Rear wheel spacers

[Raines]

Is rear wheel spacers recommended on the gc series? I would like to use chains this winter and it looks like you need to use wheel spacers to do it. So since I do not have nor plan on having a mmm, I thought about getting some 3 inch spacers.
I guess I am wondering if that will screw up my 4 foot equipment (tiller, box blade) as far as making my rear footprint larger than 4 foot. And didnt even know where or what brand to buy if I did decide to.

 

[JWR]

I bought and installed 6" spacers on each side of one of my B2150 Kubotas. Bora brand. Never any problem. Precision manufacturing and lots of foresight in fitting and mating to the tractor. Not sure about your GC as I do not own one. I think you should be able to take measurements and use your own judgement. Spacers will definitely make your GC more stable on hillside work. The question is how wide do you need in order to clear your chains? You might consider just using chains on the front and not the back if that might be adequate. Certainly cheaper and easier. Something you could try with little investment and no side effects to worry about.

 

[kenmbz]

I have 2" on either side and no problems.
Need a good bolt set and to buy the right one.
If not sure, pay a bit more and I think Bro-tek has them.
Make sure they are torqued correctly.

 

[Raines]

I have 2" on either side and no problems.
Need a good bolt set and to buy the right one.
If not sure, pay a bit more and I think Bro-tek has them.
Make sure they are torqued correctly.

Ok, so with the 2 inch spacers you did not have any issues with your 4 foot implements? If that is the case I might just go with them. Thanks , I will look up brotek and see what they have

 

[Raines]

I bought and installed 6" spacers on each side of one of my B2150 Kubotas. Bora brand. Never any problem. Precision manufacturing and lots of foresight in fitting and mating to the tractor. Not sure about your GC as I do not own one. I think you should be able to take measurements and use your own judgement. Spacers will definitely make your GC more stable on hillside work. The question is how wide do you need in order to clear your chains? You might consider just using chains on the front and not the back if that might be adequate. Certainly cheaper and easier. Something you could try with little investment and no side effects to worry about.

Well I read that I needed 1.5 inch spacers for enough clearance I think for chains on the rear. Front only chains could be a good option for first winter just to see how it does though. Thanks, I had not thought about that

 

[WranglerX]

I have a GC 1715 and I put BRO-TECH 3 inch spacers on each side, Its is surprising how much more stability it made tractor specially on "side hill" work.... I would recommend them in an instant for stability and for more clearance for chains....

Bro-Tek

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[hube2]

Up to you, but front chains are not recommended on GCs. Some do but I prefer not to take the risk.

Below is a picture of the chain clearance on the left (driver's side) rear wheel of my GC without spacers. You definitely need spacers if you want to run chains. If you are only worried about chain clearance you can go less than 3" and have plenty of room for chains if you put them on tight. I put the 2" spacers on mine for stability, I would have gone with 3" but I use the MMM.

 

[Figure99]

I’d also recommend Bro-tek spacers… I have the 2” aluminum ones, immediately noticed better side stability on hills. I would have considered 3” spacers, but at the time I was using the MMM. I’m in the woods all the time with the tractor and at times navigating through narrow spaces between trees, so no dire need to replace them with longer spacers.

At the end of the day if chains are your only priority, you don’t use the MMM, and aren’t often going through narrow spaces - 3” spacers may be your best option. My rear track width is about 50” with 2” spacers, so if that’s a concern of yours go with 2” spacers.

 

[JWR]

hube2 : Who recommends against front chains? Why ? Unless there is a clearance problem I cannot think of any valid reason not to use them.

The OP has a good plan in mind of trying out the circumstance of having only front chains for a season in his area and his snows. See how it goes and go from there. Makes sense to me. I am still doing that myself [in the mountains of WV] and by luck of the seasons I have yet to even put on the front chains but I have them for my Kubota B2150 if needed. I switched to AG tread tires a few years back (by trading tractors, swapping tires, etc) and have yet to need chains when using a 5ft snowblower and a FEL in some pretty deep and worse yet packed snow. His Indiana location is not particularly noted for unusual snowfall is it?

 

[Raines]

No we normally do not get a lot of snowfall. Usually just 2 or 3 decent snowfalls each winter but can get pretty cold so sometimes that snow sticks around for awhile. You never know what you are going to get with Southern Indiana weather. Each winter it can be 0 degrees with snow packed in or 50 degrees and sunny or 32 degrees and ice everywhere, lol. So who knows what this year will bring.

 

[kenmbz]

I push a 7' angled blade through snow without any chains, got a few feet last year. Was more a worry of where to put the snow.
Chains would make the job faster, but with R4 I get reasonable traction and the driveway is not too steep.
I need to watch where it does have a slope across the driveway to make sure I don't go a bit sideways while pushing.

 

[hube2]

hube2 : Who recommends against front chains? Why ? Unless there is a clearance problem I cannot think of any valid reason not to use them.

My dealer, who's opinion I trust, and others as well. The front wheels when in 4WD are designed to turn faster than the rears and they are supposed to be able to slip a bit. This is why you're not supposed to be in 4WD on hard surfaces. Chains on the front will prevent the wheels from slipping just like when driving on pavement. This puts excessive stress on the front axle and can lead to failure.

As I said, some people use chains on the front, they are comfortable taking the risk. I am not.

 

[hube2]

Going back to the spacers, my dealer did not really recommend I use those either. But the service manager knows where I live and agreed that I really needed to have chains. There is a very small chance that the wheel spacers could reduce the life of my rear wheel bearings by a couple of years. But between the added stability on my hills and needing the chains this is a risk that I'm willing to take, especially since I have never read anything that leads me to believe that wheel spacers significantly reduce bearing life, only speculation that it could.

 

[JWR]

I do not buy "excessive stress on the front axle" due to chains nor the wheel bearing life reduction due to spacers either one. Kubota dealers sell spacers and approves them for use. There are thousands in use. I doubt that you can find a single case of premature front axle failure due to chains, esp. chains used in snow and ice. It is a judgement call and your pocketbook, not mine.

 

[LostMy65]

I ended up buying these.
SCITOO 2X 2 inch 5x114.3mm 5 Lug Wheel Spacers Adapters 5x4.5 to 5x4.5 1/2"x20 82.5mm CB fit for Ranger Mustang Explorer for Je-ep Grand for Cherokee https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HGDW4LQ/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_FYTS947ST8DZ1E6NSYWZ

 

[LostMy65]

Got them installed.

 

[PILOON]

I've tried in vain to obtain spacers for my narrow CUT.

From my parts manual I know my rims are W8X18 rims but so far all those that I've contacted claim to not have the specs. Is there not standard spec documents out there like SAE that exists for most vehicles?
While I can measure, I'd not trust my accuracy enough to do so, nor do I wish to ship a rim 1/2 way across the country. Heck that would cost as much as spacers would.

 

[Dmacleo]

Got them installed.
View attachment 716928

any issues with massey using lug bolts instead of lug nuts?

 

[truenorth]

I'm in Canada and we get a lot of snow. Look at the picture and you'll get the idea. I now use chains on all four wheels and I have 4 inch spacers. Works well for me.

 

[truenorth]

Dave M., I ended up drilling out the wheel flange bolt holes and used bolts and nuts to hold the spacers on. The spacers loosened up and tore the threads out, so that was the best solution. Worked for years now.