Snow chains on yet?

[Chilly807]

Some of my bad jacking experience was in freeing stuck vehicles and changing flat tires. Both of these you don't get to choose what ground to jack up from or what tools or blocking you have at hand or can use. I'm older and more patent now and will wait until I can get the right cribbing and jack and do it right. But of course today I don't get stuck anywhere near as often as I used to and the tires I'm running seldom go flat.

I hear what you're saying. It's kind of funny that once we know better we really don't get much chance to put that knowledge to use because our life situation has evolved.

Sean

 

[gaheadrick]

Having been given several conflicting suggestions, to use or not to use chains, I decided to research chains to determine if they were essential or not. I decided chains were in order since I have a steep driveway even though I had been told I did not need them because I had 4WD, juiced tires, front blower and rear blade. Well, I purchased 2 link chains for both front and rear tires which was definitely more expensive than 4 link. The added chain coverage of the 2 link chains place more chain on the ground for traction and provides a more comfortable ride. I chose the twisted link chain as it is easier on my asphalt drive surface yet provides excellent traction. At the first wet snow, just to determine the need, I attempted to clear the drive without chains... a clear mistake, as I slipped and slid with almost no control nor removal efficiency, and it was a clear safety issue. I then chained up, snugged up, wired loose ends and cut excess chain from the inside of the tire to clear the 3 pt. frame...and all is good. Now, I have complete control, and can go almost anywhere with confidence, less effort and proper safety. Deep wet slippery snow and ice, especially on a slope can very dangerous. I highly suggest, investing in the safety and peace of mind of good chains for all wheels. After researching for best price, including tax and shipping, I purchased mine at Tire Chains by TireChains.com. Wishing all safe snow blowing and plowing!

 

[Don87]

I use a L4740. Never thought I would need chains for snow removal until the other day a person approached me to do their driveway as i was fuelling up. Man was the upper part steep. They had the upper part shovelled and I slipped and slid my way to do the lower part. Chains required but it would take 1/2 hour or so to put them on. Bad business to be doing snow removal on a steep and slanted icy driveway without chains. Wasn't sure where I was going to land.

Before I purchased my Massey, my neighbor ended up in the middle of the highway while clearing my driveway and his, using a Yanmar backhoe with R4's and MFWD. Kinda steep here also, LOL

 

[gaheadrick]

Well...the good news was that no one was hurt in those incidents, yet lesson learned! I have also been told and have used the suggestion that, if you start to loose control on the slope, just drop your blower, bucket or blade. Good rule of thumb, but if you are on ice you may loose control anyway. Yeah, chains for safety baby!

 

[vtsnowedin]

I got seven hours of seat time today clearing a foot of snow. My chains work great and the soft cab takes all the discomfort out of working in a storm even without a heater. I need a better blade either front or back. The bucket or my neighbors seven foot box blade (He is letting me use it while he and his tractor are away) work but are way too slow. Another neighbor has a mid sized Kubota with a front blade attached to her bucket that works well but she doesn't have the rear tires loaded and is afraid to plow the main hill between my house and hers. I'm thinking an eight foot back blade that can be offset or an eight and a half foot front blade coupled to my third function valve for the power angle.

 

[gaheadrick]

With the deep snow you are working with a bucket or box blade can take a lot longer than a blower a good blade. If you have a lot of room to push snow out of the way a front blade should work well for you. I chose to use a front mounted blower because I don't have the room and need the blower to get it up and out of the way. Balance is very helpful weighting front and back of the tractor, especially when working on sloping drives. With use of a front blade, adding rear tire ballast would be a good move, or add weights to the 3 point. In my case, I use a rear blade with some added weight, ballast in the rear tires(and 2 link chains) to counter balance the front blower. I can clear 600 feet of drive, some of it quite steep, in less than an hour, more time if its wet and icy. The rear blade allows me to move the compact ice provided by the county snow plow, and it allows me to clear the surface layer off the asphalt part of my drive. Also, the balanced weight adds to safety, good traction and more confident handling, especially on steep terrain.

 

[vtsnowedin]

With the deep snow you are working with a bucket or box blade can take a lot longer than a blower a good blade. If you have a lot of room to push snow out of the way a front blade should work well for you. I chose to use a front mounted blower because I don't have the room and need the blower to get it up and out of the way. Balance is very helpful weighting front and back of the tractor, especially when working on sloping drives. With use of a front blade, adding rear tire ballast would be a good move, or add weights to the 3 point. In my case, I use a rear blade with some added weight, ballast in the rear tires(and 2 link chains) to counter balance the front blower. I can clear 600 feet of drive, some of it quite steep, in less than an hour, more time if its wet and icy. The rear blade allows me to move the compact ice provided by the county snow plow, and it allows me to clear the surface layer off the asphalt part of my drive. Also, the balanced weight adds to safety, good traction and more confident handling, especially on steep terrain.

MY rears have 1400 odd pounds of beet juice (Rim-guard)TM in them and the ice chains weight about 350. Add in the canopy and the soft cab the Woods 84 inch box blade and my 250 lbs. and I think I have the ballast issue pretty well covered. I have both tight places and others with room to push back and the back blade can be used to drag a blade full out of a tight place to a good place to dump it. A good front or back blade that would cast snow out beyond my eight foot wide rear track is what I need. I can always buck back between storms. I already have yesterdays foot pushed back. A seven foot JD back blade that offsets is $1100. A front setup that fits in a JD carrier might go $2K to $4K I haven't shopped for one yet. $10K for a front blower is out of the question without a winning lottery ticket. I'll probably muddle through this winter with what I have and shop around and get a better set up by next fall.

 

[Chilly807]

MY rears have 1400 odd pounds of beet juice (Rim-guard)TM in them and the ice chains weight about 350. Add in the canopy and the soft cab the Woods 84 inch box blade and my 250 lbs. and I think I have the ballast issue pretty well covered. I have both tight places and others with room to push back and the back blade can be used to drag a blade full out of a tight place to a good place to dump it. A good front or back blade that would cast snow out beyond my eight foot wide rear track is what I need. I can always buck back between storms. I already have yesterdays foot pushed back. A seven foot JD back blade that offsets is $1100. A front setup that fits in a JD carrier might go $2K to $4K I haven't shopped for one yet. $10K for a front blower is out of the question without a winning lottery ticket. I'll probably muddle through this winter with what I have and shop around and get a better set up by next fall.

Does the mouldboard on your rear blade offset independently of the frame? Mine does, although I've never done it and now with the lower anchor point for my hydraulic angle welded to the mouldboard I can't move it easily. I have the same trouble, even with the 3-point offset as far to the right as I can get it I still don't have enough blade overhang to wing the snow back as far as I'd like.

Sean

 

[vtsnowedin]

The Woods 84" box blade I have on isn't mine so I won't be doing any mods to it. The seven foot back blade I looked at last week could be offset but an eight footer would be better. Or I could just give up and set my rears back in to seven feet wide and need less blade.

 

[gaheadrick]

Hello vtsnowedin,

Sounds like you all the balance needed and you have a great plan for a front and rear blade; should work very well. Best success!

Symbion