Chains Chains on R4's

[mtg65]

I have about 1000 feet of gravel driveway, part of which is pretty steep. I have plenty of room to push the snow so I decided to hold off on the snowblower purchase and use the back blade for now. I have read several postings about this method of snow management and to my surprise it worked well. Now granted, we only had a few inches so I will reserve final judgment till spring.

My problem started when I began to go up the hill with the rear blade down. The R4's began to loose grip and as soon as they started to spin, that was it. I backed down a few feet, lifted my blade and the same thing happened. I backed down further and started to slide a bit (pucker factor kicked in), I dropped the FEL and rear blade and came to a stop.

I like My R4's because they give me good traction in the woods and they do not rip my lawn to shreds even with 400 lbs of wheel weights installed. However, for snow removal, on my particular driveway, I do not think they are right tire for the job.

So now that I have decided to purchase chains, what has been peoples experience with them???? Particularly with the 1533 (any issues with clearances etc.) I do not have to worry about pavement or garage floors so I want to go with the ice pick type. I have been quoted anywhere from $550.00 - $750.00 a set. Any recommendations on manufacturer or distributors?? What should I be looking for in terms of specs etc.I'm sure there are better chains than others out there.

Thanks in advance

 

[mtg65]

Oh, and one other thing..what about ice chains on the front? I have read in some posts that this is bad for the front end. What can happen? Would not running the tractor in 4 wheel drive with chains on be OK??

Thanks again!

 

[Oleozz]

Oh, and one other thing..what about ice chains on the front? I have read in some posts that this is bad for the front end. What can happen? Would not running the tractor in 4 wheel drive with chains on be OK??

Thanks again!

You will get a lot of "hot" discussion on this but from my own experience and one good friend who does a lot of plowing the chains on the front don't hurt anything. If you have them on the rear I'm not sure you need them on the front but you surely would have the traction.

 

[Casco1]

I just put chains on my R4s for this winter. I did some slipping last year but after seeing these rascals on my tires I think sliding is a thing of the past.

I don't know where in vermont you are but if you are in range take a ride to B&B chain in milford NH Top quality at a fair price and they can answer any question you have.


Welcome to B-BChain.com

 

[Lou_B]

Tire chains work fine with R-4's. I've run chains on both the front and rear tires for the past few winters with good results. Chains give great traction on ice and snow (and mud).

A few lessons learned follow:

Chains need to be tight. When they are tight, they need to be tightened some more.
Front tire chains need to be fitted so that there are no loose ends or extra chain pieces spinning around and waiting to hit front end components. Clearance goes down a lot when you make tight turns.
The ride on hard surfaces is very rough. You get to feel every piece of chain as the tire rides over it. On the plus side, when the chains are removed in the spring, the tractor runs silky smooth.
Every once in a while, check to make sure that nothing is working loose. These heavy chains can do some damage if they work loose.

There are several places that you can do some tire chain research. Tirechains.com is one such site.

Lou Braun

 

[Egon]

If you get ladder chains make sure they are the two link type otherwise you may have a rough ride.

I had 4 link ladder chains and ended up adding a trnverse link between the ladders. Surely helped the ride.

 

[mtg65]

Thanks for the replies..I was able to find a local dealer that had norse ice chains. I hope to have them on this weekend because we got five inches last night and they are calling for more this weekend. I will post pics when I get them setup, they look like they will fix my slipping problem!