Put My Chains on Yesterday - The Easy Way

[check]

Kk maybe I will try it. I have a couple of slopes to work on that I did not get to before the snow came. My chains are deadly, but what a bucking bronco ride when I drive down the road 500 yards or so to get to the other property!

 

[John_Mc]

Kk maybe I will try it. I have a couple of slopes to work on that I did not get to before the snow came. My chains are deadly, but what a bucking bronco ride when I drive down the road 500 yards or so to get to the other property!

That's one of the reasons I gave up on the Duo Grip chains and went with the Euro-style/H style chains like what Gordon pictured.

I had Duo-Grip chains with V-bars: good forward traction and good lateral traction. However, operating at anything faster than a walk on harder surfaces (packed gravel or paved roads) made for a rough ride. When driving between properties at "transport" speeds, I thought I was going to shake the fillings out of my teeth and start losing parts off the tractor. If I were mainly operating at slow speeds or on softer ground, they would have met my needs.

I finally switched to the "Euro-style" studded chains (or H style as Gordon calls them). Excellent forward and lateral traction (significantly better than the V-bar ladder or duo-grip styles I had used previously on this tractor) and a smooth ride at any speed.

 

[Hilbilly]

I also put my "Euro" ice chains on yesterday using the same method GG uses. Sure makes things a LOT easier than trying to muscle them on. My chains are also 9mm but they are the Trygg brand. They don't ride as smoothly as I would like but still much better than the "H" pattern chains I had on before switching over. Night and day difference in traction too. I found that on steep hills the H pattern chains would slip between the cross chains. There was enough gap between the cross chains that the tires would ride on the snow for short spurts.

 

[LouNY]

Dang I guess I should get busy and get the wheel spacers on the little Kioti so I have room for the OFA's I got for the rear of it. Then I should at least get the rears on the NH 8160 also OFA's, then the Branson is saying what about me it gets Aquline Talons on the rear and TRYGG's on the front, I never pulled the Talons off the IH 574 this year. It doesn't move very far as it's primarily on the generator during the summer and fall and winter unless we get an extended outage and storm cleanup is done then the Branson gets the generator.

 

[John_Mc]

I also put my "Euro" ice chains on yesterday using the same method GG uses. Sure makes things a LOT easier than trying to muscle them on. My chains are also 9mm but they are the Trygg brand. They don't ride as smoothly as I would like but still much better than the "H" pattern chains I had on before switching over. Night and day difference in traction too. I found that on steep hills the H pattern chains would slip between the cross chains. There was enough gap between the cross chains that the tires would ride on the snow for short spurts.

Trygg does make several different styles. I suppose some of them are smoother riding than others.

Sooner or later, we're going to have to nail down the chain terminology. For Gordon, "H" means the same thing as the "Euro style". I always thought "H" was describing the Duo Grip chains.

 

[LouNY]

Trygg does make several different styles. I suppose some of them are smoother riding than others.

Sooner or later, we're going to have to nail down the chain terminology. For Gordon, "H" means the same thing as the "Euro style". I always thought "H" was describing the Duo Grip chains.

I was under the same impression.

 

[John_Mc]

Here's a few chain types:

Ladder style: available with cross chains every 2 links along the side chain, or every 4 links with or without "V-bars" for extra traction. (4-link V-bar shown)

Duo Grip: available with or without V-bars. (There is also a variation on this style which adds a ladder-type cross chain between each duo-grip pattern: improves traction and makes the ride a little bit smoother.)

Euro-style: (European Diamond Net) Usually studded (which is more aggressive than v-bars), but I have seen some with just plain chain. There are also some variations on this style, but the basic idea is that there is always a good bit of chain on the ground, and that there is chain on the tread around the entire circumference.

 

[joeyd]

I jack the rear of the tractor up in the heated garage, layout the chains behind the tractor and spin the wheels be hand, pulling the chains on as I spin the tire. Easy peasy.

Once upon a time I'd simply throw the chains on the top of the tire, but those days are long gone. I'm running double rings, they easily weigh 100#+ each.

Do you jack up one side at a time or both at the same time? I use the rope method but am always willing to learn a better way.

 

[JJT]

Do you jack up one side at a time or both at the same time? I use the rope method but am always willing to learn a better way.

I jack both tires off the ground at the same time. It takes me longer to attach my bungee cords than it takes to get the chains mounted. Easily under an hour for both chains and ~20 bungee cords per tire, (10 inside and 10 outside). I run my double ring chains tight. Loose chains slapping the fenders drives me crazy.

 

[ovrszd]

I've never quite understood the bungee cord thing. They aren't needed to keep the chain on the tire. They aren't strong enough to keep the chain in the same place on the tire.

I've only lost one chain in 35 years of use. The side link broke on the outside.

Very common on the Grader to run 100 miles per snow removal at an average speed of 18 mph with 30K lbs of weight on the four tandem tires. 2 link crossbar chains on 17.5" wide tires.