I don't have enough tractor/traction, what now?

[k0ua]

I think it really depends on your terain, the driveway material, and most of all how you drive it.
Flat vs. Hills
Paved vs. Dirt
Gentile vs. Street Racer

If you have a hilly dirt driveway where you could get a lot of traction and you drive like the go pedal is a toggle switch then you should avoid it at all costs. For others with calmer temperaments and the right conditions it would likely never be an issue.

You are probably right, but I have seen people that could tear up anvils....

 

[4570Man]

They shouldn't have to be offset more than about an inch per side. Is that much going to really hurt anything?

 

[gladehound]

Since you have the chains already, I would get the spacers. Chains will make the most difference. I would only chain the rear and let the front slip to relieve binding. You can chain only the front if you're careful with direction changes and let the rears slip to relieve binding. But if you chain both, you can get binding that is damaging to the drivetrain.

I have used front chains only because I had them already from an old truck and I didn't have the clearance in the rear. I never had any problems from using them and the tractor was unstoppable with them on. However, the v-bars took chunks out of my concrete floor in the shed so I stopped using them.

Then I tried grooving all of my tires. It made a tremendous difference for me, even on solid ice. I've never used chains since. Do not get me wrong, v-bar chains are more effective than grooving your tires, there is no comparison. But grooving your tires and then adding weight does a lot. I'd say that a balanced 2WD tractor with grooved R-4 tires can push about as much in packed snow and ice as a 4wd tractor stock R-4 tires. So it maybe doubles your traction. V-bar chains will make your traction go up 10x and thus the fear of breaking driveline parts if chaining all 4 especially with v-bar chains.

 

[Garandman]

I have an L3200 and did not add chains as yet. There are four other Kubotas on the street: two have chains, two do not. One of those two has chains on the front only.

Grooved the R4's before last winter and I was pleased with the traction plowing, though they did not cut it in deep snow in the woods.

When I get spacers I plan to get steel 2" from Stahl.

 

[LD1]

Ditto chains.

IF your setup works for most of the snowfalls and these drifts are a rare occurrence, leave the front blade in the garage. Dont try to push a bug wall of snow. use the bucket and remove it.

But if this is a common occurrence, blower would be best.

 

[paulfun9]

Ditto chains.

IF your setup works for most of the snowfalls and these drifts are a rare occurrence, leave the front blade in the garage. Dont try to push a bug wall of snow. use the bucket and remove it.

But if this is a common occurrence, blower would be best.

This is mostly my thought as well for the short term. But as I have seen big drifts as well and know first hand that you usually have to keep going back at them a few times as the wind keeps building them right back up, the best long term solution is to get a blower as it makes short work of them with no worries about where to put the snow. Also if the blower is heavy you usually don't need the chains even when traction is a bit limited. The few times I have had a lot of tire spin I simply lift the blower just slightly and the added weight gives me enough traction to get going and once the snow is for the most part blown away you can go back and get that inch or two you left and it always seems that I have more than enough traction for that on the second pass. FOr the most part this is a rare occurrence for me even with the 2 wheel drive internationals and to be honest I haven't ever had to install my chains for winter snow clearing and I do some fairly steep driveways with R4 tires on the Kioti and ag tires on the international and deer The deere and Kioti are 4x4 the international is not but it weighs a heck of a lot more than the kioti and deer put together.

 

[skyhook]

IMO, 5 foot drifts requires a blower unless you have a backhoe, you should attack these drifts sooner to avoid this problem. As stated, since you already have the chains, i would go with the spacers, your tractor will enjoy the "wider" stance also.

 

[Fallon]

Well, my plans of finding a cheap blower this summer were derailed on Thanksgiving. On the way to a friends place I found a nice 61" sitting in a field with a for sale sign. The guy didn't want to fire up the tractor while it was this cold, but we agreed on $800, which is better than I've seen in the past year at least keeping an eye on Craigslist. Might have to put a few inches of wings on it or something if I do get the wheel spacers, but it was to good of a deal to turn down. Will be picking it up either today or this weekend. Currently 14f out so I'm not too motivated, as likely is the guy that is selling it.

 

[ovrszd]

I never felt adding weight made much difference as far as traction on snow/ice.
Chains make a huge difference.

Yep. And a 2wd tractor with rear chains will perform better on snow/ice than a 4wd tractor with no chains.

I wouldn't chain the front unless I had to. I don't think the OP is in that position. If he had rear chains his problems would be over.

Lastly, it doesn't take much of a chain. A pair of "2 link" crossbar chains will fix the problem.

 

[GPintheMitten]

$800 for a working 61" blower sounds good. The picture is from a distance but it looks good. I bought one for less but I had a lot of rust to cleanup and then paint.

Good find. My only question would be why he wouldn't keep it.

 

[2ndhalf]

Well, my plans of finding a cheap blower this summer were derailed on Thanksgiving. On the way to a friends place I found a nice 61" sitting in a field with a for sale sign. The guy didn't want to fire up the tractor while it was this cold, but we agreed on $800, which is better than I've seen in the past year at least keeping an eye on Craigslist. Might have to put a few inches of wings on it or something if I do get the wheel spacers, but it was to good of a deal to turn down. Will be picking it up either today or this weekend. Currently 14f out so I'm not too motivated, as likely is the guy that is selling it.

View attachment 448625

Sounds like a great buy for this time of year. I was going to suggest snow fence, I put one up every year to kill drifts... but that's not as much fun as a blower!

 

[Fallon]

Blower is now torn apart. Welded on plates to the side of the toplink & cit out the bar under the hole so my quick hitch top hook would fit. A little heat & a sledge hammer persuaded the outside of the clevis hitch for the lift pins to shrink 1/2" so my quick hitch will fit outside. Just need to fond some 3/8" x 2" bar stock to add another pair of ears outside the quick hitch.

Toplink to lift link height was fine, just needed it a fair bit wider to be quick hitch compliant. 1 evening into it so far & another to go. So not to bad for a fun little project.

The guy is a mechanic it sounds like. When I picked it up he was demoing the tractor it was attached to to somebody else. He also mentioned he had a 66" JD blower with hydro chute angle, but at $1500 it was over my budget.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

I plowed for many years with 2 link v bars chains on the FRONT AXLE ONLY. The l3400 is still running strong but I upgraded to a heated cab 2 years ago... never did end up doing chains and spacers on the rear but the r4 tires def need some help on the ice.

 

[bigtiller]

MFWA or Mechanical Front Wheel Assist. In my opinion, the key word in that acronym is assist. It isn't as strong as a true 4 wheel drive unit.

Some guys chain just the front and never have a problem but I'm not willing to take the risk.

 

[ovrszd]

MFWA or Mechanical Front Wheel Assist. In my opinion, the key word in that acronym is assist. It isn't as strong as a true 4 wheel drive unit.

Some guys chain just the front and never have a problem but I'm not willing to take the risk.

I agree. To each their own. No argument from me.

 

[Ralph Copp]

I agree, that lifting the blower slightly will make a big difference when going up a hill in deep snow. I do quite a few driveways within a 5 mile radius and several are steep and can be very icy. I run maxigrip studs front and back to help with the ice. Not as good as chains but better than nothing.

 

[davesl708]

You are probably right, but I have seen people that could tear up anvils....

They need to make those anvils better and stronger. I am tired of buying new ones.:laughing:

 

[RedNeckRacin]

They need to make those anvils better and stronger. I am tired of buying new ones.:laughing:

I feel like I am one of those ppl sometimes! If I don't get the double extra heavy spec, I'm going to break it in shortorder. ....

 

[Fallon]

My tirechain.com 2 link Vbars for the fronts came in & got mounted after my first attempt at plowing today. They increased my plowing capacity at least 30% & I can now turn while plowing with a decent pile infront. I'm now noticeably power limited. Used the blower a bit & it kicked *** (other than getting dusted bad when I had to blow into the wind), but mostly plowed. Very happy with this setup... Except for the fact I don't have a cab.

I know the chains will put a bit more strain on the front axle, but I don't think it's that bad or is likely to cause problems. While they do add a lot of traction I still have a lot less traction than trying to dig up a bucket full of dirt at a pile, which I'm betting puts a lot more load & stress on the front axle. Probably not pursuing wheel spacers for my rear tires at this point.

 

[doxford jim]

The added weight of the rear blower will make a difference on it's own. I am sure front chains will make a difference too.
I have a slope on my driveway and manage to clear it fine with just the snow blower on the back and FEL, but then I am using ag. tires (R1), which are ideal in the snow FWIW.
I have thought of buying chains (my old MF65 had them and filled rear tires) but haven't felt the real need as yet. Fortunately we don't get too much ice where I am but that could change at any time. One time I couldn't get up the drive with a 4x4 F250 with BFG all terrain tires - kept sliding sideways on the ice and had to "help" the truck with my old JD450 to tow it - about 15ft at a time until I got past the slope and back onto level ground.