L2501 chain recommendation

[Whitemike]

I need to get some chains for my L2501 for plowing snow. Is it possible to get away with only chaining the front or do I need to chain all 4? Front only would be nice because wow are the expensive but all 4 is doable. Also was told a rumor from another L2501 owner that he “heard” that spacers needed to be added to the rear wheels in order to be able to chain them, any truth to this?
Any recommendations for chains and links to wear I can purchase them? The tires on my tractor are;
Front - 27x8.50-15 NHS 8 ply
Rear - R14T 15-19.5NHS (380/70D19.5) 6 ply

I live in Idaho so long snowy winters. Already had 4+ feet and while the tractor does great I’m finding that when I bury my plow in the snow it is the blade that ends up steering the tractor. Also not sure if they do any smaller design tweaks that vary with model years but I bought mine brand new in spring of 2022
Thanks

 

[Mountainhill]

Wheel spacers needed, Kubota sells a 1” spacer, however having had those R-14’s on my new l2501, I had planned to get 2”” spacers, fortunately, now have R-1’s.
I’ve only chained the rear tires on my L3800 and it preformed well for seven years.

 

[85Hokie]

Mike,

several thoughts on chaining both ends - in 4wd, there needs to be a "bit" of slip somewhere - or the gears will take all the abuse. Most chain the rears only - some HAVE chained the front only.

If you are going to be on that much snow/ice - I would consider chaining all 4 - and add a hellva lot of ballast on the rear or front depending on where your blade it located.

 

[Vlach7]

If you have time and a mig welder, I collect truckers' chains that have fallen off and, on the highway, or from garage sales, ect. and have made 100lb chains for my 2WD full size BH and for my L47. I use them only a couple times a year, so this works for me, if you're going to use them full time spend the money.

 

[Vlach7]

Car chains will probably fit the front.

 

[jimh406]

I have the OEM spacers on the rear.

I have front chains and rear chains. The rear chains are massive compared to the front. My neighbor only uses front chains, so I started with them. They are also a lot cheaper. That worked ok, but not as well as having rear chains, too. So, I added rears.

However, on the rear, you have the option of locking the rear if needed. You don't have that option for the front. The rear chains are also way more substantional than the front which means more traction. I have ladder chains on the front and rear and my rears are probably in the neighborhood of 4 times as large diameter. Yep, that much larger.

I suggest doing the rears first mainly due to the size of chain and extra weight on the rear. Well, my rears are loaded, and my fronts aren't. I notice the front chains slip more than the rear always.

 

[Whitemike]

How exactly do the spacers get installed? Are they bolted onto the rear axle between the wheel and axel?
And how much are they?

 

[jimh406]

How exactly do the spacers get installed? Are they bolted onto the rear axle between the wheel and axel?
And how much are they?

Installed on the hubs and have bolts to attach the wheels. There are some youtube videos that show the process. They are about $200 or so.

 

[Whitemike]

Called them yesterday and the guy I spoke to asked if the spacers were installed when my tractor was delivered from kubota to their dealership because they usually install them before the wheels get put on and the tractor goes to the customer but it doesn’t look like they did unless I’m missing something (see picture). I’m not having slipping issues while plowing per say, but when I bury the blade in the snow then the plow is basically steering my tractor, I turn my front wheels but tractor doesn’t turn it goes where the plow blade wants it to. I have a 6’ land pride plow on the front of the tractor. I’m m wondering if chaining only the front will be ok. The guy I spoke to at the dealership recommended not chaining all 4 tires and only chaining the rear but due to my specific issue I’m thinking of only chaining the front

 

[trueg50]

In your pitcture the spacer would have been between the orange tire rim and the grey plate, i don't see anything for a spacer there.

Usually folks just do the rears, I'd start there and see if it meets your needs. When plowing my fronts tend to pop into the air so they wouldn't help much. The other thing is that your front wheels are far more likely to slip into ditches, leaving only your rears to use to extract yourself with.

Spacers will help your stability as well so they can help in multiple ways.

Sadly I'm typing from my phone, but if you look at my post history, I've posted a number of pictures of my 2" spacer install on my B2601. The install was quite east. I picked the spacers I did because all you have to do is pop off the rear wheel (like taking off a car tire) and then the spacer bolts on to the existing studs. Then the tire gets bolted onto the studs on the spacers. AKdad (I think that's his username) on YouTube has a video on the spacer type install I did.

 

[Whitemike]

In your pitcture the spacer would have been between the orange tire rim and the grey plate, i don't see anything for a spacer there.

Usually folks just do the rears, I'd start there and see if it meets your needs. When plowing my fronts tend to pop into the air so they wouldn't help much. The other thing is that your front wheels are far more likely to slip into ditches, leaving only your rears to use to extract yourself with.

Spacers will help your stability as well so they can help in multiple ways.

Sadly I'm typing from my phone, but if you look at my post history, I've posted a number of pictures of my 2" spacer install on my B2601. The install was quite east. I picked the spacers I did because all you have to do is pop off the rear wheel (like taking off a car tire) and then the spacer bolts on to the existing studs. Then the tire gets bolted onto the studs on the spacers. AKdad (I think that's his username) on YouTube has a video on the spacer type install I did.

Excellent. Are they the oem 2” spacers? Do you have ballast in the rears?

 

[trueg50]

Excellent. Are they the oem 2” spacers? Do you have ballast in the rears?

I can't remember if they were bora or brotech but it's in my prior posts. The tires are rimguard filled so they were a little tricky to work with but I had some tricks mentioned (again in other posts).