Chains Chains on front tires only VS. rear only

[Billrog]

When it comes to front wheel bearings and seals I think I think the most common cause is over loading the fel for the size of the tractor. Chains on the front do the most damage to the pivot point working the front wheels from side to side as they lose and gain traction. These are only my opinions from my experience abusing a small tractor.

 

[Oldpath05]

I dont think there any problems, if they where so badly made that having good grip on the front will destroy the axel you would find this forum filled with complains on the subject. But the driver must have his brain turn on.

To chain or not to chain....this might/will be a dilemma for me cause my brain isn't on most of the time and when it is on, it's only running on one cylinder that miss-fires a lot. Looks like there is only one way to solve this dilemma with chains on front, have plenty of $$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[FatTire]

I have chains for front and rear of my Kubota MX5100. This winter has been a bust here, it took some motivation to get the chains out, and that day my back was hurting, so I did front only. Using an FEL mount plow with a 3 point counterweight, the front chains have worked great, I hardly miss the rears. If I had to do one axle I'd do the front. I will put up a post if I damage the front end (not expecting any problems), but I should mention my driveway, the road, and my neighbors driveways are all dirt. If my tractor doesn't hold up to using tire chains in my situation, I'm gonna want to get rid of it anyways.

 

[Oldpath05]

i have a Hesston 90-100 DT and a Kubota 3710 HST.

Hesston front tires are same size as Kubota rear tires. So Yeah, I use the same set of chains on both tractors. The Hesston is an awfully big sunuvabiotch and when I am chained up, it is usually to pull some plow truck out of a deep ditch on a back woods road somewhere or to climb an icy road up the side of a mountain.

FWIW, I use to use the Kubota for driveway plowing duties, with a fixed position 6' snow plow. The drive is 1/2+ mile long and changes elevation 300' over its length. Without chains she got away from me on ice a couple times and or would not climb the icy road. I purchased a set of front chains because they were cheaper and a lot easier to install. I was generally careful about not shock loading the drive train, but was pretty sure plowing up hill was putting a lot of stress ONLY on the front drive train. After several years, maybe 5 or 6, a right front wheel bearing just completely came apart......

I replaced the bearing set and have not run the front chains on that tractor, but maybe 3 times in the last 6 years. I think if you are a careful operator you can get ways with doing it on flat ground............ in hindsight, pushing a plow, uphill on icy pavement with front chains only, was just NOT prudent.

I'll look up this Hesston tractor later, but the Kubota 3710 sounds bigger then my L3400, so thinking bigger is stronger wont apply here then. How does one know if chains on front would ware out the front wheel bearings, maybe the bearings wore out because the tractor was built Monday morning and Bob didn't enough grease on them, and or maybe what these tractors need is a shear pin on the front drive shaft, so when the front tires fetch up on something, the $2.00 shear pin breaks. But anyhow, if someday I dared to put chains on the front, I would not put them on unless I had the rear chains on first.

I'd say 300 feet up in a 1/2 mile plowing snow, definitely sounds to me like a job for chains on all 4 tires with a V plow.

 

[pat32rf]

with chains on the rear of my JD4300 I find that by the time we get a foot of snow I am confined to my driveway and maybe a level spot that I dig out. This year I put front chains on as well. So far we have skidded out three truck loads of poplar from an area I normally cant even get to....The firewood that came with it is a bonus.....

 

[Oldpath05]

I have chains for front and rear of my Kubota MX5100. This winter has been a bust here, it took some motivation to get the chains out, and that day my back was hurting, so I did front only. Using an FEL mount plow with a 3 point counterweight, the front chains have worked great, I hardly miss the rears. If I had to do one axle I'd do the front. I will put up a post if I damage the front end (not expecting any problems), but I should mention my driveway, the road, and my neighbors driveways are all dirt. If my tractor doesn't hold up to using tire chains in my situation, I'm gonna want to get rid of it anyways.

I have an old fashion winter here, more snow then my L3400 can go through and more on the way and I have chains on the rear tires. I looked up the MX5100, the specs. say 16 inch tires on front, same as mine, I would of thought on a 50 hp. tractor, the front tires would of been a lot bigger.

With out chains on my front tires, all they are doing is holding up the front end when I'm plowing snow. A lot different then summer time when I'm digging up dirt and rocks, and front end is with a bucket full of dirt, the rear tire starts to lift, then I read on here that some people who broke their front end with chains on front in the winter, at times I must be close to the breaking point.

After reading some of these horror story's here, and I had a chance to buy another tractor, I'd go to every tractor dealer and ask if they warrantee their green, orange, blue, red,..... tractor with chains on the front tires, then buy the color tractor that would.

 

[RickB]

I have an old fashion winter here, more snow then my L3400 can go through and more on the way and I have chains on the rear tires. I looked up the MX5100, the specs. say 16 inch tires on front, same as mine, I would of thought on a 50 hp. tractor, the front tires would of been a lot bigger.

With out chains on my front tires, all they are doing is holding up the front end when I'm plowing snow. A lot different then summer time when I'm digging up dirt and rocks, and front end is with a bucket full of dirt, the rear tire starts to lift, then I read on here that some people who broke their front end with chains on front in the winter, at times I must be close to the breaking point.

After reading some of these horror story's here, and I had a chance to buy another tractor, I'd go to every tractor dealer and ask if they warrantee their green, orange, blue, red,..... tractor with chains on the front tires, then buy the color tractor that would.

Just about any dealer with somebody that knows how to write a warranty claim will get that paid if they want to. How's that work after the coverage ends?

Like I said earlier, I do not recommend front chains on CUT's. Some run them without issues. To those that aren't so fortunate, I'm happy to sell the parts they need.

 

[Oldpath05]

Just about any dealer with somebody that knows how to write a warranty claim will get that paid if they want to. How's that work after the coverage ends?

Like I said earlier, I do not recommend front chains on CUT's. Some run them without issues. To those that aren't so fortunate, I'm happy to sell the parts they need.

I think I missed something somewhere in translation, and I'm to tied to figure things out tonight, (I do not recommend front chains on CUT's.) what does CUT mean, and are you saying that you sell parts for my L3400 like oil filters, bearings, and gears......

 

[pat32rf]

I am sure that somewhere in my travels I've seen JD front wheel spacers so you can run regular chains without catching the tie rod ends....Gotta think that if they were listed in the JD parts book....

All summer I go slippin and slidin around on wet ground and bedrock. In the winter I am very aware that once I loose traction I'm not going anyplace so there is less wheelspin than during the summer, once I install the chains.

 

[dsgsr]

I think I missed something somewhere in translation, and I'm to tied to figure things out tonight, (I do not recommend front chains on CUT's.) what does CUT mean, and are you saying that you sell parts for my L3400 like oil filters, bearings, and gears......

(CUT) Compact Utility Tractor.

My New JD 5085M, If I run chains on front it will Void the Warranty. Not what I thought when I bought it.

David

 

[RickB]

I think I missed something somewhere in translation, and I'm to tied to figure things out tonight, (I do not recommend front chains on CUT's.) what does CUT mean, and are you saying that you sell parts for my L3400 like oil filters, bearings, and gears......

CUT is shorthand for Compact Utility Tractor.

I'm a parts manger at a New Holland and Kioti dealership, so I sell original equipment parts for those brands and aftermarket parts for many brands.

 

[Oldpath05]

(CUT) Compact Utility Tractor. Well, that was easier then me searching all night on the web. So the next question would have to be, is my L3400 a CUT? and what hp. does it start and stop at, or do we go by what the dealer calls it?

 

[Oldpath05]

(CUT) Compact Utility Tractor.

My New JD 5085M, If I run chains on front it will Void the Warranty. Not what I thought when I bought it.

David

Maybe that's how it is with all tractors when someone puts tire chains on the front end, it voids warrantee, which is probably only 3 years, I think that was what mine had in 07, but I'm long gone on the warrantee now. Then again like someone said here, the dealer has the power of the pen.

 

[RickB]

(CUT) Compact Utility Tractor. Well, that was easier then me searching all night on the web. So the next question would have to be, is my L3400 a CUT? and what hp. does it start and stop at, or do we go by what the dealer calls it?

More a matter of chassis size than HP. Most brands make their own distinctions. I would call an L series Kubota a CUT and an M series Utility tractor. New Holland Boomers and Workmasters would be CUT's and the T4.75 a Utility. Deere 4xxx CUT and 5xxx Utility.

 

[jix]

My tractor mechanic advised against front chains with rear chains too, very likely to break a driveshaft.( He said) FWIW

 

[Agvg]

If a tractor can't have chains on all four it's defect by design. And how on earth can the front hold up even on summer use?
But then not all mechanics are worth listening too, had my woow moments with people that claims to know a product and its crystal clear that they a no deep knowledge of what the talk about.

 

[jix]

Yabut.. Anyone knows more about tractors than I do!... I only know about checkbooks:duh:

 

[Oldpath05]

If a tractor can't have chains on all four it's defect by design. And how on earth can the front hold up even on summer use?
But then not all mechanics are worth listening too, had my woow moments with people that claims to know a product and its crystal clear that they a no deep knowledge of what the talk about.

That's what I'm thinking and wondering, poor design and what about summer use, seems to me that the front tires get a lot more traction on bare dirt with a bucket full of dirt then on snow and ice with chains on front.

Here's a pic of a poor design, a DT L3400 with no chains on front because I don't have enough $$ to fix it, I don't enough $$ now to fix the (gets stuck in gear) problem.

 

[kco]

Perhaps the risk to having front chains is due more to operating error than poor design. The momentum of slipping and sudden stopping can result in shock loads beyond those encountered through normal use. Slipping can be minimized by smooth operation and selecting suitable chains. For example, 4-link ladders will be more susceptible to slipping than 2-link ladders. Also, longer than necessary cross sections will have shorter side chains(since they will be closer to the centre of the wheel) and have fewer cross sections.

A better choice for front chains is likely a design like Oldpath05's rear chains(Aquilines??) with a continuous chain around the tread surface. Trygg and Tellesfdal offer a variety of similar designs and also smaller diameter components (5 to 8mm as opposed to 10mm) that also may be better for smaller front wheels.

With DUO's on the rears and smaller 2-link ladders on the front of my DK35 R4's, and regulating speed so there is no noticeable shock, I am confident the front and rear chains do not create undue stress to any driveline components. The most important factor is to be aware of what your machine is doing, and to ease up if you are producing stress. Spinning on ice and snow is totally unproductive.

 

[Agvg]

It has been a lot of terrible front axle designs, when 4WD came in the late seventies many used weak designs.
On smaller tractors they thought there was no need for reduction gears in the hubs, putting way to much stress on the axle.