Need Tire Chain Tensioners for Kubota BX2660

[Lumberdink]

Stopped at AutoZone, Tractor Supply, and the local surplus store with no luck. Front tires arre 18" x 8.5" with a 10 inch rim. Rear tires are 26" x 12" with a 12 inch rim according to the guy at AutoZone while he was looking into it for me. Just looking for something a little better designed than a couple of springs and a bungee cord. Thanks for any help!

 

[rScotty]

Your instincts are right. We ran chains for 30 years here in snow country & finally figured them out.

For chains that you can use all winter long instead of just to get unstuck, you need to get some pliers or chain tools .....or you can use a good vise and some leverage. The trick is to keep working on sizing your those chains - adding or subtracting links and half links - until they fit snugly when you put them on. When you finally put them on andthrow the over-center levers that lock them to the tire, most of the chain over the treads as well as against the sides of the tire should fit like a glove on a hand.

A good way to do this is first get some good tractor chains that are close to what you want and then pick up a few sets of used automotive chains for cheap to use for a supply of fittings and spare chain. Then set about making them fit.

Check around. What I'm describing here is pretty much what every rural tractor owner who uses chains seriously has done. It takes an afternoon. BTW, good chains like we are talking work in deep mud as well as snow. And they are a must if you are in a lot of loose rock or downed timber because both of those can eat up unprotected rubber tires.

Those springs and bungees you are seeing are for automobiles to get unstuck is all. They aren't for chains that you use all winter, they are just to keep the slop out of loose-fittng chains that you put on a car to get you out of a tight spot. The bungees keep automotive chains from destroying the fenders as you drive a few hundred feet to get through a drift to the road. And then you take the chains off.

rScotty

 

[grsthegreat]

Try here

Farm Tractor Tire Chains for Snow & Field Use | TireChain

Shop farm tractor tire chains for snow, ice, and mud. V-bar, ladder, and double ring styles for traction in fields and hills. Fast U.S. shipping.

tirechain.com

 

[bigtiller]

Stopped at AutoZone, Tractor Supply, and the local surplus store with no luck. Front tires arre 18" x 8.5" with a 10 inch rim. Rear tires are 26" x 12" with a 12 inch rim according to the guy at AutoZone while he was looking into it for me. Just looking for something a little better designed than a couple of springs and a bungee cord. Thanks for any help!

For your 26x12-12 tires you don't need anything special. Just jack the tractor up or remove the tire, remove the tire valve core and put the chains on tight. Center and square the chain with the tire, put the valve core back in and air them up. As it fills with air the chain will get tight.

On a 26x12-12 tire I never needed a mechanical method to keep the chains on. I never put any on the front but imagine it would work the same if you have the clearance for them.

 

[PILOON]

I DIY'd my own chain tensioners.
I had some quality HD bungee elastic material and spliced the ends to make a ring somewhat smaller than the chains.
I then simply clipped on a 1/2 doz 'S' hooks that I hook onto my tire chains. spacing them as evenly as I can eyeball.
Have been using the same sets for some 8 years now.

You could also use a 1/2 doz of those elastic hooked cords sold at just about every dollar store and just shorten to fit as needed.

 

[zoedog2012]

Baling wire works for me!

 

[LouNY]

Mine are designed to run loose,
they have jusr been put on and the side chains adjusted evenly and that's it, no binders, no straps, no playing around with the tire pressure

after they get run for a few hundred feet there will be some slack chain sitting on the ground in front of the tire.

 

[bigtiller]

Guys, his rear tires are 26x12-12. that's a garden tractor size tire.

 

[RickB]

Guys, his rear tires are 26x12-12. that's a garden tractor size tire.

Doesn't really matter. Tire chain tensioners are crutches for people that don't size and install chains properly and revenue sources for retailers.

 

[LouNY]

Then he needs the ATV style with studs, as long as the side chain come half to 2/3's of the way down the sidewalls if the chains are hooked up for an equal length on both the inside and outside they will not walk off. Chains that are too narrow and do not come down the sidewalls enough can and if connected unequally will walk off..

This would be a good style chain but they are too narrow and do not go down far enough on the sidewalls in this picture.