Tire chains for the tractor

[Alan7s]

I didn't get much help last time I asked about this so maybe didn't give enough information. We live on the side of a hill, gentle slopes, not steep but not flat. Tractor is 2 wheel drive (T5C). With the deep snow this winter, I'm wondering about carving out a road from the house down to the firewood stacks in the back. Someone said that chains on the rear tires only provide traction to move forward, but the front can't steer so it just slides into the drift. Question is if chains on the front make a significant difference or without 4 wheel drive just forget it.

The other question would be whether it is practical to make a cut through snow anyway because unlike the back hoe that can swing to the side and dump, the loader only goes up and down, so where do you put what you pick up? By the way, we're talking 2 - 3 feet of snow; not Buffalo ;-). I'm sure this is obvious to the experienced, but don't want to put money into a useless idea. I have moved a lot of snow this winter, and the machine is great, but it has all been done sitting on a fairly level paved driveway. Once I start down the hill, I'd want to know I'd be coming back!

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[Terrasteve]

Chains will give you traction in both forward and reverse. Chains on the front will help to keep the front from sliding somewhat. The problem that you will have is trying to back up a hill with the front bucket loaded. The weight in the front along with the uphill angle will greatly reduce the traction of the rear tires even with chains. I suspect you will just sit there and spin. If you get a full scoop of dirt in the backhoe and extend the backhoe arm straight back some, that will put more weight on the rear tires and help with traction. Depending on the uphill angle, that still might not be enough to get adequate traction.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

Also to be considered is using the split brakes for steering. Works equally well on either 2 or 4 WD.

I agree that coming back up the hill would be your biggest concern. A week ago I was skiddig some firewood logs out of a hollow and only had a 6' rise to get back onto the field and ended up having to help push myself back up with the bucket and use a longer chain from the flat to pull them. No chains on the tractor but 4wd

 

[MH8675309]

Get the chains. Mines a 2 wheel drive but with the differential lock on you'd be surprised the traction you get - backing up or going forward.

 

[rekees4300]

Thanks for any thoughts.

You have to be careful. Going up and down unpaved hills is a whole different ballgame than a level paved driveway. On bare ground that is frozen underneath and thawed on top gravity becomes the boss. Could your firewood stacks be moved closer to the house when you make them? If not then building a gravel road to them may be the answer. I have front v-bar chains (with 4WD) and they do reduce sideways movement from front blade but my driveway is gravel and I also have rear chains. IMO front chains only on a 2WD tractor would be a waste of money if your objective is to get up and down hills. Perhaps a better investment would be a snowblower? How far is it from your house to the stacks and how steep is it?

 

[Alan7s]

You have to be careful. Going up and down unpaved hills is a whole different ballgame than a level paved driveway. On bare ground that is frozen underneath and thawed on top gravity becomes the boss. Could your firewood stacks be moved closer to the house when you make them? If not then building a gravel road to them may be the answer. I have front v-bar chains (with 4WD) and they do reduce sideways movement from front blade but my driveway is gravel and I also have rear chains. IMO front chains only on a 2WD tractor would be a waste of money if your objective is to get up and down hills. Perhaps a better investment would be a snowblower? How far is it from your house to the stacks and how steep is it?

Tractor stores in the garage and would need to go down a short (20') moderate slope to get to the back yard which is grass. The run between the wood stacks and the cellar window where I chute the wood in is about 20 yards but all lawn, and a gentle grade down to them. Can't bring the stacks closer as I don't want to give up the garden between them and the house. I would definitely consider either chains on all 4 or no chains; not front only. Terrasteve makes a good point about starting down a grade with a bucket load and then trying to back up to dump it someplace. Yes, I have considered a snow blower but storing it outside is NG - everything is drifted white around here now, and I'm unwilling to take the tractor out of the small one car garage. It's not sounding like chains are going to solve the problem of lot's of snow. Hopefully spring will come and that will help us all. But if we're in for more winters like this, I need to make some plans . . .

 

[k0ua]

Chains on the rear tires will help a lot even in 2WD, and the backhoe on the back will help too for ballast. I don't know if your tractor has independent brakes, but in the ice and snow I need them a lot to help steer with especially when I am cleaning my driveway (just came in from doing that very thing) to keep a straight line as it is very steep. You may just have to try them and see.

 

[parluskq]

What kind of tires do you have in the back? have you ever thought about filling them with fluid?

 

[Alan7s]

What kind of tires do you have in the back? have you ever thought about filling them with fluid?

No, don't have individual brakes; in fact mine doesn't have any brakes at all. If you take your foot off the gas, it stops pretty quick.
I think it's due to hydrostatic transmission. Filling tires with water? Didn't know you could do that. Would you use antifreeze to keep
them from freezing solid? Interesting idea for sure.

By the way, because of the angle of driving surfaces - whether sloped or level, the bucket rarely touches down evenly, so when a
track was dug out, we'd still be looking at 2 - 4" of snow on the finished road. I can see where rear chains would be great for going along that ,
but on a slope with an angle trying to go uphill - either forward or in reverse - that seems to be the question. Filled tires does sound
interesting. I assume that's something I could do myself?

 

[parluskq]

Yeah you either mix anti-freeze with the water or just use windshield washer fluid that is designed for cold weather. You can buy the valve to fill them at tractor supply. There are several different ways to fill them, I used a sump pump. You may check with you local tire store, most have the ability to fill tires and don't charge much to do it.

 

[Efis]

Sorry for the late reply. I have an allmand 35d, similar design to terramite. Just bought it in November so I am new to it. I got it for summertime business but have been testing it out this winter moving snow. I have been impressed by how well it does especially for 2wd. I think the relatively large amount of weight over the rear wheels and the limited slip axel helps it to perform quite well in snow. It is the largest model of the 2wds and weighs close to 5000#. I played around with it in the yard building sledding ramps for the kids with and with out chains in a couple feet of snow never felt close to being stuck. Moderate slopes but mostly had advantage of going up. I do have 5 gallon bucket of gravel in rear bucket for extra weight. The chains Definitely help a lot. Mine are left over from past vehicles, the rear are regular 4 link ladders so on the less aggressive side. I believe I bought them off the shelf at Walmart. The fronts have lighter weight ladder style chains with lugs and they definately help with steering more so on slick packed surface than deep loose. I think a different pattern than ladders would help on the front. Sometimes in loose slow and not enough weight on the front tires the chains will work like a sled runner and steer in the opposite direction. Maybe a diamond pattern would help, I ve thought of attaching chain running around the circumference to act like a ribbed tire. Hard to say if its doable without knowing exactly what all the variables are in your situation. One nice thing about a tlb is you can get yourself out of a lot of situations with the hoe and loader. Sounds like it would be fun to find out. Do you have a way to tow it out if need be? Hope this helps.

 

[Alan7s]

Sorry for the late reply. I have an allmand 35d, similar design to terramite. Just bought it in November so I am new to it. I got it for summertime business but have been testing it out this winter moving snow. I have been impressed by how well it does especially for 2wd. I think the relatively large amount of weight over the rear wheels and the limited slip axel helps it to perform quite well in snow. It is the largest model of the 2wds and weighs close to 5000#. I played around with it in the yard building sledding ramps for the kids with and with out chains in a couple feet of snow never felt close to being stuck. Moderate slopes but mostly had advantage of going up. I do have 5 gallon bucket of gravel in rear bucket for extra weight. The chains Definitely help a lot. Mine are left over from past vehicles, the rear are regular 4 link ladders so on the less aggressive side. I believe I bought them off the shelf at Walmart. The fronts have lighter weight ladder style chains with lugs and they definately help with steering more so on slick packed surface than deep loose. I think a different pattern than ladders would help on the front. Sometimes in loose slow and not enough weight on the front tires the chains will work like a sled runner and steer in the opposite direction. Maybe a diamond pattern would help, I ve thought of attaching chain running around the circumference to act like a ribbed tire. Hard to say if its doable without knowing exactly what all the variables are in your situation. One nice thing about a tlb is you can get yourself out of a lot of situations with the hoe and loader. Sounds like it would be fun to find out. Do you have a way to tow it out if need be? Hope this helps.

Hi Efis Thanks for the good thoughts; I think you may have something there; I do have some chains and can rig them up for a test and just see what they do. Yes, I do have a '58 Willys Jeep with 4WD that has lug tires and could pull the tractor out if a problem developed. I think the weight on mine is 3000# so smaller than yours, but if the snow is packed could still maybe get traction with chains. Opening a road down to the woods in the fall, and then keeping at it every time some snow came would definitely work. Trouble is, in recent years we get these 3 foot blown in drifts and you feel like you've lost it in one night.

Imagine a 4' wide gas powered snow blower that would attach in place of the loader bucket? You'd just point it where you wanted to go, and move ahead. . .

 

[slow84ta]

I personally used Terra Grips, Rubber chains. They do not tear up your yard and work well. I use them with my tractor for plowing snow. They don't come in many sizes though. Amazon.com: Terragrips Tire Chains 20x9-8, 20x10-8 Std, 20x10x10: Patio, Lawn & Garden

 

[vtsnowedin]

If you have a loader on the front you should have the rear tires loaded with "Rimguard" beet juice. It weights as much as the old calcium chloride solutions without the corrosion problems. And good chains will dramatically improve your traction both forward and reverse. Also a bucket of snow doesn't weigh enough to matter if you have chains on and loaded tires (Or a proper counter weight on the three point hitch or even better both). If the snow is deep as it is now you will have to load it out one bucket at a time so that your never driving in more then a foot of loose snow. You can back out with each bucket to a pile or turn to the high side and dump them off there. Now if you have a back hoe on as some seem to think you do and you get stuck you ought to be able to fire up the hoe and paw your way back out.

 

[Efis]

That willys needs a plow. A blower would be pretty slick.

 

[Alan7s]

If you have a loader on the front you should have the rear tires loaded with "Rimguard" beet juice. It weights as much as the old calcium chloride solutions without the corrosion problems. And good chains will dramatically improve your traction both forward and reverse. Also a bucket of snow doesn't weigh enough to matter if you have chains on and loaded tires (Or a proper counter weight on the three point hitch or even better both). If the snow is deep as it is now you will have to load it out one bucket at a time so that your never driving in more then a foot of loose snow. You can back out with each bucket to a pile or turn to the high side and dump them off there. Now if you have a back hoe on as some seem to think you do and you get stuck you ought to be able to fire up the hoe and paw your way back out.

vtsnowedin; thanks for what you wrote; now that's something I can get ahold of and consider spending a few bucks to make happen. Yes, I have a backhoe; would that count as a counter weight or would I also need to put a big rock in the hoe and extend it a bit. Beet juice? You're kidding . . .Must not be the vegetable; I'm terribly allergic to beets. Maybe water and antifreeze could do OK.

 

[Alan7s]

The Willys has a plow but it's the old fashioned up-down, no angle, so I've learned the hard way that in deep snow pushing straight ahead you make a mountain you can neither escape from nor move away. Couple years ago, I had a pile 8' high between the Jeep and the road. Had to borrow my neighbor's snow blower and chew away at pieces knocked down with a shovel to break free. Pretty embarrassing. Now with the Terramite, that shouldn't happen again.

 

[vtsnowedin]

vtsnowedin; thanks for what you wrote; now that's something I can get ahold of and consider spending a few bucks to make happen. Yes, I have a backhoe; would that count as a counter weight or would I also need to put a big rock in the hoe and extend it a bit. Beet juice? You're kidding . . .Must not be the vegetable; I'm terribly allergic to beets. Maybe water and antifreeze could do OK.

A backhoe is certainly heavy enough but a bit gomming . A barrel of concrete or a ballast box is neater and easier to see around. The beet juice is a byproduct of sugar beet sugar refining. Think molasses or syrup. It weighs 10.7 lb.s per gallon and water and antifreeze solutions weigh 8.3 lbs. / gallon. Google search "Rimguard" and you'll find their site with more info.

Here is a link to the tire fill chart.
http://www.rimguard.biz/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Hydro-Flation-tables-2014-PDF.pdf