Chains Good chains for R4's?

[outoftractorluck]

For my 3400 I bought a pair of duotrack chains, which are meant to be better than standard since they dont sit all the way into the treads, from tractiontirechains.com. Good price but the quality is really good. Had to add spacers for good clearance. tractiontirechains.com seems to be pretty competitive on a bunch of things. Low shipping cost too.

 

[whistlepig]

Great feedback all. I've got some good direction now. I did have the dealer install wheel spacers before I took delivery, so several options exist. I plan to wait till next fall to save and ultimately make the right decision.

Thanks so much!

They seem to be a good investment. This is the second winter we have been through since I purchased my chains and we have had very little or no snow. My wife is very impressed.

 

[k0ua]

They seem to be a good investment. This is the second winter we have been through since I purchased my chains and we have had very little or no snow. My wife is very impressed.

Chains? we don't need no steenking chains!

I did the Cutting and Grooving thing with my R4's and haven't seen a flake yet. Good insurance in my book!

James K0UA

 

[hc99]

I used 4 link ladder chains on my 2wd Ford 4000 R4's for many years with no problems. Most of the cross chains covered both the inner and outer lug. Then I transferred the chains to my new MX5100 (with R4's). Most of the cross chains fell between the lugs no matter how I adjusted or tightened the chains. Comparing the tires on the 4000 with the ones on the MX5100, I noticed the lugs on the 4000 tires were well worn, were longer, and each pair of lugs made a narrower "v", keeping the cross links on the lugs. I now have duo-ladder combination chains on the MX5100. Much better, but there were still some cross-chains that fell between the lugs. For those I bought quick-links to pull them over the lugs. With hindsight, I should have paid more attention to the tires before getting the tractor. I think RoyJackson made the right decision with the turf tires. I'd probably opt for those if I had to do it over again. With chains they would probably be as good or maybe better than the R4's in snow, and obviously easier on the grass. I also had good luck with tirechains.com. Great chains and fast shipping.

 

[Reg]

I used 4 link ladder chains on my 2wd Ford 4000 R4's for many years with no problems. Most of the cross chains covered both the inner and outer lug. Then I transferred the chains to my new MX5100 (with R4's). Most of the cross chains fell between the lugs no matter how I adjusted or tightened the chains. Comparing the tires on the 4000 with the ones on the MX5100, I noticed the lugs on the 4000 tires were well worn, were longer, and each pair of lugs made a narrower "v", keeping the cross links on the lugs. I now have duo-ladder combination chains on the MX5100. Much better, but there were still some cross-chains that fell between the lugs. For those I bought quick-links to pull them over the lugs. With hindsight, I should have paid more attention to the tires before getting the tractor. I think RoyJackson made the right decision with the turf tires. I'd probably opt for those if I had to do it over again. With chains they would probably be as good or maybe better than the R4's in snow, and obviously easier on the grass. I also had good luck with tirechains.com. Great chains and fast shipping.

I am having LESS THAN "good luck" with tirechains.com

I have two sets of tires & wheels for the little tractor; R4s and Turfs.
I have asked them repeatedly if there is a set of chains that would fit both sizes and about all they can tell me is this, copy/pasted from this morning's mail;

"Honestly,
I do not think it will work but you can take a chance and see if it works. We will not take any chains back that have been altered or taken apart. It is the risk you will take.

Best Regards,
Beth "

They seem unwilling or unable to dig out the specs on the chain sets for the two different tires sizes and compare them to make an informed suggestion/recommendation.

My SUBJECTIVE guess is that one size would fit both, within a link or two and that can be taken care of with a bungie cord.
The turfs are SLIGHTLY wider and a bit flatter, the R4s are a bit higher/taller.
I'm guessing that (as far as chains are concerned) these differences are likely to offset each other.
They can't or won't even tell me which set is bigger/longer.

BTW, the tires in question are 17.5L24 R4s and 44x18.00x20 turfs.
So if anyone else has been through this please reply.
I like them both, but it often happens that I have the turfs on JUST when I need to do some back-hoe work, chains could be useful at those times.
I try to use the R4s for winter and mud season, but don't always time the work and weather exactly right, so a set that fits both tire sizes makes so much sense (-:

 

[outoftractorluck]

Try tractiontirechains.com you might find them more responsive. I did.

 

[hc99]

The same set of 14.9-28 chains fit both the 14.9-28 and 14.9-26 wheels on my 2 tractors, with some minor initial adjustments. I think the important thing is to make sure the crosslinks are long enough for the width of the tire, easy enough in my case and yours too I believe. I would buy the chain for the larger cicumference tire (which I believe are the 17.5L24 in your case). I don’t think the inch or so of difference in tire width will be a any problem. The chains should be “self-adjusting” for the smaller diameter turf tires, as all you need to do is tighten them down however many side links needed. If you run into a crosslink before being able to tighten the on the smaller tire, just move the crosslink. You can then leave the side connectors open, so when putting the chains back on the larger tire, it will just take a few seconds to move the crosslink back to the original position. The open side connectors won’t be a problem once the chains are tightened.

 

[High Compression]

Any recommendations for reasonably priced chains and where to purchase?

I have a Kubota L3800 which I primarily use for pulling firewood out of the bush on frozen ground BUT also do snow removal on a few paved drives. My wife, and neighbors, would kill me if I damage the pavement in the winter.

Any help appreciated.

I would try grooving your tires. A tire grooving tool is only $60-$70 on ebay new. Also I would ballast your rear tires. I recommend RimGuard. It's beet juice good for -40 deg F or less and it won't corrode your wheels and is environmentally friendly. It added 1300 lbs to the back of my tractor.:thumbsup:

 

[Reg]

Try tractiontirechains.com you might find them more responsive. I did.

Thank you SO MUCH for this lead.
They were SO RESPONSIVE, almost unbelievably so.
Not only did they quote me for both sizes, they also sent me "engineering" print sets showing lengths and number of links for each set.
These are 9/0 cross chain and 7/0 side chain.
As it turns out both sizes use the same cross link assemblies (actually the DUO H pattern, more like I=I ) with the 17.5x24 using 6 of those and the 44x18.00x20 using 5 cross H and 2 more end links.
I will almost certainly order the longer set and know that I could cut out exactly one DUO H pattern and add two more end links if/when I want to go use them on the turfs.
If I did this "right" I could convert back again very quickly.

BTW, the print sets are from Peerless and their web site shows the same set part numbers as tractorchains.com quoted me, so these are peerless chains (US manufacture) and - - saving the best for last;

They are price competitive with the Chinese chains that tirechains.com ships in
MORE:
They offer free shipping - at least for now - and will send each chain in a separate bag to get under the UPS per package weight restriction.
No need for lift gate, loading dock, or any of that other stuff (-:

 

[outoftractorluck]

Reg:
'welcome. Yeah my experience also. For the price I paid I expected a poorer quality product (only need them a couple of times a year.) What they sent me were top notch, solid and well made. I guess everyone uses tirechains.com so these guys have to fight a bit harder for the business...

Interesting details on the source.....