Rubber tire chains - do they work in mud and snowy dirt?

[Alrashid2 434]

Hey guys. I'm tired of getting my Wheel Horse stuck in the snow. I have zero issue plowing snow on my asphalt driveway with no chains, but my Horse lives about 50 yards downhill from the house. When we get snow, I oftentimes can't make it up the hill to the house and driveway. Beneath the snow is just forest floor, so leaves and dirt. 

 

I think I'm ready to try out rubber chains. But do they help at all in snow above dirt? How do they do in dirt/mud in the summertime? 

 

Also, would love any advice on where to get an affordable pair for tires that are 22x7.50-12. Thanks!

[Treepep 979]

  Dunno/.  Would like to!

[Ed Kennell 44,171]

My experience with rubber and steel chains on turf tires.

 

SURFACE                              RUBBER             STEEL                  TURFS w/o any chains

bare pavement                        best                     poor                                 good

  ice                                         poor                      best                                 poor

mud                                         good                     best                                 poor

snow on grass                         good                     best                                 poor

snow on gravel                        good                     best                                 poor

snow on dirt                             good                     best                                 poor

Edited 23 hours ago by Ed Kennell

[Alrashid2 434]

Thanks @Ed Kennell for the lovely breakdown!

 

Can I ask, how do Rubber chains compare to just straight Turf Saver tires? For example, you put Poor for ice - is that poor as in worst than a plain tire? And when you say Good for Snow on grass/gravel/dirt, is that good compared to a plain tire? or just as good as a plain tire? 

 

Side question too for anyone reading!  I can't find rubber chains in my tire size of 22x7.50-12. Closest I could find were from SoftClaw who makes a 22.5x7.50-12, so a 1/2" taller in height. Is that close enough or would they be flopping around on the tire? If I can't find an exact size is it better to go up or down a size, and how far is too far? 

[Ed Kennell 44,171]

There, I added a plain turf tire.       22.5 would be perfect on a 22" tire.  Best to go bigger so the cross chains wrap down over the side walls.

No sloppy chains, the side chain length is adjusted to tighten the cross chains.

[Alrashid2 434]

@Ed Kennell as a Scientist by trade, I really appreciate the Controlled Variable data of a plain tire 

 

I've got a few other questions for you or anyone reading, thank you...

 

1. How are the side chains adjusted to tighten? Looking at the SoftClaw rubber chains, I don't see anyway to adjust them. 

 

2. Do I have to take these rubber chains off in the summer? Or can I leave them on all year long? I'm majority riding this through the woods and lawn. Sometimes it comes up onto dry asphalt in the summer but not doing a ton of driving on it. 

 

3. My tires are pretty old. I have no idea if they'll last another 10 years or if they'll need replaced in a year or two. Since it looks like, after shipping, these tire chains will cost $150+, I'm wondering if I could buy size 23x8-12 for my current 22x7.50-12 (chains would be 1" taller and 1/2" wider) - that way, when I get a replacement tire, I could keep my chains? 

 

 

 

Edited 22 hours ago by Alrashid2

[pfrederi 19,541]

You can tighten them up by moving th connecting link from the yellow line position to the white line link.  Also you will probably want chain tensioners  as i have on mine. They can be rubber or springs...

 

 

[Achto 30,555]

32 minutes ago, Alrashid2 said:

$150+, I'm wondering if I could buy size 23x8-12 for my current 22x7.50-12 (chains would be 1" taller and 1/2" wider) - that way, when I get a replacement tire, I could keep my chains? 

 

Just throwing an idea out there. For the price of the rubber chains + a new set of tires, you might want to consider just getting a set of Carlisle Versa Turfs. I have heard nothing but good reviews on these tires. Excellent traction on snow & mud without chains added and they won't tear your lawn up. They are a bit pricey though.

 

https://www.millertire.com/23x8-50r12-carlisle-versa-turf-compact-radial-tractor-tire-6-ply/

[JoeM 9,441]

Started running these terra trac also antego's and have had little trouble with out using chains on some pretty steep slopes.

One tip tho is adding weight to the rear helps with anything your using. 

 

 

 

[sqrlgtr 1,889]

2 hours ago, Ed Kennell said:

SURFACE                              RUBBER             STEEL                  TURFS w/o any chains

bare pavement                        best                     poor                                 good

I agree with Ed on everything but believe the steel beats everything for pure traction on all surfaces and the rubber a real real close second. That being said rubber is most defiantly easier on pavement and the only way to go on concrete and probably hard to beat all way round. I run steel 2 link chains but live in hill/mountain terrain and only thing I've found that works on ice.

[dandan111 54]

I have always used steel with turf tires. You can find them cheap used. My favorite are old car tire chains cut down. They have the V 

welded on the chains that give a great bite. 
Rubber will save scratches. 
I prefer 4 link spacing. I tried 2 link. Seemed to spin more. 

[sqrlgtr 1,889]

1 hour ago, dandan111 said:

I prefer 4 link spacing. I tried 2 link. Seemed to spin more. 

I tried the 4 link and they worked ok but man the 2 link sure are a lot smoother ride

[Retired Wrencher 6,289]

I have been reading this post and I’m just wondering like an automotive tires they have studs for these tires? I understand if you have a nice looking driveway or you don’t want to use studs if it’s old no big deal just wondering have a good day.

Edited 6 hours ago by Retired Wrencher

[Sparky-(Admin) 24,358]

  Picked up a used set of rubber tire chains at last years WH Show for next to nothing. 
  Unfortunately I can’t give you a proper review as I’ve only installed em and put about 25 minutes of driving time on them during a cruise thru the woods out back, no plowing or slugging though mud. Traction on that first run was great. Maybe not 2 link steel chain great but I went places out back that I would never have made it to with just tires. This tractor also has no wheel-weights, just these rubber chains. 

  These are mounted on 23x8.5’s and there were 3-4 links left over (inside and outside) once they were on tight that I had to tidy up. I think my set would be better on 23x9.5 or maybe 23x10.5 tires. 
  

 

 

 

[JoeM 9,441]

test track

leads up the shop in the back

I think I have tried it all. at times went up through the grass and down the drive. chains are good but can make you slide if you catch it just right. 

those rubber chains should work well in mud and snow like you want.

[Racinbob 12,517]

I consider rubber a must for me because of a long asphalt driveway. I have used 2 link steel for many years. My experience is pretty much parallel with Mr. Eds but the only category I would give steel any real advantage in on bare ice. I do a lot of dirt and woods pushing and I really like the rubber for that. On hard surfaces they all ride rough. 2 link steel a little smoother than 4 link. I've never seen 2 link rubber but I suspect it would be smoother but it also might compromise traction a bit by wanting to ride the surface due to the width of the crosslinks. I have a set of TerraGrips and one made by Softclaw.

 

 

23-9.50 Softclaw on the 2005 used with the blower.

 

 

23-10.50 with 23-8.50 chains on the 1976 used year round with the blade.

 

 

One of the sets came with 'free' chain tensioners but I never even took them out of the bag. The biggest difference between the brands is the Softclaw has riveted crosslinks, The TerraGrips are bolted.  The 23-10.50 tires on the 76 actually has the 23-850 TerraGrips. The 'operation' was done a few months ago. I did some tire swapping and liked the 10.50's on the blade tractor but it definitely needs chains. Terragrip sells the crosslinks and clips separate at a very reasonable price. On their chary the 23-8.50 crosslinks are 12" long. The 23-10.50 are 13.5". I wanted to use the 8.50 chains I already had. Because of the added width on the 10.50's that effectively made the required length longer. No problem but the with could be. After pondering a bit I decided to order 4 more 12" crosslinks and the hardware needed. The extra chain links were local. Since this was again like I was installing the chains for the first time it took some fanagling. Fully deflate the tires (remove the valve core). I massaged the chains around and across the tires. Keep doing that until the fit on the deflated tires if tight. Ultimately I added 4  chainlinks to the diameter and 2 cross treads to each tire. Reinflate and go. No tensioners needed. While I was messing with the chains I also added one crosslink to the 9.50 Softclaws (see the 1 bolted at the top). Even though they are sized correctly for the tires the gap at the connector thingy was a bit wide so I added 2 links to the order while I was at it. 

Now if you can sort all that out good for you. I can't and I wrote it. 

Edited 5 hours ago by Racinbob

[sqrlgtr 1,889]

1 hour ago, Racinbob said:

Terragrip sells the crosslinks and clips separate at a very reasonable price.

I have an older set of 4 links and had thought about converting them to rubber and have checked on the cost of the rubber cross links. I can buy 2 link steel with the v bars on the cross links for half what the teras or softclaws are . The softclaw web site list the rubber cross belts at 12" for $2.40 ea. So $2.40x20=$48 very reasonable in my opinion. Couldn't find any replacement rubber for the teragrips? @Racinbob with your experience with these would you recommend the 12" cross belts or would a shorter(cheaper) cross belt work for an 8.50 tire size? Forgot to add softclaw clips to attach belts are a $1.00 apiece so you have to add that to final total, 20x1=20 so looking at $68 total plus shipping, tax, and time putting them together compared to $160 for a set.

 

Edited 4 hours ago by sqrlgtr

[Ed Kennell 44,171]

Just to clarify.  Before I went to rubber chains I had 2 link VEE Bars on my 520H with a ton of weight and it would not climb my steep bare asphalt  driveway.

I always plowed a path down thru the grass first then returned to the top in that path and plowed the driveway down and returned on the grass.

With the rubber chains I can plow down and up on the driveway.     Two link steel chains have very little traction on a bare paved surface.  And yes a tractor behind a plow is on a bare surface.

[peter lena 9,657]

@Alrashid2  https://www.google.com/search?q=tractor+supply+welded+rings&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS866US866&oq=tractor+supply+welded+rings+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQRRhAMggIAhAAGBYYHjIKCAMQABiABBiiBDIHCAQQABjvBTIKCAUQABiABBiiBNIBCTE3MzI3ajBqNKgCAbACAf  get a couple of these and a selection of  medium  hook end  extension springs , like a thin straight  flat screwdriver , for slide / fit  placement , they also sell   12  to 15 "  springs , that you can  easily  cut and make your own  up .  have found  heavy tie wraps. really nail down those  loose end links , lift jack  on rear end , lets you verify  any issues , try, tweek , try  , I,M  impressed with mine , and no driveway scratching  !  easy  improvement . pete 

[sqrlgtr 1,889]

55 minutes ago, Ed Kennell said:

Just to clarify.  Before I went to rubber chains I had 2 link VEE Bars on my 520H with a ton of weight and it would not climb my steep bare asphalt  driveway.

I always plowed a path down thru the grass first then returned to the top in that path and plowed the driveway down and returned on the grass.

With the rubber chains I can plow down and up on the driveway.     Two link steel chains have very little traction on a bare paved surface.  And yes a tractor behind a plow is on a bare surface.

I've never had any trouble getting back up driveway with the vee bars but I sure cant push coming back up . I always make a clear path on first pass so as to make it back up though.

[Racinbob 12,517]

I never checked Softclaw because it was the Terragrips I needed to modify. My Softclaws are riveted. They could easily be drilled out but again, I didn't need to modify them other than adding 1 Terragrip cross tread. I don't really understand why rubber cost so much more. Since I already had a set of Terragrip 23-8.50's I had to go with the same size tread. If you were to make the entire thing it would be up to you. The 8.50 treads are 1.5" shorter than the 10.50's but I think they ended up fitting fine. You can see how much lower on the sidewall the 'properly' sized 9.50's are. I don't see where it matters. I never calculated completely converting a set of steel to rubber but as you can see it really adds up. My order for 4 12", 2 13.5" and hardware was about $30 shipped so it was cost effective compared to buying a set of rubber 10.50's. 

@Ed Kennell Thinking back when we first moved back up here that house had a concrete drive. It was short but quite steep. I only had the steel chains at the time and I do recall them not being too good on the slope. I didn't have the rubber to compare them. We only lived there for the 2 years it took for me to finish it then we bought this place and I went with the rubber. The asphalt drive here is long but as flat as...................well................flat.

 

[sqrlgtr 1,889]

5 minutes ago, Racinbob said:

I don't really understand why rubber cost so much more.

 

@Racinbob do you have a link for where you got your parts? I can't find anywhere they sell the individual parts.

[Racinbob 12,517]

3 minutes ago, sqrlgtr said:

@Racinbob do you have a link for where you got your parts? I can't find anywhere they sell the individual parts.

 I had to do some searching. I think this is where I got the parts. 

 

Replacement Parts Archives - SoftClaw Rubber Tire Chains

 

Oddly enough, it's the Softclaw site. Looking at the new Softclaws they look like they bolt theirs now instead of using rivets like mine.  

Anyways, they will work on any brand. 

[sqrlgtr 1,889]

6 minutes ago, Racinbob said:

 I had to do some searching. I think this is where I got the parts. 

 

Replacement Parts Archives - SoftClaw Rubber Tire Chains

 

Oddly enough, it's the Softclaw site. Looking at the new Softclaws they look like they bolt theirs now instead of using rivets like mine.  

Anyways, they will work on any brand. 

 

That's where I was looking. I mis understood and thought you had ordered from terra grip. I appreciate the spec chart you posted above that helps tremendously.

[sqrlgtr 1,889]

Just wondering how the rubber chains do going out the side of a hill? I remember thinking someone told me they didn't do so well going out the side of a hill and that is the reason for me sticking with the vee bar steel chains. IDK if there is anything to that because Ive never tried the rubber type .