What Kind Of Tire Chains Do You Use And Why? ...

[HB of CJ]

What kind of tire chains do you use and why? Reason I ask is that some Old Coot that I know very well had some chains that he carried around in the winter time for YEARS ... only to find out the hard way that the chains he had DID NOT FIT his Suzuki Suicide Baby Jeep. AUUGHHHH! Embarrassing.

Are the new technology easy on easy off traction devices any good? Some feed back if possible. What kind of traction devices or chains do you use? Why? Inquiring minds wonder. That is all.

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[Joe13]

I use the highest end chains (NO Cables!) from Les Shwab.

I used them on my work vehicle and have gone some narrly places towing generators.

They will replace them with a different size as long as the case isn't abused and you have not used them - havnt needed chains on a personal rig in 13+ years.

So when I get new tires or a car I just have them swap me into new ones that fit and it's free for me other then a little time.



In fact now that my wife got a 4x4, I'm going to go trade in the 2 sets I have so that she has 2 sets for her rig and we just won't go anywhere in the car that would require them until I get some cash. I want to say last time I looked they were $120 a set.





Never tried the easy on ones.

 

[308]

Our Subaru Crosstrek with Michelin studless snow tires drives better in the snow and ice that our fully chained Toyota Tacoma 4x4

 

[bbbass]

I've had work chains, pickup chain for my dually, and drag chains for the 5th.

Heavy duty PU chains were used to get to the tower sites here in E. Oregon. Used only the best full chains chains on all 4. Used Les Schwab PU truck chains on my dually tow vehicle came in handy when were were towing the 5th in deep snow. The drag chains were the easy on with the cable around the outside... not nearly as durable, not as easy to put on as one might think, and pretty light duty.

If on ice a lot, and in a heavy vehicle, I would use heavy chains with the V knuckles for extra grip, and rubber tighteners. Otherwise I don't think it matters. My Toyota Highlander with snow tires and studs does just fine on the freeway.

Carry extra tighteners, or bungees. Have good water resistant boots, and either rainclothes or a small tarp you can lay out so you are not laying in the snow getting wet. Been there done that.

 

[The Heretic]

Our Subaru Crosstrek with Michelin studless snow tires drives better in the snow and ice that our fully chained Toyota Tacoma 4x4

In my limited experience with chains, they have a limited use/advantage over studs - where the latter (studs) work well/better in most cases.

This was the first 4x4 I owned (not just driven):



I built it myself with Jeep running gear.

It did ok, and I once took it up in the mountains to see how well chains would do on it. I went up a road until it would not go any further, then I put chains on it and went a little further - maybe 100-200 yards before it would just sit there and spin.

The problem was that once the diffs started pushing snow, it could not go further (it was almost up to the bumper and over the diffs).

I don't purposely go out and try to get stuck anymore with 4x4s or AWDs - too much hassle and I have a fairly good idea now of what works and what doesn't. In general road conditions where I am not pushing snow, I have had better luck with studs, especially in mixed conditions, especially on packed or frozen snow, and even more so on ice.

Also, with or without studs, tire types and quality counts, and just as important is other factors like locking diffs and/or traction control. I live on a mountain.



And to get from my driveway to the public road I have to drive up a private unplowed road where I gain about 250 of elevation in about a tenth of a mile. My AWD daily driver does ok if the kids will stop screwing around on the road with their sleds and stuff causing me to have to stop. The intelligent AWD does pretty good, but the Subbies most people use up here do noticeably better.

My 4x4s do okay (better than my AWD) but they are my last resort as their 4WD is manual and on patchy ice or snow that can be awkward and kludgy to shift in and out of 4WD.

But studs have the added advantage of not only being able to go, but also being able to stop on ice or snow.

Now mud - that is a different beast - chains do well in mud and studs don't really (unless the mud is frozen).

 

[11Charlie]

I don't own chain's!! I figure if I need chains I don't go. My truck is four wheel drive and my wife's suv is all wheel drive. Many a time I thought about it but Like Heretic said if I was going to do that I would probably just go for studded tires on all four.

If studs don't get me there then I sure as he!! don't need to be one of the idiots on the road making things worse.

 

[Ura-Ki]

I have heavy duty chains for all my trucks and i use the old school Ice Breakers with the V shaped cleats on my personal pickups and Jeep, and also have a good set of SSC chains in the wife's car and mine, just in case we get caught out away from home with out one of the 4X4s!

 

[ZigZagZeke]

Here's what I use. Neither the 2500 Suburban, nor the 2500HD Sierra need them often.
https://www.amazon.com/Laclede-Chai...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B017BJEQLQ

These are very easy to install and they last.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Top Les Schwab chains for my Dodge PU! I don't even put them on unless there's some emergency! YEA RETIREMENT!!!
We have cable chains for the wife's Saburu Outback, but again we rarely use them! The car handles snow so well that we can back street it in the evening to stores etc!
The only reason for chains on the Dodge is excessive HP.

 

[Camelfilter]

I'm another proponent for studded tires. Swap over every year. This year was late at getting it done, but better late than never.

Have almost always bought studded tire sets used off of the Craigslist. Have also bought suitable wheelsets fir the studded tires and have them mounted.

Have saved thousands over the years, and honestly no telling how much grief/aggravation we've saved by running studded tires. Surely has prevented untold fender benders/sliding into snow banks & whathave you.

I work a lot of off shifts/nights, so black ice is my primary concern. Especially out here. Back East it was snow, slush, then the black ice.

Studded tires aren't magic, so speed absolutely still needs to be reduced as conditions warrant. However they do still give enough traction to maintain control, when it would be near on zero traction without them.

As to chains? The only ones I've run were those "good" ones from Les Schwab, back in that 2008/2009 bad storm that near on shut Portland down

....course I didn't put them on until after I went into a ditch on River Road Hillsboro...going 15MPH! Had to get unstuck by a fellow with "real" chains on all 4 in a lifted truck. Had me out with 2 or 3 yanks from a chain. Wouldn't take any cash either.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

to be honest, i get studded tires and chains out off of used trade-in cars at work all the time. i got two brand new sets(8tires) of studs on wheels that happen to fit my daily driver and brand new les schwab chains that fit my 4runner... para gratis!!!

so thats what i prefer!!!

my truck has 36" goodyear duratracs on it. they have the snowflake. theyre good in the snow and ice.


no tire(that im aware of) is good on slush on top of ice.

 

[01rednavigator]

I have some Ford Brand cable chains that came with my Navigator.

It has never had a problem in heavy snow and even ice with the Firestone A/T tires I have on it. It is the best 4x4 I have driven and is a beast in 4 low.

One cool thing about my Navigator is that it has air suspension, when you put it in 4wd it raises up another 2-4 inches for extra ground clearance.

 

[Dungannon]

Les Schwab cable chains for the wife's van Sienna and my Tundra. Rarely, rarely use them but take along once the studded snow tires go on.

 

[teflon6string]

I've always gone commando with everyday M&S grade tires on my Outbacks, Cherokees, 4WD trucks, etc. No problem going over the Siskiyou Pass, Rockies, Mt. Hood, Bachelor, Mammoth, Big Bear, solid ice for a month in Memphis and decades all over Portland SW Hills. Maybe lucky, or maybe I just don't try to drive fast in snow/ice like an A-hole. I proceed cautiously and tap brakes religiously even with so-called ABS.

I've crawled under my sweetheart's FWD sedans to put on Les Schwab chains a few times over the years, and finally got her some Autosocks last year. You slip them on and drive away, so we hear - didn't try them yet. Now that we're hitched I'll be getting her to and from work when the hill gets icy. The socks are not for long trips or carrying on like normal. I bought them just to get her home if she's ever caught somewhere out in the slippery stuff. I noticed last month that Les Schwab is selling them now too.

 

[01rednavigator]

The only time I have even tried chains on my Navigator is when I test fitted them to make sure they fit.

I have driven in some pretty crazy snow with the Navigator even with crappy tires, if it got so bad that I thought I needed chains I probably wouldn't drive unless I needed to.

 

[teflon6string]

I actually have 2 sets of Les Schwab chains (front and rear) for the 4x4 Dodge but never had cause yet to put them all on. I'm really curious. Maybe this year.

 

[gryghin]

We've had our suburban since 1999, and I've used the Les Schwab chains the whole time. Just last season I had to replace one set, puts me at 4 sets in 18 years.

For an islander that grew up in the South, I can drive well in the snow and ice. Well enough that our friends call if they need help or need to get someplace.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I use the modified regular chains because of my slender wrists.

 

[HB of CJ]

ZigZagZeke: Thank you. Site Book Marked!

 

[HB of CJ]

We like all of us here had that 28" snow fall last winter early 2017 in January. As it turns out we were snow bound stuck in the driveway for 8 days. We probably could have rammed down the driveway and gotten free driving hard butting snow but I did not want to abuse my Suzuki Suicide Jeep. The highway and city streets got plowed quickly though.

Full Pantry. Power stayed on mostly. No problem being stuck inside the house for 8 days other than being stuck inside the house. Did make snowmen and had the usual snowball fights with neighbors. But ... IF I HAD TO GET FREE could have I? Dunno. Probably not. Thus the need for new chains THAT THIS TIME FIT THE SUZUKI SUICIDE! Proper chains are good.

Chains are expensive. So are extra wheels and dedicated studded tires. Little money. Right now we are trying to figure out the need vs expense. Risk determination. Les Schwab would love to sell me fitted V bar premium chains for all four ends on my Suicide. I can not afford such. The little Jap Jeep does well in mud and stuff. Snow? Dunno. Don't wanna find out.

Or ... just bite that Credit Card bullet and go buy the chains. Consider it another Prepp expense. An expensive Prepp expense. I hate using ANY CC but sometimes ya just gotta. Will advise. That is all.

Equal paragraph length is futile. Edited for s/p