Wheel chains or weights???

[Aj Clark]

I want to plow snow with my 46 A. Will wheel weights give me the traction I need to push snow?? Will chains give me to much traction and damage something?? I have weights and chains on my 57 300U but it is a much heavier tractor. The A will steer so much easier that the 300U with the loader.

 

[Randy in NE]

I would go with the chains first. You will find that the tires are just going to spin if you have much snow. A little weight on the back won't hurt to offset the weight of the blade/loader. You won't run into problems unless you really start to abuse the unit.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Chains will bite into Ice and frozen ground and give more traction than weights. You want lots of cross links so you don't slip between them and shock load the drive train. My W6 needs chains to push anything.
Later Bob

 

[Scotty]

Evenin Aj,
I plowed for years with my 42 A. I had rear wheel weights and chains with ice cleats, along with a weight box on the drawbar with another 400 lbs or so. That tractor could push loads of snow with no problem ! Last fall I restored a 49 Super A so Im using that tractor now because I have the hydraulics to lift the blade rather than the strong arm lift ! The Super A is basically set up the same way with weights and chains ! Its great machine in the snow !


scotty

 

[Aj Clark]

Thanks Guys ....Bob, My 300U is completely useless without chains... where in Ontario are ya??? I am up here in Petawawa at CFB Wonderful!!

 

[Anonymous-0]

If I had to choose, I'd go with the chains, but enough weight AND chains is a must if you're serious about plowing snow.

Glenn F.

 

[Dave Sherburne NY]

If you use just the chains, it won't take long to wear out the chains if the wheels spin because of lack of weight.

 

[Red Dave]

Both

 

[Carden]

I'm just curious because i'm about to buy chains for my M. No one mentioned whether the tires should be loaded or not. Maybe that's another discussion...

 

[old]

I used another brand of tractor to plow snow with, but it has tires filled with fluid and most years thats all I need. Now if we get ice then I have to put on the chains but with snow no chains. It has a front loader and I built a V plow for it so the snow is moved before the tires hit it.
Hobby farm

 

[Anonymous-0]

Markham Twp.

 

[Hugh MacKay]

Aj Clark: I use both chains and wheel weights on my Farmall 130. I sometimes hang a bit more weight on the drawbar. These little offsets are mean little snow plowing machines. They have the ability to embarass much larger tractors.

I used to have Canadian ring chains with ice corks. They make it quite rough with 24" tires. I have pushed snow 4' deep with the ring chains. Between the roughness, hard on shop floor and I a bit afraid of breaking a final drive with the ring chains. I broke one years ago, not plowing snow but rather pulling big bob sleds with a 16' rack for 4 foot wood. I have a photo somewhere of 130 coming out of the bush with 2 cords of wood on. That was not average, however we did haul 158 cords in 113 loads, and yes it was that hauling that broke the final drive.

 

[Anonymous-0]

We use boyh on loaded tires on our Super A.Alittle more on the drawbar doesn't hurt either.It is a real snow pusher.

 

[Nat 2]

I've seen tires that will walk right across glare ice (old Firestone ALL Traction Field & Road) and tires that spin out on 2" of wet, packy snow with bare unfrozen ground underneath(Goodyear Dynatorque Radial).

It really depends on what you've got, and what kind of driveway you have. After plowing my asphalt driveway 3 times last winter with chains, never again. When the snow melted last spring, there were thousands of dig marks all over my driveway, and I'm confident that the damage would have been much worse if I hadn't had a walk-behind snowblower to do the bulk of the driveway clearing. I was careful to not spin the wheels on the pavement.

 

[John in Ct]

Chains! We use to plow snow with our Ford 5600. One year, a little snow came early and I only had the snow plow on. With loaded tires and a Howard Rotovator on the 3 pt hitch and I am lucky I didn't get stuck. With chains ( double circle ring type) , I NEVER got stuck. I will say that chains could be hard on the shop floor and driveway and are hard for one man to put on.

 

[akb]

Weight helps chains for sure.

 

[TheDurk]

I have been plowing 1/4 mile on a big hill with a 140 since it was new in 1966. Without chains, it will plow maybe 3-4 inches on the flat, but absolutely useless uphill. (Tires are loaded, no weights.) With the chains, only two blizzards (1978 and 1996) have stopped her. Those took Payloaders to clear this hill. I have added weight to the drawbar and it helps some, but the chains are essential.Weights are probably essential if the tires are not loaded.