front tire chains?

[mg448]

I have a 500' fairly steep gravel driveway. I've been clearing it with a Deere x500 garden tractor with a 44" snowblower, chains, 50 lb wheel weights and 4 42 lb suitcase weights on the back. It worked ok most of the time, but in real heavy snow or those spring storms where the gravel was soft I had a lot of trouble.

I just bought a Kubota b2601 with a 55" front snowblower. It came with turf tires which I wasn't really happy about, but it was too good of a deal to pass up. I've been looking at chains for the rear wheels(33x12.5x15) but for anything decent it looks like I'll have to spend upwards of $200 and I'd rather not spend that much. I was wondering if I might be able to get away with just using chains on the front tires for my snow removal. Has anyone tried this on a steep gravel driveway?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[RNeumann]

Weight off the front equals front chains. The turf tires are consistently thought of as the best snow tires. Nothing to complain about-you will have snow water with the front chains. Lighter, cheaper and way easier on and off....

 

[Cougsfan]

Turf tires take advantage of chains better than other kinds of tractor tires. You can probably get by with less expensive automobile chains, whereas ag and industrial tires need specialty tractor chains. I'd definitely try it with just the front chains before coughing up money for rear chains.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Make sure you're wearing your seatbelt.

And try to aim at something inexpensive if it starts sliding out of control.

I would go with filled rears, rear chains and make sure 4x4 is engaged.

Where I'm at, my driveway is very flat, so I'm fortunate there. But I still have filled rears. If I had any slope at all, I'd go with the Euro style chains on the rear. I also have split rear brakes, which helps a lot.

 

[PILOON]

I'd seriously think it over as many fronts are merely considered 'assist' and hauling/pushing loads of snow could be detrimental to the front end.

I should know, I had to rebuild my front differential at considerable cost.
Now not saying chains did it as I never chained the front.

I actually determined that the factory metal tabs that 'locked' the 8 machine screws were the culprits.
That cost me a crown and pinion set!

 

[ruffdog]

Those are not that big of tire$ to put chains on. The small front tires won't give you the chained foot print that the rears give either. I would put chains on the rear and have some sort of rear weight that will also counteract the front blower when it is lifted. Being that you already know how your driveway is with the x500, do the same with this tractor. Bigger tractors mean bigger chains, weights, equipment, and costs.

 

[Fallon]

I ran front only chains on my L3200 with R4s. My push on the SSQA plow went up around 30% & my steering wheel started working again. Similar results on my new L4060HSTC. I run chains infrequently on it as it really only needs them for bigger snows.

I'm sure front only chains are a bit harder on the machine than rear only. But my front traction with chains in snow is still less than in dirt. And I have yet to have any issues.

 

[mikescruggs]

I was going to put chains on the front of my new tractor, M7060. The larger radial R1 tires did not allow enough room for chains. I went with studs on the front and Trygg chains on the rear. The other question was the wear the chains would create on the front end. I planned to only run them one the ice conditions set in. I have not had much of a chance to use the tractor this year so the jury is out on the studs. The M7060 is larger than the previous L4240.

Mike

 

[LouNY]

One consideration with front chains is that because of the chains you may be increasing the lead of the front axle,
this would certainly make turns nicer but could throw out your straight line balance.

 

[oosik]

If it's 4WD - then the same type chains on all four wheels. Otherwise - you could easily be putting undue strain on the drivetrain. Even auto chains will provide a great benefit on all four wheels.

 

[mikester]

I use chains on my R4 fronts and it works well when Im off roading on hills and in deep snow. Generally I only put the chains on around February March when freeze thaw turns everything to ice or we get a bad ice rain.
If you have really steep hills you might want chains on all your tires. Life gets exciting when your rear end tries to pass you while you are driving down an icy hill.

 

[Corm]

I've been using front tire chains on my Cub Cadet 7260 with R4 tires since it was new in 1998. They work great. I built my own set of chains using some that the boys in my local town garage discarded from their plow trucks. They told me they were too worn to continue to use on their trucks, but they have lasted me over 20 years on my tractor. I bought a set of chain pliers, and reassembled the truck chains to fit my front tires. All it cost me was a box of donuts for the boys in the garage, and those chain pliers. My gravel driveway has one steep hill just before my house, and the chains made all the difference for me. I also built a set for my rear tires, and have used them only once in all these years when my 1/4 mile drive was very icy.

Corm

 

[CobyRupert]

Without weight and/or chains on the rear you might be VERY dependent on the front tires to move. Especially when you have the blower lifted up. Front chains will help.

So will rear ballast and/or loaded tires...or rear chains.

 

[PILOON]

If it's 4WD - then the same type chains on all four wheels. Otherwise - you could easily be putting undue strain on the drivetrain. Even auto chains will provide a great benefit on all four wheels.

Lou, I'd doubt that as the chain links would simply be buried in the snow plus on snow/ice slippage would compensate for any ratio difference.
It is on hard surfaces (asphalt, concrete) that you can expect damage to occur.

 

[LouNY]

Frozen ground will definitely create the situation,
I have almost quit using my fronts unless a major ice storm is forecast.
The windup that I got in the front was considerable.
The tractor would actually lurch several inches when the 4wd was disengaged.
My 4wd is a multi disk wet clutch with electric engagement.
When I ran my fronts on hard packed snow or ice you could see were the front was actually pulling on the rear.
That was using the Euro studded chains on all 4.