Chains off time

[Stmar]

I have had my rubber chains on all winter, no traction issues and I can see the imprints of the rubber bands in snow and mud so they did the job. I am going to take them off now to save them from wear on my gravel drive. When do most of you take your chains off? I know some use them all year round.

 

[RCW]

Most of my BX summer work is mowing.

I take chains off when mower deck goes on.

Chains go on when deck comes off.

 

[skeets]

You know this is interesting,,, I had to run chains of every other tractor,,of the same size except the BX, doing same work same everything,It is interesting to me to see how and why someone needs chains on one brand and not on another.

 

[Stmar]

Did I need chains? Who knows, I just got them because they sounded interesting, had never heard of heavy duty rubber chains. I had heavy steel link chains on my 8N and they were a pain to get on and off. I have a hill on my driveway where I would spin the wheels on my 8N without chains in the snow and mud. This was my first winter with the B2650 and the only tires that spun were the fronts, never did spin the back. Was it because of the chains? Time will tell.

 

[Big Hoss]

STmar, the rubber chains do sound interesting as I have a steep hill on my driveway. Might you have a link to them?

 

[Stmar]

http://www.rubbertirechains.com/rubber-tire-chains-c-4.html

These are heavy duty bands and the vendor will guide you on size if your's is not listed. Are they as good as steel chains? Probably not but they seem to add traction, the key is follow the installation instructions. I tried short cuts and ended up going back to square one and doing it right, you have to get them tight tight. I have R4 tires and the bands tend to get between the treads but enough are exposed to give you grip, the forum member that suggested them to me had turf tires and he did not have this issue. They are cheaper than steel so that's a plus and they are much lighter and easier to handle.
I also took some advice from another member and made my own tighteners. I have a thread on that. I used a heavy duty metal ring and trampoline springs to make a robust tightening system.

http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35157

 

[jajiu]

I have the steel chains for my L3560HSTC and I put them on just before the first snow, literally the day before it is predicted, and I take them off when hopefully there will be no more snow. I've had problems with the front sliding when I am plowing so I just purchased chains for the front too. We'll see how that works out next winter, not that I'm rushing it, we haven't even seen any decent warm weather yet!