tire chains on front tires?

[MattS]

I was wondering if there is anything to gain by putting tire chains on the front tires. I had trouble in last year's snow with the plow pushing the front of the tractor sideways. Does anybody know were to get a decent price on chains? The two link v-bar chains for 26x12x12 are over $100!

[mgonitzke]

What are you running for tires on the front of the tractor?

[MattS]

I am running the factory goodyear turf tires. Last year I was on a 1862, this year's snow machine will be my 1572.

[mgonitzke]

That's probably part of the problem...those tires suck in the snow. You need some V61s or something more aggressive. I have some V61s on rims that are currently on my 782D that I'm going to put on my 782 with blade this winter and see how that works. I've heard those are really good in the snow. If not, I should still be able to steer, as I have independent brakes on it. At least with the 1572 you can use the brakes to steer a little bit.

[cadetpwr]

Matt G. is right, turfs work great except in the snow, they get packed with snow and become basicly bald as far as tread goes. Either V61 verderstein's or tri ribs work best for bit in the snow. However some guys like ag tires or whats called Sno Hog's made for walk behind snowblowers. That being said, I have a friend that lives where they get over 200 inches a snow in an average winter, clears snow with a 782 diesel with cab and power steering. He prefers turfs year round, but installs chains on all 4 tires come winter time. now he is clearing snow with a 450 two stage blower and not a blade, but when trying to make the turn on his drive, the tractor would just go straight with the blower on the ground. With the chains you can follow the curves in his drive perfectly. You just have to watch turning the wheels to full lock in one direction as the chains tend to snag the power steering cylinder on his or the drag link on a manual steering machine. If you can find a cheap set of chains, they will most likely be much cheaper than tires for the front of a Super GT. Cheers Mike

[Jeff in Pa]

That's probably part of the problem...those tires suck in the snow. ................

These suck in the snow too. If I want to turn, I have to slightly lift up on the QA-42 to put more weight on the front wheels. It's still no guarantee but it does help a bit.

Would narrow tires be better than wides in the snow using a thrower? Same for a blade?

[mgonitzke]

I think I would stick with the wider ones. I have plowed snow with both the narrow front wheels and turf tires, and also the wider front wheels with the multi-rib turf tires. While the wide ones sucked, the narrow ones sucked even worse. I could sort of steer most of the time with the wider tires, but with the narrower ones and any amount of snow in front of the blade, I could turn the steering wheel wherever I wanted, but I could only go straight. If you put decent tires on the front, I'm not sure it matters, although having more surface area touching the ground would be a good thing, making a case for the wider tires.

[Jeff in Pa]

Thanks Matt
I guess I better find some wide tires for the 122 ( I have a set of rims) since that will be the blade tractor this winter. The 125 is the QA-42 tractor.

Jeff

[Bill Decker]

I have been running narrow tri-ribs on my 123 for several years and have found them to outperform anything else I have tried, including 8" ag tires. I have plenty of weight on the drives, and a 42" blade up front, lot better control on snow and packed ice, even with a worn out steering box, and bad spindle.... my old reliable suicide knob on the wheel makes it easier to control the steering. Just my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

[dmcdowell]

We had 4.80 saw tooth on the 123 last year and all we got was heavy wet crap. We did super fine. Though I accidently was give a heavy duty tire for a trailer by the salesman but all that means is I ran them with 50lbs of air. But I never lpowed when turning. They would cut right through the snow and ice where my turfs would tend to float over and not track that well on the JD 112.

[Ben Morong]

Two-link chains on Sno Hogs do it for me.