Snow chains on yet?

[Boscoe]

My BX25 has little fender clearance to make rear tire chain installation easy. So with the back hoe stabilizer arms down the rear of the tractor is raised, the rear wheels taken off and the chains put on without scraped knuckles. The front chains go on by putting down pressure on the bucket so the wheels and tires off the ground. Don't have to take the front wheels off as there are no fenders to pinch fingers under. I use 4 side link chains with industrial tires. There is enough grab with the chains in 4wd to get through the snow fine. My Deere GX335 has a front blade and rear two side link chains. In heavy snow the Deere makes a furrow and the Kubota then removes it with the front bucket. The BXspanded light set is perfect for night time snow removal with the BX25. Merry Christmas One and All!

 

[billvillage66]

Chains on this morning. Had to plow about 12" of snow. Of course it was 2 feet deep some places because of high winds, too. Old 8N ford works well with the a big back blade. I live in the snow belt of Northwest, PA.

 

[Nieuwsma]

Just mounted the front chains on my Kubota B7510 today. I modified an old set of truck chains. Haven't put on the rear set yet. I could get by without chains, if it weren't for our hills. We haven't had much snow yet, but it will come.

 

[thelanterns]

I have never used chains on my Kubota BX 2350. The tires have always held their grip enough to do the job. The fronts could use a little extra weight though, as they tend to slip some when trying to turn in the snow/ice. Not sure of the best way to do that...chains, weights or filled.

 

[wildwillie]

Ive put it off as long as possible but the wet snow really doe's steer me around.I wish the ground would freeze.I use cut down semi truck chaines for the rear industrials.tight fit but I had them. Any body use wheel spacers?

 

[gatekeeper]

I have never used chains have weights on the rimbs loaded the tires 4wd I am good to go. Going to put the power rear blade and front mounted blower on today. Usually spend 3 - 4 hrs on the blower when it snows here. Have a Merry Christmas all, yes i did say Christmas from Canada

 

[vtsnowedin]

Got to use mine today. 9 degrees F at dawn with 4" to 6 " of new snow over ice from the last rain. Cold start system on 5045E works great and the chains are working great.

 

[hillbilly rick]

I have not put them on yet, but that is coming soon. We had 6 fluffy inches and I thought it would be a good test without the chains. I spun a little going up my driveway when the front blade dug down enough to get some resistance. My driveway is fairly steep. That tells me that I need chains when the real stuff gets here.

 

[Chilly807]

Put mine on yesterday afternoon. I found the easiest way is to jack up one rear wheel, rope through side links and the wheel, then just roll 'em on. Took me about a half hour from start to finish.

Sean

 

[WilliamBos]

I don't see any need to jack up a tractor to put chains on it. Just drape them over the wheel, bungee cord or tie the front lose end to the rim and drive forward. Hook them up then drive them forward and back a few times and see if you can get another link tighter. Just my :2cents:

By Jacking it up, you can tighten them up right away. Saves so much time. Jack it up on level ground under the drawbar mount. no heated shop here.

 

[Chilly807]

Mine are pretty loose anyway, the boomer goes through the same link every year. As the tires wear down I'll eventually have to go a link or two shorter.

Sean

 

[crazyal]

I put the chains on last weekend, glad I did. Had a tree get blown down across the driveway when I got home from work. Sucks dealing with them in the rain. One quick cut with the chainsaw and I dragged it up the driveway to a place it'll sit until I cut it up for firewood in the spring.

I've never run springs or tensioners on my chains. Just jack the tires up using the fel frame and put them on. That's as tight as they get, never had a problem.

 

[vtsnowedin]

By Jacking it up, you can tighten them up right away. Saves so much time. Jack it up on level ground under the drawbar mount. no heated shop here.

I hear you but over the years I have had more then one jack kick out on me and those events were always dangerous but thankfully never squashed anybody. I have a shortage of level ground and even less that will support a jack uniformly under load. All it takes is the ground on one side of the jack to be weaker then the other for the jack to tip and kick out just as you are getting close to high enough to get the job done. Jacking from anything less then a level concrete firm floor is a hazard that if I can avoid it by simply driving onto the chains I will avoid.

 

[dave1949]

I have the same problem with the fender clearance and I think the ag tires make it harder. (NH Boomer 35hp) Some people tell me they jack up the tractor so the wheel is off the ground but I don't have a jack that tall. It's a process. I've got all four side links tight but still need to connect the links in the middle over the tread.
Any tips or tricks out there?

I connect the end-to-end links over the treads first, then cinch up the sides.

 

[whistlepig]

If you are trying to pull them tight before connecting you can use a nylon ratchet strap.

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

I put the chains (2 link ladder on loaded turfs) on a week or a little more ago.
Had about 6" of snow to move and could have done it without chains, but decided to do it then while the temp was 30* instead of 0* like it is now.

To those worried about asphalt drives, I have left no marks on what little asphalt I have had to work on.
But like said my turfs are loaded, so I think that helps a lot.

Good luck

 

[Chilly807]

I hear you but over the years I have had more then one jack kick out on me and those events were always dangerous but thankfully never squashed anybody. I have a shortage of level ground and even less that will support a jack uniformly under load. All it takes is the ground on one side of the jack to be weaker then the other for the jack to tip and kick out just as you are getting close to high enough to get the job done. Jacking from anything less then a level concrete firm floor is a hazard that if I can avoid it by simply driving onto the chains I will avoid.

If I have to jack outside I always put a block of at least 2x6 or bigger material under the jack to distribute the weight over a larger area. I use a bottle jack for the tractor, my trolley jack doesn't lift high enough.

Sean

 

[WilliamBos]

If I have to jack outside I always put a block of at least 2x6 or bigger material under the jack to distribute the weight over a larger area. I use a bottle jack for the tractor, my trolley jack doesn't lift high enough.

Sean

I agree. I do not jack up in the mud anyway, but the jack is supported. Also, I never mentioned laying under the tractor. Block the front wheels, put it in neutral, hook the outer chains first, then roll it so you can hook the inner chains while standing by the three point hitch.

Not rocket science.

 

[Green Acres Homestead]

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.

 

[vtsnowedin]

If I have to jack outside I always put a block of at least 2x6 or bigger material under the jack to distribute the weight over a larger area. I use a bottle jack for the tractor, my trolley jack doesn't lift high enough.

Sean

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.