. Screaming & loudly utter obscenities = no help. The easiest way I've found - what CobyRupert/LouNY suggest. Big 'ol hydraulic bottle jack. Be certain the tractor is WELL blocked. One side up - tractor out of gear so this UP wheel will free spin. Tie chains onto one point of the tire - spin the tire - connect up as tight as possible. Finish the other three the same way. Drive a short distance - check to see if chains may need adjusting or tightening.

Also - if you from the "chains must be tight group". And you have R-1 or R-4 tires. Once they are reasonably tight - go ahead and move any cross links into the tire groves. They will end up there anyhow. This will allow you to tighten up as much as possible.

 

[Jstpssng]

Hours to put chains on one tire? Wow. I usualy drive over them and put them on loos. Then drive around a bit and tighten them up as needed. I use no other tightening device becids the cam over thing on the chains them self.

I have never tryed the driving them on method. You think that would work on turf tires?

I use the same technique and never seem to have the problems which others appear to. On my last tractor all that I had was a set of ladder chains cobbled together from several sections of truck chains which my father had laying around. I used those for 15 years without a problem.
I get them as tight as I can, and never had a problem with the links lieing between the lugs on my R-1s. As I tightened the chains down I worked the cross links to where I wanted them, and never touched them again until spring.

I sometimes use the same method for chaining up my pickup. More often though I wait until I am good and stuck before putting them on, that way I get to shovel out all around the truck, then get snow and slush down my back while laying under the truck trying to get them in place. Oosik is right; no amount of cursing seems to help at that point. I have used tensioners exactly once; they are somewhere in the ditch by the road that I travelled that day.

 

[SmallChange]

I've placed an order at TireChainsRUs. For the rear tires, Aquiline MPC. For the much smaller front tires, 2 link ladder chains. These smaller ones were actually on the Garden Tractor list. I've hardly seen anything better than 2 link ladder chains for these smaller wheels, though I did not start calling folks. My total was $766, somewhat more than I planned to spend but not out of range. I found the advice here compelling. I think I'm shooting a little on the high side to be more confident they work well. Losing control on the hill would be disaster, and merely having to rebuy something better would be an expensive mistake. But I didn't buy the most expensive I could find -- I rarely do.

Thank you everybody for the great help. I will follow up when I have some experience with ice and hard packed snow. And no doubt other people will use this thread, as there is definitely stuff here I didn't see in the several other threads I dug up here!

Tips I wish I had figured out earlier: I wish I had learned the categories and descriptions first: 2 and 4 link, ladder, duo (or H), V-bar, double ring, and studded. Then I wish I had had the table at Tractor Tire Chains-Comparison-Application to aim me in the right direction. Finally, with my three number tire sizes, I wish I had known to try searching by the last number (rim size) first and then the others, as some web sites are organized that way and all sites seem to work OK with that approach.

Thanks everybody! Keep it coming, this is good stuff to have online!

 

[John_Mc]

I do not know where you are located Small Change. When I needed tractor chains - Les Schwab. I got heavy duty V-bar TRACTOR chains - all four wheels - around $500.

They provided superior traction on my R-1 tires. They rode somewhat cobbie and being REALLY heavy, they were a PITA to install.

There is one thing - the Euro style studded chain will be considerably more expensive than a good set of HD tractor V-bar chains. I wonder - do the Euro style provide an extra level of traction & safety equal to the increase in price over V-bar.

The simple answer is: "Yes, the Euro style chains do provide an extra level of traction & safety equal to the increase in price over V-Bar." This is especially true if you are running something other than turf tires, since R4 and Ag tires allow much of the ladder-style chains to fall down between the lugs of the tire, (and by the way, V-bar just refers to the type of studs on the chain. They are available on a variety of chain styles.)

I started with 4-link ladder style chains with V-bars on my R4 tires (rear tires only). They did fine getting my tractor up and down my driveway in most of the winter conditions we experienced. They did not do so well on side hills. I wanted better lateral traction for side hills and my work in the woods, so I got DuoGrip chains with V-bars. These helped the lateral traction significantly. The down side is that it made for an extremely rough ride at moderate to high speeds. Since I have a lot of ground to cover at home, and regularly drive my tractor over the road to another property several miles away, that rough ride was unacceptable: I thought I was going to shake myself or the tractor to pieces.

I finally switched to OFA EKO 8 chains (a larger tractor would use OFA EKO 9 chains). These are "Euro-style" chains with studs. It provides excellent forward traction, as well as very good lateral traction. They are the chains I should have started off with, but I thought I could save some money. Do yourself a favor, and start with top-notch chains. You don't want to have to buy your chains two or three tmes.

 

[oosik]

Thanks for your input John_Mc. One thing for sure - the V-bar chains I had rode like a COB. If I would have had to do a lot of "rode riding" it would have definitely been some other style. The mile long trips up/down my driveway were very convincing. However - there is no sidehill work or long rode trips here. And now with the significantly larger tractor - no need for chains.

This may be the winter that provides a challenge. Those who supposedly know say it's going to be a tough winter in these parts. Time will tell.