Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

 Good Afternoon,

 I put a set of Carlisle Snow Hog tires on my Toro Snow thrower as I was told these are a very agressive tire the tires that were on her before this were the original Toro tires with chains.

 I was told by the Toro place these tires do not need chains & hurt the traction I bought them off the internet & mounted them. Well today was her first big test we live on a hill so the driveway is steep & we get a drift to boot.

 It really took a lot for her to come back up the driveway as the tires were trying to bite but just slipping & the blower was wandering all over. So I would like to put chains on her what I need to know is this a good idea?. And is it true that chains hurt the traction of these tires?

 I have seen chains for sale for these tires & beleive that our drive is so steep that I need chains but don't want to spend money for nothing. Can anyone tell me what I should do.

 Thank you!

  Will, 

There are two things to consider as I learned when I put chains on my old mid 80's Ariens ST504 which came with snow hog tires.  First, chains that have small narrow links have a tendency to sink down in between the knobs of the tire which defeats the purpose.  Chains with wider links should work better.  Second, make sure that you have enough space for the chains to fit in between the tires and the snow blower so the chains don't rub against metal.

Chevelless- I had an old 1974 paddle wheel Simplicity that had small solid rubber tires to which I put on chains. They tore up my driveway which has a mecatum surface. When I bought a new machine with larger tires (Carlisle Snow Hogs) i found the traction left a lot to be desired but didn't want to go with chains because of the surface damage. After about 5 years of less than satisfactory service from the Snow Hogs and at the suggestion of a friend from another site i put on Carlisle X-Tracs this season. They are as good as chains in my experience. Carlisle is currently not producing the XTracs but you can find them on ebay and other places on the net. One thing should you decide to go for them-There is an arrow molded into the side wall that indicates the direction of rotation of the tire. It is important to mount them so the arrow turns forward (clockwise).

Marc