I need better traction when snow plowing. I see Kage Klawz, Snow Wolfs, and I think Bobcat make a more narrow tire for skid steers. Can anyone make a suggestion? Thanks.
We have a couple of guys around town the use a street rim and truck tire . They seem pretty good watching them. I have never talked to any of them so I have no personal experience with that set up
I use chains on stock tires
Square link chains for our large frame Deere. Had 'bald' tires when we bought it 10 years ago for our acreage machine. We have steep icy hills and a lot of snow...never felt the need to upgrade the tires as chains are far better/safer for plowing steep ground than any tire. As long as scratching or damage to hard surfaces is not an issue. If you are on flat ground then I can definitely see the reasoning for the narrow/winter tread style tires. You don't have to worry about sliding backwards down a steep icy grade as the slippage from bare tires polishes the snow into ice! I have personal experience with this!
I use tires and wheels from A1 tire in Minnesota. They are way cheaper than Kage Klaws and such. I run 22.5" semi wheels they supplied that have the bolt pattern for the skid loader, and recapped low pro 22.5" tires. Your machine is a lot smaller, so you would probably run one of their 19.5" sizes. I do commercial lot plowing in town; road speed is far more important that ultimate traction, so chains are out for me. If you are just plowing on a farm or something chains will have much more traction. Skid Steer Snow Kits - A-1 Tire Service Inc a1tireservice.com
Interesting, so as a bonus you gain higher road speed....makes sense. As long as machine has the hp & weight.
I run a Cat 262C. With the big snow wheels I run at 14mph, which is 2mph faster than factory spec road speed. That was a major factor in using those wheels for me, most of the other skid steer snow wheels will work great for the snow traction part of things, but you don't get any extra speed. There is a potentially serious disadvantage to the taller wheels though; the machine sits several inches higher than it is supposed to, and with certain snow pushers it can really affect how the machine interacts with the pusher. I am currently using a Kage Snowfire plow/pusher setup. The plow is far enough out in front of the machine that the hieght isn't an issue. On a simpler pusher that doesn't sit so far out it can be a bit of an issue. I have a Virnig V50 ocsilating pusher as well, it works, but it takes awhile to get used to it and figure out how to make it run properly. The taller wheels help with avoiding getting the machine hung up in deep snow as well. Overall really big wheels aren't for everybody, but they have some definate advantages.
My brother pushes snow commerically and he uses the narrow snow tires on his Case 240. His tires are close in height to the typical SSL tire so he doesn't have the offset issue. He loves them.
I think I am leaning to the 19.5 set up. I found a set of used A1 tires that use the 245 70 19.5. This is wider and taller than the 225 70 19.5 that I would likely buy if purchasing new. Any thoughts on the difference? My stock tires are 10-16.5.