Dear all, I would like to ask something about protection chain on Motor Grader 140H. Chain supplier offer the chain like on the picture to protect tire worn out so fast. Is it OK for Motor Grader. Just for information, we have no snow here, just rock and dirt. Best regards Arie
If that is your grader and the tyres on the front are the same as on the rear then not only are they are bias ply which went out with the Stone Age but are also completely the wrong tread design for a grader. No wonder they are wearing out quickly. Ask your tyre supplier about the availability of radial tyres in the appropriate size to suit your machine model and the width of wheel rims you have fitted right now. Whatever size they are the tyres should be of TRA Specification L-4 as a minimum and preferably L-5. Use the correct tyre for the job and you would not require chains in my opinion. Don't fit new tyres to the front, use worn out ones from the rear. Chains are a pain, always need adjusting and reapirs for broken links, etc. They increase cost of operating a machine exponentionally. Only to be used as a last resort.
Those are awesome looking chains though! Looks like something that might work well on a skidder (logging, not skid steer).
The only decent brand of tyre chains in my experience is Pewag. Not cheap, but if chains are a must (as a last resort basically) when all else has failed then that's the brand to go for.
Mr Nige, Thanks for your explanation about my post. I have been told to that company about tyres that you explained. Yup...that is Pewag. They use that kind of chain for CAT 992G. I just wonder about that chain will be effect with machine ( such as tandem drive, differential, etc ) BR Arie
Hey nige wouldnt those be hard on drive chains and axles just never seen them on a grader except for snow and ice
:IMO apparantly they are designed for a grader, but in reality are probably not very user friendly. The clearance between the rim and the tandem drive box is not a lot of room with factory rims, so the company will spend a lot of time tightening the chains on a constant basis to keep them snug or buy special offset rims to allow the clearance needed. Also,my guess is that the top speed with those on would be 10mph ( maybe even a little slower than that), so that would take away any possibility of roading the machine. Never liked chains, never will!!:my2c
I agree, and you beat me to it. The only time I've ever seen graders with chains was in snow. My comments would be as follows: - 1. The machine speed will be severely compromised.I would say that if equipped with chains you would have to disable at least 5th-8th speed in the transmission, maybe even 4th-8th. The safe top speed of the machine will probably be no more than 15km/h compared to 30+ km/h right now. Running the grader on asphalt surfaces would be impossible. 2. The tyre chains will put major additional loads on all the tandem and powertrain components including the differential and final drives. 3. there may be issues with chains running on the tandem cases or chassis components. Not nice to discover that after you've forked out to buy them and got them installed. 4. As I said before the chains will be major money (chains for our 994 that runs in limestone are $85,000 a set ......!!) and the money doesn't stop after they are installed. They will need spare parts like repair links, and most of all they will need regular maintenance and adjustment. So basically you will need tyre fitters on site pretty much all the time. You can't "fit & forget" with chains or they will bite you in the ass. Arie, what brand, size and TRA class of tyre are you using right now and what is the most common mode of failure..? Do they get cut, wear out, separate because of heat, etc,..? If you could post some photos of your failed tyres that would help.
Oops, wrong thread,
Nige, I wish you could drive some sense in my bosses head haha. Those front tires are the same crap they put on our blades. As far as I'm concerned they are recapped truck tires. They bounce and not worth a damn in mud and snow. I bitched long enough to get a good set of Michelin radials on it a few years ago and proved that they work well and they did good in rock too if you left them a little under inflated we have a lot of flint rock here and it is hard on tires. I was off of the blade for a few years but it now has those crap tires on it again *^#%
Guys, Thanks a lot for all your information. I have been forward this forum to my colleague and that company. Last info that I got is " Spindel shaft Broken ". Hopely they will understand with your explanation. BR Arie.
I have reservations about chaining up only half of the rear tandems for snow plowing. Is this generally OK or will this practice overly stress some of the drive components resulting in breakdown?
Chain all four rear wheels or none. No half measures. Chain just 2 and you'll break drive chains in the tandems, maybe not immediately but you will. It's too late to think what you should have done when a drive chain breaks and explodes the tandem housing from the inside............
We're currently using Bridgestone VSDT 23.5R25 L-5 radials on the back of our 16M's. They work really well, pretty much on a par with Michelin.
They look like a good rock tire. The last good tires I had on my blade were Michelin XGLA G-2 They did pretty good considering. I don't think I had too many flats and they rode real good. Plowed snow with them and got around pretty good too. They replaced them this last time with bias ply and I can sure tell a big difference. Rough riding and noisy. Not great traction either. I'm sure glad I'm getting closer to retirement hahaha..
I wouldn't even entertain TRA G-rated tyres on the back of a grader. I prefer loader/dozer tyres (L-rated) because they generally have more meat on the tread and also more sidewall protection than the average G-rated tyre. Working in rock the least I'd settle for is L-4's. We use XLD D1 (L-4) or XLD D2 (L-5) on ours if we are fitting Michelin.
I don't get that choice. I was happy to get something besides a damn recap tire!!