Tractor tire chains

[bannedagain]

hayray you are putting the right chain on the left wheel

 

[ChrisB]

OK quit being grumpy & explain so I can understand. How do you have a right & left chain? Never heard of this, maybe we've been lucky, never had a chain come off. what is the over center buckle?

Over center buckle is almost like a over center chain binder but not. The buckle goes thru the chain link and then goes over center to secure the chain. Then the goofy washer slides over the buckle to lock it in place. Now the snow gets deep and hard and starts pushing on the over center buckle, the lock gets loose the snow slides back the lock and pressure on chain pulls over center buckle back over center and chain spins off. Very much the same as those goofy people who put a connecting link on the wrong way of a roller chain and what do you know connecting link comes out and chain either breaks or falls off. Then they blame it on cheap connecting links.

Learn something new every day. It's been a while since I used chains but I never considered that there was a right and left. :dunce:

 

[bannedagain]

Learn something new every day. It's been a while since I used chains but I never considered that there was a right and left. :dunce:

There should be a left and a right, however as I explianed thru a pm to another board member, TSC and other places like that, who cut tractor chains to length out of a barrel, are without a clue when it comes to putting on the overcenter buckle so that you do have a left and right chain. They just slap them on any ol way, then look at you all stupid like, when you ask was this the left or right you just made. The larger chains have a over center buckle on both the inside and outside of the chain.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Banned - thank you for taking the time to explain that. So I totally understand what the over center buckle is.
Now explain this for me:
In the picture the chain is right side (not inside out), we're looking at the left rear tire & the ocb is on the "front" of the tire. Are you saying if the chain is right-side up, the ocb should be on the backside of the tire?

 

[bannedagain]

correct that way the snow will always be pushing the lock on not off

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

OK gotcha - thanks.

 

[hayray]

After thinking about this and looking at my set up I do see that I have the buckles on both the innner and outer so I could turn them around and have the buckle facing the right direction.

 

[bannedagain]

After thinking about this and looking at my set up I do see that I have the buckles on both the innner and outer so I could turn them around and have the buckle facing the right direction.

Even if you only had one over center buckle, you would just have needed to take chain to other wheel. Buckle would still have been outside rim.

 

[agmantoo]

Left over from my hay feeding days, I have an older IH tractor with a front end loader set up to transport hay. When carrying hay I used a bale spear on the rear to counteract the weight of the bale on the front. If I am only going to use the FEL to lift something heavy I use a counter weight that I made. Using a 55 gallon plastic barrel standing vertically, I cut the top end center section out. Next I drilled a centered cross hole about 55% of the way up the barrel. I bought one of the horizontal drawbars folks use on the 8n Fords lift arms and mounted that drawbar in the cross hole. Using my trailer I took this apparatus to the redi- mix concrete plant and had the barrel filled with concrete. With the concrete set and the tractor lift arms on the cross mounted drawbar the barrel lifts and gravity holds it vertically. There is no need for a top link! The weight is near the ground and adds stability to the tractor. It is surprising how easily the counterweight is mounted or removed from the tractor. When the tractor is not in use the weight is lowered to the ground removing the load from the tractor/tires/hydraulics.