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Front End Grip


callwill

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What do you use to increase the grip of your front wheels for steering on your 3212H? Whether plowing or blowing snow, i have found myself at times at the mercy of the ice, unable to actually go where i need or want to(due to slope at the drive way edge or just on my sloping driveway). Do you use chains or some other method/device?
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First thought is to make sure you have the tractor weight balanced. Place enough weigh on the front-end to near max the machine recommendations. Second, depending on the surface; if ice, then metal chains or metal spikes in the tires work well; if sand or mud, then ag tires work well. Ribbed tires work well in soft soil where you need to penetrate deep into the soil to stabalize the tractor. bob
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You could use front wheel weights if your wheels have the holes to mount them, or you could use different tires, some guys have snowblower tires on their tractors, I think they are called snow hogs.
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There is no real way to get great grip at the front, with out 4 wheel drive. Using diferent tires and adding wheel weights will help, but you will still have the same problem if you push too fast. I run AG's on most of mine with front weights and have had good results. There have been a few who run chains in the front, but I don't remember how they like then. I was told that tri ribs work great in snow as well. This is something that you will most likely will be a trial and error for you.
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My biggest concern is ice/hard packed snow. I've been on my way down or even up the driveway, plowing or 'blowin' and the front end will want to slide off sideways at the edge of the drive where it slopes off. I've learned not to do that edge going down the driveway as it has meant getting stuck with no traction to pull me out uphill. At least if i have to pull it out backwards i have the assistance of gravity going the other way. I'm tending towards chains on the front to give me some grip with those multiribbed lawn tires, but don't know waht others may have in the way of experience to advise on this course of action.
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the only way to grip solid ice is to use spikes/bars that will chip into the ice surface. Some chains have such devices. replace the front tires with metal wheels with short spikes is a way-out option. Its used in some industrial apps. bob
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I have these Ag's from Ebay with direction arrows molded in for drive and coast (opposite directions). They worked great and I plowed on concrete blacktop and gravel with 26x12x12 rears. Other members have fitted snowblower tires with great sucess. I really like the new style tire on the box store machines. For ice, ATV shops sell little 1/4" hex drive screws with carbide grit that you can drive into the tread blocks and these should work on all but turf tires.
[img]http://www.simpletractors.com/images/gallery_images/6216Ag_small.jpg[/img]
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Well, that is what they are, turf tires, so putting screws in them will be the end of them. I'll need to look around, probably the easies would be chains. Those metal spiked wheels sound like overkill for a driveway, but it revives an old idea i had once: a round cylinder with studs or bars on it that you would put on the tire by deflating it some & then hold it on by inflating the tire.
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