Tire chains

[jbaker]

Has anyone ever made their own tire chains I have a bunch of extra chain and thought i might try it any ideas out there????

 

[lhinds]

Jeff; I made a set of chains a few years ago and they didn't work very well. I should have used twisted link cross chains. Also by the time i bought all the fasteners for the sides and the cross chains, i could have bought a used set of chains cheaper. If you can salvage parts from old worn out chains, that would be worthwhile.
Just my 02c

 

[jmburge]

Jeff
I made a set of "chains" by looping a long dog style chain through each of the four openings in the rear rims of my plowing cub, then I hooked the ends together using the hookks that came on the chain and bungie cords to keep them tight. this worked almost as good as actual tire chains. I don't remember the price I paid for the dog chains, but it was fairly cheap. wish I had a pic to post, has anyone eles tryed this?
just my 2c

 

[dfrisk]

The ONLY set of chains I had for many yrs were only for the 6-12 stock tires. Couple yrs ago I put 23-8.50's on the 72 and needed chains for it when I mount the QA-36 blower. I got used ATV chains at my local dealer, think they were for a 9" x 11" ATV tire but they fit fine. New 23-8.50 chains are over $100/pr plus shipping or tax. I forget if I paid $25 or $50/pr for the used chains but I remember I thought they were a decent deal.
My Buddy bought a "Pile of used chains" at an auction a couple yrs ago, think there was 3 sewts of chains for 23-10.50's for $5 total!

The chains I have on my snow-moving FARMALL's are/were rebuilt semi-truck tire chains, took two chains to make one chain and a bunch of chain repair links but they work!

Chain parts are available at Gempler's and tirechains.com. Sometimes I can find replacement cross links at my local ag equip. dealer too.

 

[digger]

Tirechains.com are A$$holes, plain and simple!

I asked several years ago to use their setup instructions on cubfaq.com and got no less than 6 emails and 3 phone calls with threats of filing a law suit if I did.

Damn good thing I asked before I used their info huh!

 

[kide]

I'd never looked at the price of chains...The set that are on the 149 are like new...to think that the chains are worth 50 bucks more than I paid for the tractor, blade, deck and QA42...........

 

[jlarsen]

Have bought sets of tire chains at rummage sales. they are old car tire chains , shorten them up . Then you are ready to plow snow, Usualy 5 bucks and they work great.

 

[dfrisk]

CHARLIE - Glad You mentioned that about TC.com. I've never done business with them, just browsed their website after seeing it mentioned elsewhere. Guess if I need anything it'll come from Gempler's or other GOOD suppliers!

KENDELL - First set of chains I ever had for the 72 was a pair of emergency chains for a small car like a VW Rabbit or Ford Fiesta (Dad had a '78 Fiesta for a couple yrs & 100,000+ miles, Great little car!) The chains had woven nylon side straps and plastic crossbars with a couple tungsten studs molded in. They worked but were short-lived. At least the plastic was yellow so they matched the CC.

Like most other things I imagine chains are made in China now, and with their dismal metallurgy I doubt new chains last as long as 40 yr old chains.

 

[wmiller]

Farm sales are good place to find chains. When I was a kid before gravel roads,everybody had chains for all their vehicles. I have car chains for my 147 with 10.50 tires that fit great except the length.

 

[jbaker]

ok made a set of chains out of scrap chain and bolts i will try them and see how they work soon snow is called for on wensday. i laid out chain and bolted short pieces across. i will have to watch the bolts on the tires but i thought i would try as money is real tight right now

 

[jott]

for being made from scratch, they look pretty good!

 

[dross]

Jeff, I'm with josh, those home made chains look pretty decent.

 

[jbaker]

Here is the homemade wieght I made, I used a 2 inch steam trap body and filled it nuts and bolts from a boiler we scraped at work. total weight was 82 pounds. Then I bolted it to the rearend. Also a few pics of the tire cains from scrap.

 

[T-Mo]

I found this place - seems to be pretty good on pricing and shipping:

http://www.vulcantirechains.com/tirechains_util.htm

One question though, why would chains for 23 x 8.5 x 12 be more than for 23 x 9.5 x12? The price difference isn't much (a couple of dollars for the 2-link), but still? Must be volume, demand and supply. I want to put some on my 123 which has 23 x 8.5 x 12s on it.

 

[dfrisk]

TERRY - I'd keep the extra bucks and get the 23-9.50 chains if they're both 2-link. The difference will be maybe One extra link in the cross chains, which You can tighten with the side chains.

Fitting tire chains really isn't rocket science. It's just diameter & width. And a bit bigger on either is better than too small.

 

[T-Mo]

Dennis,
That's what I thought - maybe easier to install also and I'm sure I can make up the slack. And they're both 2-link. The price difference on the two size for 4-link is one dollar. The price for the 4-link for the 23x8.5x12 is $32 and $45 for the 2-link. The prices for the 23x9.5x12 is $31 and $43 respectively.

 

[dfrisk]

TERRY - That's a good price. 9.50 2-links looks like the way to go.

 

[T-Mo]

Yeah, I thought it was a good price also. It would be nice to hear some feedback on anyone who has dealings with that company, but I guess I might as well be the guinea pig.

 

[tsmoker]

Terry,

I bought chains from them last year. I had no problems. They came with tensioners also.

 

[proessler]

Terry I bought chains from Vulcan last year. Ordered 24x12x12 chains for my Sim /Prestige , they came in larger ATV size, so I removed 2 crosslinks per chain (4 spare crosslinks),now have great traction. Also came w/ tensioners that work great. Good value!