Tractor tire chain spring tensioners

[Greenmountain Farmer]

I've been putting my chains on IN THE BARN, BEFORE I NEED THEM for 35 years or more and I also say if you know how to install chains, you don't need to use a bunch of crap to keep them on. I do tie off the free links of the side strands on the inside to keep them out of the fenders.

Ours are put on in the barn also but they have been known to come off in use, you can pull a chain off when you use the split brakes

Tom in Vermont

 

[daveinnh]

Shine:
I have the tensioner tool also. I'd agree that it was a PITA the first time. The trick is to tighten the chains, drive ~100 ft. retighten and do again. i.e. 3x.

 

[Wis Bang]

My father worked for the local highway dept. They had 'double' chains across both rear wheels on 6 wheel dump trucks. They always used tensioners.

Two trucks were kept from October thru April loaded w/ salt or aggregate & plows mounted w/ chains on but parked on small wooden blocks so the chains were not 'flat spotted'...

Every night when snow was forcast, before going home, every department would chain up every dump truck & garbage truck. Highway had plows, Parks tossed snow shovels in the back [shovel all the city owned sidewalks] to get ready for the next morning...

Every set of chains had tensioners and they were used every time.

 

[CurlyDave]

...After a lot of thought on the matter, I decided to put chains on front tires only. I know a lot of people don't like that idea, but given the relatively light usage the tractor gets in the winter and the fact that almost all of my actual plowing is downhill, and more momentum driven than traction driven, I don't think it's going to put too much strain on the front drivetrain. I guess I'll find out though..

I used to think like you, but then I read about the possibility of the back breaking loose under braking and swinging around to the front of the direction of travel. The paved part of my drive that I plow has some pretty steep dropoffs to the sides of the pavement and I don't want to end up racing the tractor to the bottom with my frail old body.

 

[some zilch]

i can put the rear chains on my l4400 is about 15min/side, tensioners included. i use a 1" ratchet strap to install the 6 tensioner springs. not really rocket science, or an option as to not using them

 

[shine]

I ended up takeing the tensioners apart and useing 3 chains with springs, eliminateing the ring in the center. Works OK but if I had it to do over would have just used bungies.

 

[Bedlam]

One good bungy and make some S hooks from heavy wire or cut open some chain link singles..

 

[LiamC]

Sorry for a related tangent. I have cut down my old chains for my new tractor, works great, but have run into a clearance issue. A sheet metal seam on the inside of the fender is getting beat up by the chain attaching clasp.

The options I can think of:

Spacers on the rear wheels. (would work but also make the rig wider than my snowblower)
Let the chain beat the seam flat.(but the tractor is still shiny and new)
Loosen inside of chain, tighten outside, pulling the clamp out of range of the seam. (didn't work due to profiles of fender and tire)
Replace clasp with a 3/8 or 1/2 inch quick link.
This is where I pause and ask advice. The quick link would have a lower profile, but could be a bother to install, might break or loosen.

 

[beenthere]

Replace the clasp on the inside with just a simple hook. Adjust the length of the inside side chain so it is the correct length, and do all the take-up with the outside side chain.

If the chains are for this one tire, then they can be fitted to that tire, leaving only a couple extra links for take-up/adjustment on the outside side chain. Remove everything else. IMO

Well fitted chains need NO tensioners on the outside. They are just extra fluff, and to make up for ill-fitted chains for that tire size.

 

[JB4310]

Sorry for a related tangent. I have cut down my old chains for my new tractor, works great, but have run into a clearance issue. A sheet metal seam on the inside of the fender is getting beat up by the chain attaching clasp.

The options I can think of:

Spacers on the rear wheels. (would work but also make the rig wider than my snowblower)
Let the chain beat the seam flat.(but the tractor is still shiny and new)
Loosen inside of chain, tighten outside, pulling the clamp out of range of the seam. (didn't work due to profiles of fender and tire)
Replace clasp with a 3/8 or 1/2 inch quick link.
This is where I pause and ask advice. The quick link would have a lower profile, but could be a bother to install, might break or loosen.

Depends on where it's hitting, but by changing the length of that inner chain (by where you connect to it) you can either bring it down the inner sidewall away from the top of the tire, if that's where it was hitting, or bring it way up close to the top of the tire, if it was hitting the sides.

Do that of course with the outer chain loose, you should always set up the inner chain to the desired position first, having the outer chain connected but slack. Once you get the inner chain where you want then pull everything up tight with the outer chain, and tensioners if you use them.

Because all the slack is taken up with the outer chain you could use one of those lower profile threaded link things, I don't see any reason it would break, could always put a little tape on it to prevent it from loosening. But even if the threaded barrel loosened it would still be taught so I don't think it would come undone.

Threaded Replacement Chain Repair Link 10,000 lbs (6) - eBay (item 200425772730 end time Feb-06-10 11:41:20 PST)

JB.