Winter Traction...............

[mjstef]

Anyone blowing snow with a skid steer? Sold my tractor this spring and bought a skid steer. Putting a hydraulic blower on it. I STRICTLY do rural vacation homes and some of them are reasonably steep. Not blowing on a regular basis, only when the straight blade guys can't push it any more or if someone hasn't plowed all winter as many of these homes are not occupied Nov-April but need to get LP in on occasion. I always ran H-Pattern chains on the back and studded truck chains on the front of my tractor. Wondering how chains are on a Skid Steer or would i be better off with studs in the tires?

 

[laurencen]

on a older 843 I purchased a stud gun from the tire shop and a box of studs, we drilled the tires using a stub drill with a depth stop and inserted studs, it was amazing how good traction was

 

[super55]

Sounds like when you do move snow you are moving a lot of it. Can you skid steer handle OTT- Over tire tracks? I am sure chains or studs would be great for just opening driveways but with tracks and the blower or bucket you could really dig into snowbanks if the plow guys run out of room.

 

[Sonny580]

Chains are always better!--BUT do you have room for them?--I have seen skidloaders that don't have room between tires and final drive housings.

 

[ruffdog]

A chained up SS will go about anywhere if you don't get it hung up. A Jeep was disabled in my dad's lower field and the owner came in the middle of winter to get it. He used a chained up SS and made a path to the Jeep, hooked on to it, and pulled it back up to the drive. It needed help getting the Jeep up the last 30deg hill but overall...SS never got close to getting stuck. For snow blowing driveways, chains may be overkill. A winter tire package may be plenty, unless you have ice, then use studs.

 

[searcyfarms]

if you are working on a lot of concrete/asphalt and people are going to get excited about marks left on their drives then its going to be tough since you need that traction to move large abouts of it. Also if its a wet snow and it packs then you cant go anywhere!!!

Not sure what kind of amounts you are talking about or what part of the country and having dry vs wet snows or the conditions but I have everything from bar steel tracks that go over the tire to chains to no flats and pneumatic, you can do 90% of your work with plain ole rubber tires and lowered pressure to help with the rigid rubber in the cold temps and the fact you are not lifting huge weights.

When its super soft underneat and im moving hay/feeding in mud/snow the bar tracks are the way to go, chains for a little less precarious conditions then rubber/pneumatics for the rest.

 

[mjstef]

if you are working on a lot of concrete/asphalt and people are going to get excited about marks left on their drives then its going to be tough since you need that traction to move large abouts of it. Also if its a wet snow and it packs then you cant go anywhere!!!

Not sure what kind of amounts you are talking about or what part of the country and having dry vs wet snows or the conditions but I have everything from bar steel tracks that go over the tire to chains to no flats and pneumatic, you can do 90% of your work with plain ole rubber tires and lowered pressure to help with the rigid rubber in the cold temps and the fact you are not lifting huge weights.

When its super soft underneat and im moving hay/feeding in mud/snow the bar tracks are the way to go, chains for a little less precarious conditions then rubber/pneumatics for the rest.

So after surveying my potential snow blowing accounts, (if we get what NWS says where going to this winter.) i have decided AGAINST snow tires and will be going for chains this year. Just too many steep driveways and if i need to bust through hard banks the blower wont punch through i'll need traction. Any benefit to 2 link spacing like these? Tractor Tire Chain Twist Link - Part no. RM822-2

 

[LouNY]

So after surveying my potential snow blowing accounts, (if we get what NWS says where going to this winter.) i have decided AGAINST snow tires and will be going for chains this year. Just too many steep driveways and if i need to bust through hard banks the blower wont punch through i'll need traction. Any benefit to 2 link spacing like these? Tractor Tire Chain Twist Link - Part no. RM822-2

The square link alloys SS1502-2 will get more traction then the smooth twist link, the 2 link spacing is always better then 4 link and studded are way better then twist link or square.

 

[PILOON]

Have to agree.
I have 2 link studded ice chains and never have problems , and I have a steep drive!

 

[mjstef]

I'm really thinking of going this route for lateral stability.... Diamond Back Alloy Square Link Chains (Diamond Pattern w/ Wear Bars) (8mm) [152WDP-8]