tire chain alternative

[john.knutson]

I have some luck with this set up:

That's a clean setup! Couple questions about it:

• Are the rear weights IH/Cub Cadet or something custom made?
• How much weight do you have on the tires and rear?

I had the base for a Jerry Can mount laying around that I had made, so I welded up some arms to mount it to the lower hitch link.

It's kind of funny looking at some of the first welds I ever laid with my crappy wire feed welder on the Jerry Can base compared the welds made more recently with my Miller Multimatic. I'm not a great welder, but MIG is pretty foolproof in my experience so far!



I'm thinking I will notch out the middle part of each of the long ends of the rectangle so that I could put a 5 gallon bucket of sand/salt on the rear for weight and spreading.

Some quick googling led me to the following numbers:

5 gallons of water: ~41lb
5 gallons (playground) sand: ~67lb
5 gallons concrete: ~100lb

 

[john.knutson]

If you were ever curious how much weight is too much, years ago Tim DeLooza decided to find out. If I recall he drove it out of his shop, once around the yard, then back into the shop and the rear rims were starting to bend.

LOL! That looks wild. Any idea what the total amount of weight was?

 

[kmcconaughey]

Each of the wheel weights is 26 lbs. I believe there were two on the inside of each rim as well for a total of 16 weights per side or 416 lbs per side.

 

[john.knutson]

believe there were two on the inside of each rim as well for a total of 16 weights per side or 416 lbs per side.

Holy buckets, thats nearly the weight of the tractor itself. I'm thinking I have non-standard rims, I'm not sure I could fit 1 let alone 2 weights on the inside of my rims.

 

[mfrade]

I remember that picture! What a blast from the past.. Thanks Kraig.

 

[vthomley]

John, I think he means there are 2 weights between tire and the fender.

My opinion is the more weight on the tires or hanging off the back the better when plowing or blowing snow. Keeping the weights narrower than your plow though. I think I had 100 or so hanging off the back when I plowed with my Cub

My driveway now is not large enough for a Cub Cadet. BTW, I live on the outskirts if River Falls,

 

[john.knutson]

John, I think he means there are 2 weights between tire and the fender.

Meaning they "sandwich" between the wheel and tractor and the lug bolts go through them, widening the tractor?
EDIT: Nevermind, I think I see how it works, the hole in the middle of the weight is large enough to go "around" where the wheel mounts.

My driveway now is not large enough for a Cub Cadet. BTW, I live on the outskirts if River Falls,

Small world! My wife went to UW-RF.

 

[gpapa]

That's a clean setup! Couple questions about it:

• Are the rear weights IH/Cub Cadet or something custom made?
• How much weight do you have on the tires and rear?

I had the base for a Jerry Can mount laying around that I had made, so I welded up some arms to mount it to the lower hitch link.

It's kind of funny looking at some of the first welds I ever laid with my crappy wire feed welder on the Jerry Can base compared the welds made more recently with my Miller Multimatic. I'm not a great welder, but MIG is pretty foolproof in my experience so far!

View attachment 136330

I'm thinking I will notch out the middle part of each of the long ends of the rectangle so that I could put a 5 gallon bucket of sand/salt on the rear for weight and spreading.

Some quick googling led me to the following numbers:

5 gallons of water: ~41lb
5 gallons (playground) sand: ~67lb
5 gallons concrete: ~100lb

The rear weights are 10lbs each and there are three sets of IH wheel weights. The rear weights are not custom.

 

[john.knutson]

The TerraGrips have been working great, though there is a little rubbing of the mounting chains against the inner fender on the right hand side. I also installed the shorter wheel weight bolts, plastic "shoes", and a plastic (UHMW) blade installed to try to be gentler on my paver driveway. It worked great so far this past snowfall, and the plastic edge even held up to a couple snags in my neighbors driveway which caused it to flip forward and catch the trip spring without breaking. Time will tell if it holds up, I might try thicker than the 1/4" I got if I do have issues.

Oh yeah, I got a wheel spinner too while at the local Case/IH dealer picking up some HyTran and a filter. That is a game changer! My pic of the spinner is too large, I took it with my DSLR while playing with the new lens. I'll try to get it cropped down.

 

[svonhousen]

John, if you find the plastic is still wanting to grab the pavers, I put a strip of horse stall matt rubber on my son’s plow. He does several neighbors drives including pavers. There is no pull on the pavers, and it actually acts like a squeegee.

 

[john.knutson]

John, if you find the plastic is still wanting to grab the pavers, I put a strip of horse stall matt rubber on my son’s plow. He does several neighbors drives including pavers. There is no pull on the pavers, and it actually acts like a squeegee.

I was trying to think of where I might find some thick rubber like I see on some plows, that's a great idea!

 

[john.knutson]

I have been taking video with my GoPro of me plowing mine and my neighbor's driveways and posting them on Instagram (@johns_jeep_junk), but I thought I would put a couple on YouTube and share them here.

My first time plowing, and we had 2 vehicles in the driveway as well as mine in the garage. That along with my lack of experience made it a slow but still enjoyable time. This is at about 12x speed.


This is 2 days ago, the first time with the plastic plade. With a little seat time and the cars out of the way, it's a lot easier (and more fun) to move the snow around. This is at 13.5x speed.

 

[digger]

I have been taking video with my GoPro of me plowing mine and my neighbor's driveways and posting them on Instagram (@johns_jeep_junk), but I thought I would put a couple on YouTube and share them here.

My first time plowing, and we had 2 vehicles in the driveway as well as mine in the garage. That along with my lack of experience made it a slow but still enjoyable time. This is at about 12x speed.


This is 2 days ago, the first time with the plastic plade. With a little seat time and the cars out of the way, it's a lot easier (and more fun) to move the snow around. This is at 13.5x speed.

You either need to gain a couple hundred pounds or get some wheels weights.

 

[john.knutson]

You either need to gain a couple hundred pounds or get some wheels weights.

lol! I'm working on adding a little more to hang off the rear, and I've already got 75lb on each side!

 

[sgalante]

I was trying to think of where I might find some thick rubber-like I see on some plows, that's a great idea!

I am going to do the same thing next year by putting a piece of rubber on the bottom of my plow. I was in the hospital most of November when I normally rearrange my garage and get my Cub and 54" plow set up for winter. I'm going to have to rely on my walk behind snowblower ONLY this year. The best thing I have found that is easily attainable is a baler belt material from a place like Tractor Supply. I haven't seen anything on the sponsors' pages here. TSC has a 4" x 5' roll of 2 plies (probably somewhere between 1/8" and 1/4" thick) for $19.99 that I have considered buying. I was told that would hold up better than the 4' rubber sheeting that they sell by the foot. There are also a few sellers on eBay that sell rubber designed for plows. If you do a search for plow rubber you will see some of them. They appear to be heavier duty than the 2 ply bale belt from TSC, the initial cost and the shipping can get expensive. I hope that helps.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/wcco-belting-baler-belting-2-ply-4-in-x-60-in?cm_vc=-10005

 

[john.knutson]

I am going to do the same thing next year by putting a piece of rubber on the bottom of my plow. I was in the hospital most of November when I normally rearrange my garage and get my Cub and 54" plow set up for winter. I'm going to have to rely on my walk behind snowblower ONLY this year. The best thing I have found that is easily attainable is a baler belt material from a place like Tractor Supply. I haven't seen anything on the sponsors' pages here. TSC has a 4" x 5' roll of 2 plies (probably somewhere between 1/8" and 1/4" thick) for $19.99 that I have considered buying. I was told that would hold up better than the 4' rubber sheeting that they sell by the foot. There are also a few sellers on eBay that sell rubber designed for plows. If you do a search for plow rubber you will see some of them. They appear to be heavier duty than the 2 ply bale belt from TSC, the initial cost and the shipping can get expensive. I hope that helps.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/wcco-belting-baler-belting-2-ply-4-in-x-60-in?cm_vc=-10005

Thanks, it certainly does help. I find myself at tractor supply once every couple of months, whenever I come up with an excuse (which it sounds like I just did )

 

[svonhousen]

When I bought the horse stall mat it was on sale for 32ish dollars. It’s 6’x4’ and 3/4 thick. I sandwiched it between the blade and cutting edge and let it hang down about 1/2”. last year it was probably only used for 4 storms so not a lot yet. I cut the strips 3” wide, and have 3 more set aside and I put the rest in front of my work bench. Pretty cheap even if it only lasts half a season each strip. I had tried the rubber belting before and it did not do as well as the stall mat.

 

[sgalante]

When I bought the horse stall mat it was on sale for 32ish dollars. It’s 6’x4’ and 3/4 thick. I sandwiched it between the blade and cutting edge and let it hang down about 1/2”. last year it was probably only used for 4 storms so not a lot yet. I cut the strips 3” wide, and have 3 more set aside and I put the rest in front of my work bench. Pretty cheap even if it only lasts half a season each strip. I had tried the rubber belting before and it did not do as well as the stall mat.

That is also a great idea if they do hold up. I guess even if you have to replace the strip a few times a season. The rubber sheeting I was talking about in my reply was the sheeting (1/4" and 3/8") that Tractor supply sells by the foot. I was told by the salesman that even when he cuts it, it rips and in some cases crumbles. There are also some newer reviews on the horse mats that claim the newer version of them may have the same crumbling issue.
The second recommendation I had was the strips sold for plows online through a company called Plowrubber.com. I haven't dealt with them yet, but since they are not far from me, (about 70 miles) I may make a trip to ask them before next season.

 

[ewells]

I picked up some 4 ply belted tires and used sabre saw to cut tread off. I used a piece about 3 inches wide behind the normal metal cutting edge and it has worked well for me. I know we dont get a lot of snow. It seems to work somewhat like a squeege too.

 

[sblunier]

Say what you want about 2 link ladder type chains on ags, but I have been running them for over 20 years and it works......dig right in on ice.

Are the ag style chains better, sure.......but you will still move a crap ton of snow with 2 link ladders on ags.....