Snowblower Buying & CareUS$59.99 buys a pair of Peerless snow blower tire chains in the 13 x 5 size, and US$74.99 buys the 15 x 6 size, both with 2 link spacing, prices checked November 2, 2026 from the Runnings listings. That is the whole starting argument for chains: a pair covers both drive tires, fits in a box on a shelf in April, and comes off when the ice does. An aggressive tread tire swap starts where chains stop being cheap, with two tires to buy and mount, and it answers a different question. Chains add steel bite on top of the tire you own. A tire swap replaces the tread doing the work, every pass, with no fitting and removal each time conditions change.
The money, dated: what each route costs
The chain prices above are US retailer prices, stated in US dollars because no Canadian listing price was verified for this guide; Canadian buyers will see the same category sold through Canadian Tire under its Certified line and through RONA for Ariens parts, at prices that need checking at the shelf. Twist link ladder pattern chains for garden tractors and snow blowers start lower, from US$29.26 across a wide size range at Tire Chains R Us, which shows how much of the chain price is size rather than brand. The OEM route sits at the top of the chain range: Ariens sells its 721016 chain set, alloy steel, model 72101600, as a vehicle specific fit for its Deluxe and Platinum series machines.
For the tire route, the reference fitment is the Carlisle Snow Hog in 16x6.50-8: 16.0 inches in diameter, 6.50 inches wide, on an 8.0 inch rim, 2 ply, with an aggressive tread of X shaped elements made to plow through soft terrain, and listed primarily for snowblowers, tillers and utility carts. No verified price for that tire was captured for this guide, so none is quoted. Budget honestly instead: two tires, plus mounting if you cannot seat them yourself, against one pair of chains you fit with hand tools. Chains win the first winter on price almost every time. The tire swap spreads its cost over every winter after, with no seasonal labour attached.
Chains vs aggressive tires, side by side
| Question | Tire chains | Aggressive tread tires |
|---|---|---|
| What does the work? | Steel cross links over the existing tread, biting into packed snow and ice | The tread itself: deep, X shaped lugs on tires such as the Carlisle Snow Hog |
| Dated entry price | US$59.99 to US$74.99 per pair for Peerless by size, checked November 2, 2026 | Two tires plus any mounting cost; no verified price captured, so get a quote by size |
| On a finished driveway | Steel on pavement can mark the surface, and Ariens instructs removing chains on pavement or concrete | Rubber only; no steel contacts the surface |
| Seasonal labour | Fit before icy weather, remove when surfaces clear, refit as needed | Fit once; check pressure like any tire |
| Reversibility | Fully removable in minutes | Permanent until the tires wear or are swapped back |
| Fit trap | Sold by tire sidewall size; some sets will not fit Snow Hog or X-Trac tread tires | Must match diameter, width and rim size exactly, 16x6.50-8 means 16.0 by 6.50 on an 8.0 inch rim |
One line in that table decides many driveways. If the machine lives on packed snow and gravel, chains are hard to argue with. If it crosses a finished concrete or newly paved asphalt driveway on every pass, the steel that makes chains work is also what makes them a liability, and the tire route earns its higher price.
The surface question: what chains do to a driveway
The Ariens chain instructions do not hedge on this. Operate at reduced speed on hard or uneven surfaces, avoid sudden starts, stops and turns because they can make chains slip or break, and remove the chains when operating on surfaces where they are not needed, such as pavement or concrete, to prevent damage to the surface and to the chains themselves. Owners report the same thing in plainer language. In a forum thread from an owner with a newly paved asphalt driveway and a chained Cub Cadet, replies warned of surface bruises where the tires and chains rotate, deeper if a wheel spins in place, and noted that any steel touching asphalt or concrete, skid shoes included, can leave a mark. That owner took the chains off.
None of this makes chains a bad tool. It makes them a conditional one. A chain that is earning its keep on an icy slope should come off, or be driven gently and without wheel spin, on the finished apron at the bottom. Spinning a chained wheel to free a stuck machine is the single most expensive move in this whole comparison, for the driveway and for the chain.
Planned step images for this guide: a tire sidewall size marking being read before ordering; a chain laid flat with links facing outward and one wheel centred on it; the inside hooks being pinched closed; spring tensioners fitted to a loose chain; and a finished chain checked for clearance and tension. Each image belongs at its step, showing the exact fitting or marking the step names.
Fit traps before you order
Chains are sized off the tire, not the machine badge. Read the sidewall size first, then match the chain's fit list: the Peerless 13 x 5 set covers sizes including 13x4.00x6, 13x5.00x6 and 13x5.00x7, and the 15 x 6 set covers 14x5.50x5, 15x5.00x6 and 15x6.00x6. Then check the trap that catches people who upgrade in the wrong order: Tire Chains R Us states plainly that its twist link ladder chains will not fit Carlisle Snow Hog or Xtrac snow blower tires, and points those owners to a Snow Hog specific chain page instead. Aggressive tread lugs change the tire's working diameter and give standard cross links nothing flat to sit on. Decide the order before spending: tires first, then chains matched to those tires, if both are still wanted.
Tire pressure is part of fit, for both routes. The Ariens instructions require proper tire pressure per the machine's manufacturer during chain use, and their troubleshooting for slipping or noisy chains starts with pressure and tension, not with buying anything. A soft tire makes a chain loose, a loose chain makes noise and walks on the tread, and hooks turned inward dig into the sidewall. The instructions specify cross chain hooks facing outward for exactly that reason.
Procedure: fitting chains the documented way
Safety first, from the Ariens instructions: machine off, engine cool, spark plug wire disconnected, work on a flat, stable surface, and never run a machine on damaged or improperly installed chains. The Toro install guide gives the wheel off method:
- Block the machine up so both tires are off the ground.
- Remove each wheel by pulling the pin through the end of the axle and sliding the wheel off.
- Lay one chain flat with the links facing outward and centre the wheel on it.
- Wrap the chain around the tire and secure it with its links: the outside links lock into place, the inside links hook and are pinched closed. Keep cross chain hooks facing outward, away from the sidewall.
- Repeat for the second wheel, then slide both wheels back onto the axle and refit the pins. On powered wheels the pin must pass through both the wheel hub hole and the axle hole.
- Set tire pressure to the manufacturer's specification, then check tension. A loose chain gets readjusted at the fasteners, and spring tensioners give a tighter fit where the chain design allows them.
What success looks like: both chains sit centred on the tread with no twist, hooks face outward, tension is even with no flapping links when the wheel is turned by hand, and a short, slow test pass on snow shows no slipping, no unusual noise, and no contact with the machine's body. Noise on the test pass is information: it almost always means a loose chain asking for one more link of adjustment.
Fit check before the first snowfall
Run this checklist in the driveway in October, not on the first icy morning. Sidewall size read and matched to the chain fit list. Tire model checked against the chain maker's exclusions, Snow Hog and X-Trac owners first. Pressure set to specification. Chains test fitted, tensioned, and removed once, so the job is familiar with cold hands. And the surface decision made in advance: which stretches of your route get chains, and where they come off or get a gentle, no spin pass. A traction plan written down in fall beats a scratched driveway argued about in January.
, Tom Reilly, Home & DIY Writer