Traction bars versus chains versus siping

[Aussiebushman]

After partly hijacking another thread some time ago, it seemed best to start another one dealing with how to get better traction on my Ford 6000 in the bush and on rough dirt roads. The tyres are well worn - maybe 20% tread left and although forward traction was sortof OK, reverse was a constant problem because the wheels just slipped causing some interesting situations, to put it mildly. Because the tractor is used almost exclusively for scraping the bush roads and tidying up areas of scrub, the cost of $3 grand for new tyres could not be justified.

The info about siping on this forum was very useful but the technique doesn't seem to work on these surfaces. An alternative was chains and that might well have worked but since the tractor stays in the bush and will not damage the public roads, there was nothing to lose by going all the way to traction bars chained around the tyres.

The bars themselves were made from old star pickets, bent to the shape of the tyre using a simple jig and the weight of the front dozer blade for the downward bending force. For the first wheel, I welded angle brackets to each end with holes drilled in the brackets to shackle to the chains. When it came to working on the second wheel, just bending each end seemed simpler, though the metal is so soft, it tended to tear at the bend, so each bend was reinforced with some weld - seems OK

Getting the bars onto the chains was reasonably easy by draping the chains over the tyre and using shackles to attach each bar The spacing on the first wheel (the right hand side in the picture) is a bit rough and needs adjusting. The second wheel was a lot easier with shackles at the 12th link. The ends of each chain were pulled together and tension was applied by a couple of chains across the tyre wherever it seems necessary.

The result is good - plenty of traction, no side slip and best of all - a total cost of about $90 for chain and shackles. In one picture, you will see the tractor-driver's boss - Jenna, sitting proudly next to the wheel. If I had followed her instructions in the first place, the job would have been far easier

 

[muddstopper]

Interesting way to gain traction. I have a buddy that keeps a bunch of long ziptie straps in his car. When it snows or ices up, he will slip a couple around the drive tires and claims it works a well as chains.

 

[boggen]

nice job there aussieman! any issues, of having like "box wheels" were rear of tractor is bouncing up and down as they go over the traction bars?
be careful for airing up or removing air from tires!!, the tires look a bit dry rotted. one day all fine, and just hooking up or checking air pressure and BOOM! bye bye you :/ see about getting a "clamp one tire nipple" for the tires, with a 1/4 valve, that has a few feet of hose between nipple and valve. so when ya start putting air into tire, your body is not in the way of a possible tire explosion.

double check around, some name brand tires around me cost 2 to 4 times as much as non name brand tires.
keep an eye out with local dealers, here in US, there some sort of law that goes along the lines of... you can not re-use / re-sell a tire, even if tractor just came from manufactures factory, and not even 1/2 mile on tires. and the end user / buyer wants a different type of tire, someone takes a hit on the original tires. here i think they need to be re-inspected or some such for re-sale. there is only a few places that i was able to find here in US, that re-sold these tires at a descent discount. they only reason for not getting them. is some of the tires they showed on there website, actually looked like more used tires vs actual new tires. and without actual showing up in person and looking at tires... i walked away.

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zip ties *rubs chin* hhmmsss i got a couple packages in the shed... i could see them being quick and easy and in-expensive, to get my rear unstuck. and then a pair of pliers or like to pull them off. sure beats having a couple 60lbs roll of sand bags in the back. with a shovel... trying to grab traction on slick snotted ice/snow.... then again i may end up digging myself deeper *ughs*

 

[Aussiebushman]

Thanks for your comments

There is no problem with "boxing" because the the bars cut into the ground pretty well -chews up the bush tracks a bit but that is better than slipping.

Other than one puncture (repaired with an inner tube) I've never had to add air to the rear tyres. Australia wasn't a penal colony for nothing and the robbing bastards in the trade have learned the lesson well. Even the cheapest tyres in this size are over a grand each. Sure there are second hand ones occasionally, but the cost of getting them here is prohibitive. Most this size are off earth moving rigs up to a couple of thousand miles away