Is this going to work?

[Catfish Man]

I have no snow experience,

but in my opinion loaded tires are better than wheel weights, you are getting weight closer to the ground, which is the goal

it might just be a matter of personal preference

 

[smfcpacfp]

The first winter that I had my R-4 tractor with filled tired it was very cold here (-25) for several days in a row. When I was driving the tractor one of the tires seemed to have high spot (or low spot) and the tractor would roll unevenly. Finely we figured that the stuff inside had frozen and flat spotted so on the next sunny day I parked the tractor outside in the sun to warm up the rear tires and the problem went away. I doubt that you would ever have such an issue in WV.

I am not sure what all the concern is with traction. Traction is an issue when you plow, even on a flat area. A snow blower doesn't push the snow unless you are going faster than the volume of snow that the blower can handle, instead the snow comes in the blower and is throw out into the woods and away by the action of the augers and impeller, not from pushing pressure from the blower. I run my blower 99% of time in the float mode so there is very little push back pressure, although the weight of the blower does create drag which is why my tires are filled. Snow is extremely abrasive and provides great traction. When you ski, the snow melts under ski and it becomes slippery. You might get some of this kind of action with wet heavy snow, but I haven't experienced that problem. Moral of the story is that I don't have a traction problem even though I do have a modest hill. If I lived in an area with wet heavy snow and a lot of snowing and thawing and ice formation and hills, it might be different. I could imagine it might be like that in WV, so you might even need chains.

 

[leonz]

With regard to the selection of rear tires, wheel weights, loaded tires and or snow and mud chains-

The first thing you have to be sure of is what type of rear tire rim you have:

The formed/rolled steel rims will deform and no longer be true as the wheel weights wil be placing additional pressure agains the rolled steel rims where the cast steel rims will not deform in any case. The rolled steel rims are thinner than the cast steel rims. The reinforcing ridges in a rolled/pressed rim add some structural strength but not much-one of our Canadian members dealt with this for months because he had wheel weights and rolled rear rims and loaded tires used for farm service and his Kubota developed a severe case of the hoppsies where the rims went out of round because of the rolled/welded rear rims.

If you have no adhesion you cannot obtain traction, if you have no traction adhesion is not possible for the prime mover/tractor

The amount of useable adhesion is directly a result of the available tread exposed to the ground,this includes the addition of snow/mud chains.

If the tires are loaded with windshield washer fluid the rims will not corrode and damage to the tire and rim will not occur.

The addition of chains reduces the chance of spinning to a minimum and offers immediate traction and adhesion because of the cross chains and
the carbide lugs if so equiped.

The two lug chains give you better riding characteristics than 4 link chains as the cross chains are closer together prevent the typical bounce and aiding in tractive effort with little effort on the part of the tractor. The diamond cross link chains are also very good and or better in available traction for the rear tires whether an Ag R-1 or Construction R-4 tire.

Adding chains to loaded tires reduces any slippage to a minimum for the tractor unless the load is so great it cannot be moved with forward travel of the prime mover and the plow attachment if used.

 

[RFB]

I plow and blow miles.

Trial and error on a L5030, and now on both a B3000 with a front blower and a 5740 with Curtis 7.5 snowplow/Loftness 841S rear blower has resulted in the following setup:

Tires/Wheels set to the widest possible position.

Chains (H on back and front) on R1 tires. (Michelin R1W type in front.)

Rim Guard (loaded tires) in the rears. I do not use calcium chloride so as to prevent corrosion issues. I also have added 600 lbs of rear wheel weights (since plowing does require more traction)

Weight and chains equal traction, and I have used both R4's and R1's; in my experience the R1's with chains (all 4 wheels) are superior in almost all fashions for traction. I never get down to road surface until spring so I am usually plowing on hard-packed snow and ice.

If I lose traction in the front, a wild swing of the front end could result in rolling over a steep drop-off into a deep pond, or a steep drop off and overturning the tractor. The front chains provide lateral traction to prevent those issues. You may not need that since you are not plowing.

 

[tcreeley]

I have no snow experience,

but in my opinion loaded tires are better than wheel weights, you are getting weight closer to the ground, which is the goal

it might just be a matter of personal preference

Much better! My tires are loaded- I don't use wheel weights or chains to get around in the snow.

 

[Jay4200]

at this point (after yesterdays tractor shopping)
I'm leaning toward the Kubota L4240 with a cab
options and attachments, undecided
mostly likely the front mount blower,

Going the "price is no object' route, eh? Good for you - I wish I had an L4240 cab tractor.

If you want to see something that is REALLY cool for a snowblower rig, check out this loader-arm mounted blower - has to be the coolest system ever.

73" 2010 Snowblower w/HP24 Hydraulic Power Unit for Compact Tractor : Erskine Attachments, Inc.

JayC

 

[Catfish Man]

price is always an object,
I might be headed in a different direction
I found a deal on a different color tractor that might be to good to pass up

doing my research on that model now

 

[wildwillie]

Any thing works and Mama likes is a good choice.We picked out our Kubota together. A good service department may really pay off.Especially if it's close and you are not.