Rear Chains on

Kurtee

Active member

Equipment
BX2660, BX2680 cab, JD 2032R, Honda 5518, JD X590, JD X739
Oct 3, 2013
303
98
28
Nicollet, mn
Now you guys have me thinking.. Do I need chains? I have the BX and R4 tires, I got this thing mainly for FEL and rear blade work, no mowing ..have 0 turn for that. I guess I should have studied up on tire choice before buying. I kinda opted for the R4 thinking it was heavier duty for weight wise than the others, since I was going to use fel and pallet forks. I have no hills and my driveway is concrete and usually not a lot of snow here in Indy.

When I had my B7510 it had R4’s and I switched them to turf tires since it was being used for mowing too. With those turf tires I had no problems with traction in snow but like I said we don’t usually get a lot but never know when the big one will hit again!

Other than different tires or chains that I’m not fond of because of scraping up my driveway.. has anyone tried a rubber type chain set? Checked reviews in some with the typical mix of good and bad, more were good! Anyone here tried something different?
skip the chains. I have the BX2660 with loader and the BX2680 with front mount snowblower and cab. Both are on R4s. Both have extra ballast and work fine on my drive way with no hill. Chain installation will test your religion and sometimes results in new words being learned. I have property that requires snow removal at another location. I had a JD X590 to do it the last couple years which is 2 wheel drive and need chains. I switched to a JD X739 which is all wheel drive to save my sanity and religion. I used a Honda 5518 all wheel drive with front mounted blower and have not seen a need for chains there either. No chains for me.
 
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Henro

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B2910, BX2200, KX41-2V mini Ex.
May 24, 2019
5,116
2,341
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North of Pittsburgh PA
skip the chains. I have the BX2660 with loader and the BX2680 with front mount snowblower and cab. Both are on R4s. Both have extra ballast and work fine on my drive way with no hill. [snip]
I think with hills one might think differently. I know I do, especially with wet, slippery snow.

But agree on the flat, you are probably right on.
 
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doublebass73

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Equipment
L2501F, 68" Pull Type Snowblower, Spreader, Dirt Scoop
Oct 7, 2020
105
112
43
NH
I think with hills one might think differently. I know I do, especially with wet, slippery snow.

But agree on the flat, you are probably right on.
Same here, any amount of hill will usually require chains especially if you're in an area with large amounts of snow.
 

Howling

Member

Equipment
BX2370
Feb 5, 2016
217
10
18
Ayer, MA
... BX2680 with front mount snowblower and cab. Both are on R4s. Both have extra ballast and work fine on my drive way with no hill.
R4s are good on the flat.

But I have a sledding hill that ends in traffic. Sliding down the hill on the BX is not fun. Chains (and sand) are the magic that turns it back in to a driveway.
 
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MaineTractor

New member

Equipment
L3010, rock-rake, 7' snow blade
Feb 27, 2020
4
1
3
Maine
My driveway is 600 feet long and all uphill on the way in from the road. The last half is pretty steep, without chains on my rear wheels, I would slide out of control just trying to drive down the hill, let alone trying to climb it.
 

Cpcareyct

New member

Equipment
L3560 Bh92 Backhoe FEL EA grapple
Mar 18, 2018
24
0
1
Windham Ct
L3560 with 420/70 -24 Agtires
Need rear tire tire chains for long steep driveway
Purchased chains but the cross links ride on top of tread making it almost impossible to drive.
Any ideas to remedy this?
 

Ikc1990

Active member

Equipment
Kubota m125x, m9000, b2710, and other equiptment
Dec 2, 2020
292
130
43
Vermont
L3560 with 420/70 -24 Agtires
Need rear tire tire chains for long steep driveway
Purchased chains but the cross links ride on top of tread making it almost impossible to drive.
Any ideas to remedy this?
Get some chain and run it around the tread to make it like the ice pick get several boxes of bolts nuts and flat washers and you can make them studded but if studs not wanted this may not be helpful to you. Sorry and good luck
 

doublebass73

Active member

Equipment
L2501F, 68" Pull Type Snowblower, Spreader, Dirt Scoop
Oct 7, 2020
105
112
43
NH
L3560 with 420/70 -24 Agtires
Need rear tire tire chains for long steep driveway
Purchased chains but the cross links ride on top of tread making it almost impossible to drive.
Any ideas to remedy this?
Ag tires are tough with chains. If the cross links ride in between the lugs then they are useless for traction. If they ride on top of the lugs then the tractor rides really rough.

I went with diamond pattern studded chains, amazing traction and they ride nice. I'll never get anything else after having these.
 

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RCW

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Lifetime Member

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BX2360, FEL, MMM, BX2750D snowblower. 1953 Minneapolis Moline ZAU
Apr 28, 2013
8,284
3,874
113
Chenango County, NY
L3560 with 420/70 -24 Agtires
Need rear tire tire chains for long steep driveway
Purchased chains but the cross links ride on top of tread making it almost impossible to drive.
Any ideas to remedy this?
What type of chains do you have?

For many decades, double-ring chains were the standard for R1's "on the farm." My old MM farm tractor has double-ring chains that date back to the late-1950's. Rings are getting pretty thin from wear.

They still ride rough, but might be better.

The example doublebass has might be a good option also.
 

Henro

Well-known member

Equipment
B2910, BX2200, KX41-2V mini Ex.
May 24, 2019
5,116
2,341
113
North of Pittsburgh PA
Ag tires are tough with chains. If the cross links ride in between the lugs then they are useless for traction. If they ride on top of the lugs then the tractor rides really rough.

I went with diamond pattern studded chains, amazing traction and they ride nice. I'll never get anything else after having these.
Those are really nice chains.

Would also work well on R4 tires, which I have. Ladder chains mostly fall between the lugs.
 

doublebass73

Active member

Equipment
L2501F, 68" Pull Type Snowblower, Spreader, Dirt Scoop
Oct 7, 2020
105
112
43
NH
Those are really nice chains.

Would also work well on R4 tires, which I have. Ladder chains mostly fall between the lugs.
That's the beauty of that style chain. They work well on both R1 and R4. Ladder chains are good for turf tires if you get 2 link but I'm not a fan of ladder chains on R1 or R4.
 

MuttCat

Member
Apr 9, 2017
84
15
8
Dorloo, NY, USA
I have a set of the diamond pattern chains for my 2370. My machine has turf tires and given some snow conditions they clog up...the chains work very well. True, they can be a pain to put on, but I've mastered that. Actually, the forecast was for a mild winter here, so I left them off. So far so good. One trick, I lower the tire pressure a couple of pounds, install the chains and air back up. Those babies do not move, nice and snug.
 

Cstock5468

New member

Equipment
L3560 with loader, BH92, LP post hole auger, LP box scraper, Front PTO snow blow
Apr 16, 2020
13
6
3
Plainfield, NH
Ag tires are tough with chains. If the cross links ride in between the lugs then they are useless for traction. If they ride on top of the lugs then the tractor rides really rough.

I went with diamond pattern studded chains, amazing traction and they ride nice. I'll never get anything else after having these.
Thanks DB73, I have similar rear tires with the big dealer supplied chains that ride across treads and in between them. Good traction, but terrible ride. Can you refer to where you got those chains? I may switch over.
 

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thirdroc17

Active member
Dec 25, 2013
185
35
28
Michigan
My BX came with R-4's, which I deemed worthless in snow. Added some 2 link chains, which improved the grip, but they also tended to fall between the lugs. Diamond chains would solve that, but I had the 2-link. When I switched to turfs, I not only had a much better ride in summer, but winter traction was superb.

Frankly, I've never found it that hard to put chains on, be it the small tires of garden tractor, up to the large farm tractor tires.
 

Fastball

Member

Equipment
L2900, rear blade, finish mower, 200l sprayer, landscape rake
Feb 9, 2017
86
29
18
North Okanagan, British Columbia
I run chains, both front and back. We have a 700-foot sloped driveway with a couple gnarly turns in it. I find I need the front chains more for steering control than traction. And I hate putting chains on, too. There are a few good videos on putting chains on. I like the one where you tie your chain ends together through the wheel and drive forward - pulling the chains up and over the wheel. Seem to work the best for me.
 

Tim Horton

Active member
Mar 22, 2018
245
41
28
Lake Superior
Installing chains mid December.... Must be nice...
Here I use V bar, 2 link ladder chains on my loaded turfs.. They go on shortly before or after the mandatory winter tire rule kicks in the first of October and stay on until sometimes late May