Snow Tire Chains on PT-425 for Snow Plowing

[Oleozz]

I just ordered a pair of 4 link road chains for the front tires of my tractor, they are R1's. The 2 link is recommended but I just couldn't see the extra cost. I have a friend who plows a lot of snow with the same setup and he said that he has no problems with the 4 link and they do well on ice.

 

[catsco]

Wow, great photos. Now I remember why I moved south from western Pennsylvania! We often used tire chains for an old cub-cadet while blowing snow. The increased traction was dramatic. ... Question: Did you put chains on all four wheels? ... or just two?

Thanks again for the thread.

I had to laugh; we moved to Colorado from SW Pennsylvania not too many years ago, and the weather there is now great!

Tire chains are on all four wheels. The post right after yours mentioned the four link rather than two link. I agree with that post, as four cross link chains are the same price as two two cross link chains.

I just finished plowing another little bit of snow, only 8 inches this time, and the tire chains make an awesome difference. Another 6" or so on the way. After the huge snows we've had recently, I might not even bother plowing the 6"-8" 'dustings'.

Mark H.

 

[MikeOConnor]

I gotta agree with all of the "pathetic" comments -- it's been reaally dry here in Wisconsin too. I think it's because I went ahead and bought that cool blade for the PT. here's a link to Marcie's blog entry -- the first couple photos show the blade coming off the truck.

Prairie Haven - Articles - Weekly Journal - Journal for December 15, 2006

I should have left the plastic wrap on -- haven't used it yet. Although I'm hopeful. It's snowing tonight. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to try it out. I sure am jealous of all that snow you got.

 

[woodlandfarms]

I gotta agree with all of the "pathetic" comments -- it's been reaally dry here in Wisconsin too. I think it's because I went ahead and bought that cool blade for the PT. here's a link to Marcie's blog entry -- the first couple photos show the blade coming off the truck.

Prairie Haven - Articles - Weekly Journal - Journal for December 15, 2006

I should have left the plastic wrap on -- haven't used it yet. Although I'm hopeful. It's snowing tonight. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to try it out. I sure am jealous of all that snow you got.

Which blade is this? Powertracs? What sort of adjustments does it have in terms of pitch and angle?

 

[MikeOConnor]

Which blade is this? Powertracs? What sort of adjustments does it have in terms of pitch and angle?

yep, that's the 84" blade. the folks on the forum helped me debate which one, but i can't find the thread. i was waffling between this one and the 96" blade. probably woulda bought the 96" but it was going to be a while before PT could get it built. i was worried that the 84" wouldn't clear the wheels, but it looks like it'll be ok (and is way cheaper). and if it turns out the wheels are a problem, i can take the outer ones off and should be good. 'speshully with these cool chains we're talking about in this thread.

the blade swivels left to right with that auxiliary hydraulic control, and up/down/curl the usual way. i got it with the little levelling wheels on the back (you can just barely see one in the first picture on Marcie's site). so my plan is to float the blade and use curl/levelling-wheels to keep the blade an inch or so off the ground. i'm hoping to avoid the "push all the gravel off the driveway while removing snow" problem that way.

the one time we've had *any* snow since i bought it i ran down the driveway to try out my new toy. it was so warm that the frost was out of the driveway. when i hit a soft spot, the little wheels sank into the mud. at that point, the blade dug a huge divot in the driveway, i wound up fully stopped with the front wheels of the tractor about 3 feet off the ground. so the lesson learned is... don't use float on a real soft driveway.

we got a nice 5-incher here last night! the driveway's frozen solid! yippee! i'll have me some fun later this morning!

 

[Sedgewood]

the one time we've had *any* snow since i bought it i ran down the driveway to try out my new toy. it was so warm that the frost was out of the driveway. when i hit a soft spot, the little wheels sank into the mud. at that point, the blade dug a huge divot in the driveway, i wound up fully stopped with the front wheels of the tractor about 3 feet off the ground. so the lesson learned is... don't use float on a real soft driveway.

we got a nice 5-incher here last night! the driveway's frozen solid! yippee! i'll have me some fun later this morning!

Mike, I'd be wary of plowing in float any time. I learned my lesson on a solid block of ice that nearly tossed me in the bushes when the seat tilted forward on impact. At least the only thing that got bent was the blade.

Also it didn't take me long to toss those silly caster wheels in the corner and put on some tried and true snow plow pucks. The difference in performance turned the blade into a serious plow. It was just impossible to regulate the plow clearance with those spongy caster wheels. The blade was either too high or digging in. Those dog-gone wheels must arrive in Tazewell by the boatload - they tend to show up all over PT's attachment lineup - and in on the blade they just don't work.

Here's a link to how I mounted the pucks.

PT-1845 Plow Blade Improvements

Still no snow this winter....
Sedgewood

 

[MossRoad]

I plow my paved driveway in float all the time with the blade riding on the asphalt. No visible markings after 5 winters. I would do it on gravel, too, but with the blade set about 1.5 to 2 inches and riding on the wheels.

Perhaps this works for me because my blade is only 60" wide and the tires can support it better than the big boys' blades.

 

[MikeOConnor]

Wow, cool post Sedgewick! Great pictures.

I will have to go kick those tires, but I think they're solid on my blade (I won't be able to do that for a couple days, I'm "in town" for a few days yet). I tried it out on some pretty rough trails and it worked out ok. Dug out and threw a couple rocks though.

Oh, for MossRoad's paved driveway -- I'm a gravel guy too. But I think it's gonna be ok. my usual approach is to plow a little high for the first few snows to build up a layer of snow and ice, and then get a little more aggressive and bring the blade closer to the driveway once I've got a couple inches of water between me and the gravel.

Then, in the spring, I drag the township's road grader behind my tractor and regrade the drive. I've attached a picture of it. It's got to be at least 250 years old.

 

[catsco]

For unpaved driveway plowing, I made an edge by cutting the sidewalls out of a tire, and stretching the tread across the blade.

The holes are in the middle of the tread; it therefore protrudes about 2-1/2" below the steel bottom of the blade.

Then, by plowing in 'float' (and using the tilt to keep the blade parallel to the ground as needed), the blade rides on the tread curled under the steel lip.

For me, this avoids tearing up the road surface (compacted road base here in Colorado). It still clears well, but doesn't damage the road.

Our driveway is about 800 feet long with several hairpin turns and pretty steep grade, so we always plow downhill.

I've plowed about 18" of our 'dry' snow with little difficulty.

25" means some pushing sideways off the road to make room for more snow, and occasionally plowing layers (8"-10" each) since the PT425 can only push so much before spinning the wheels.

Our worst snow in the last two years was a little over 5'. That required about 3 hours of work with the 4in1 to actually move the snow off the drive.

Fortunately, that only happens every 10 yrs. or so here.

18" is not uncommon, though.

I've attached a pic of the ugly, but useful blade.

When one edge gets chewed up, I just flip the tire tread over and get another few months out of the other edge.

Hope this helps. Apologies for the mess behind the tractor - sub zero temps & house under construction. Neatness disappears with those conditions. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Mark H.


Attached Images 787362-Plow Lip for TBN.JPG (92.0 KB, 101

 

[catsco]

Here's a link to an old post of mine regarding a rubber lip on the plow blade for gravel roads; I use one or two treads per season for plowing a few thousand feet on a regular basis.

I put the holes in the center of the cut out tread, then flip it over when the working edge gets too chewed up or worn enough that the metal blade can dig in.

This works really well on gravel as I can plow in full float right down to the gravel and barely disturb it, especially when the ground is frozen for the winter.

Mark H.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/power-trac/70311-need-advice-snow-plow.html#post782790