What tire chains do you guys run
- Thread starter poomero
- Start date
UncleSarge58
NAXJA Forum User
Don't Know Where you'd Get Chains to Fit Larger than Stock Tires.
I Run LT235/75/R15 6 Ply Tires & Have a Set of 4 Titanium Nitrided, Z Bar Chains, w/ Carbon Steel Z Bars that Fit Perfectly!
My Dad Gave them to me Years ago for my Birthday or Christmas (Can't Remember).
Don,t Know Where He Got them, though & He Can't Remember Either.
I'm 58 & He's 80. So, Where to Get More, Is Now a Mystery!
All I Know is that they Work, Great! W/ All 4 On (In 4 Hi), I Can Drive & Stop On Ice!
Jeep Sounds & Vibrates like a Tank, with them on.
Also, Don't Drive Over 45mph w/ Chains On & In 4WD.
Not Only Scary, But, Dangerous.
I Drive at around 35mph w/ Chains On.
I just Let the Fools Go Around.
Then Charge them $50 Plus, to Pull them Back On the Road, After they Slide Off the Road, From Going Too Fast!
Sorry I Couldn't Be Any Help.
But, Chains Are Great for Icy Conditions & I Highly Recommend them.
UncleSarge58
I Run LT235/75/R15 6 Ply Tires & Have a Set of 4 Titanium Nitrided, Z Bar Chains, w/ Carbon Steel Z Bars that Fit Perfectly!
My Dad Gave them to me Years ago for my Birthday or Christmas (Can't Remember).
Don,t Know Where He Got them, though & He Can't Remember Either.
I'm 58 & He's 80. So, Where to Get More, Is Now a Mystery!
All I Know is that they Work, Great! W/ All 4 On (In 4 Hi), I Can Drive & Stop On Ice!
Jeep Sounds & Vibrates like a Tank, with them on.
Also, Don't Drive Over 45mph w/ Chains On & In 4WD.
Not Only Scary, But, Dangerous.
I Drive at around 35mph w/ Chains On.
I just Let the Fools Go Around.
Then Charge them $50 Plus, to Pull them Back On the Road, After they Slide Off the Road, From Going Too Fast!
Sorry I Couldn't Be Any Help.
But, Chains Are Great for Icy Conditions & I Highly Recommend them.
UncleSarge58
dan1977p
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Virginia Beach, VA
The ones that say 4H or 4L
lazyxj
NAXJA Member #1310
- Location
- Los Angeles
Back when I ran 31X10.50-15 tires, there wasn't enough clearance for chains so Super Z6 cables were used instead.
You can see the various sizes here.
http://www.streetsideauto.com/shop/security-chain/fitment-guide/#SZ447
You can see the various sizes here.
http://www.streetsideauto.com/shop/security-chain/fitment-guide/#SZ447
Overland
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- The Chihuahuan Desert
Cables are thirty bucks. Really only for heavy snow where the plow doesn't go.
lazyxj
NAXJA Member #1310
- Location
- Los Angeles
Don't need no chains in SoCal.
But many times you need them at Mammoth Mountain.
ParadiseXJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Paradise, CA 95969
I have chains. Don 't know what kind except for they are made completely out of chain. I have 4wd and Cooper winter snow tires, with the snowflake & mountain picture, not All-Season, not M/T's.
I have cable chains for my front wheel drive vehicles...aka Ricers.
I've installed the chains, in my driveway, to make sure they fit. I ALWAYS carry them with me. I've never needed them. I drive a lot in snow, on roads and off, on highways and streets, in hills and mountains. That's why I have a Jeep and not a Rav 4.
NOTE: I always see the people in the ditch in their Suburban, Tahoe, Explorer, any SUV...The key is, no matter what you're driving in the snow...slow the hell down. Just because you have 4wd, you're not immune to the laws of physics. If you have "all wheel drive" it's even worse.
I have cable chains for my front wheel drive vehicles...aka Ricers.
I've installed the chains, in my driveway, to make sure they fit. I ALWAYS carry them with me. I've never needed them. I drive a lot in snow, on roads and off, on highways and streets, in hills and mountains. That's why I have a Jeep and not a Rav 4.
NOTE: I always see the people in the ditch in their Suburban, Tahoe, Explorer, any SUV...The key is, no matter what you're driving in the snow...slow the hell down. Just because you have 4wd, you're not immune to the laws of physics. If you have "all wheel drive" it's even worse.
- Location
- Minneapolis, MN
Precisely described.
Must be a California thing, I have never owned or used any chains in Minnesota.
ParadiseXJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Paradise, CA 95969
Yes it is a California thing...or at least a western thing. We don't use salt on the roads, we use sand or DG (decomposed granite) for traction. We also don't have cars with body rot/rust. Any highway that crosses the Sierras above ~~3-4000 feet can count on having "chains required" signs popping up. You need chains OR 4wd with snow tires on all 4 wheels, or they turn you around. Seeing as how the tallest are passes are 7-8000 ft. it gets hairy out there with no chains on a 2wd car.
ParadiseXJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Paradise, CA 95969
old_man
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Loveland, Colorado
Here in Colorado some of us go snow bashing up in the mountains or live up in the mountains and use chains. Every 10 years or so we get a blizzard with 30+ inches of snow down in the flat lands and chains are handy. Where I grew up got 300+ inches of snow a year.
As for getting chains for bigger tires, around here the cheapest and easiest way is to go to a full service truck stop. The chains used on semi's are bigger and most truck stops have a good assortment. Cutting down a set of chains to fit is easy, adding length is not. If you run chains a lot, I recommend getting some extra links and a set of chain pliers to repair/modify your chains. If where you live also gets snow pack and ice, get the chains with the little cross bars welded to the links.
Many truck stops also have these nifty little ramps with slots for the chains that you put on the ground and lay the chains over. Then you pull up on the ramp and attach your chains. It cuts the work considerably. I also recommend the chain tensioners to keep the chains from flopping around and doing body damage.
As for getting chains for bigger tires, around here the cheapest and easiest way is to go to a full service truck stop. The chains used on semi's are bigger and most truck stops have a good assortment. Cutting down a set of chains to fit is easy, adding length is not. If you run chains a lot, I recommend getting some extra links and a set of chain pliers to repair/modify your chains. If where you live also gets snow pack and ice, get the chains with the little cross bars welded to the links.
Many truck stops also have these nifty little ramps with slots for the chains that you put on the ground and lay the chains over. Then you pull up on the ramp and attach your chains. It cuts the work considerably. I also recommend the chain tensioners to keep the chains from flopping around and doing body damage.
Alaskan89XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Alaska
Although the PO specified interest into tire chains.., has anyone used, seen, or otherwise have comments on this alternative to chains?
http://flextrax.mysite101.net/about-snoclaws
Lot of tabs to visit beneath the header at the top.
Some interesting videos, (I imagine), but I can't see 'em on dial-up service only.
Like to see some comments, as I am fed up with chains.., lol, especially after getting stuck, and these may be the answer as they can just simply be wrapped around the stuck tire(s), quickly, (as reported), in order to continue on.
My only minus so far about the three different models is the fact that they take up more space than chains when stowed aboard. Perhaps price is a thing too, but I am considering that to be a minor issue when it comes to maintaining.., THE ADVENTURE.
http://flextrax.mysite101.net/about-snoclaws
Lot of tabs to visit beneath the header at the top.
Some interesting videos, (I imagine), but I can't see 'em on dial-up service only.
Like to see some comments, as I am fed up with chains.., lol, especially after getting stuck, and these may be the answer as they can just simply be wrapped around the stuck tire(s), quickly, (as reported), in order to continue on.
My only minus so far about the three different models is the fact that they take up more space than chains when stowed aboard. Perhaps price is a thing too, but I am considering that to be a minor issue when it comes to maintaining.., THE ADVENTURE.
sinat01
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clarksburg, WV
I know I found several sizes of chains/cables on amazon, Im looking for a set thatl fit a 33x10.50, wv may not be as high, but state road "forgets" about a few roads that I drive to work that get icy, plus where I work is on a mtn and the facility road isnt salted.
now if I can get my steering bolted back together ill be in business.....
now if I can get my steering bolted back together ill be in business.....
old_man
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Loveland, Colorado
They look interesting but how would they hold up off road with rocks. Is the plastic/rubber molded over steel cable or something like it? How do they handle -20F to -40F?
dan1977p
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Virginia Beach, VA
Off road and rocks? I'm new to this snow wheeling thing, but when the topic of chains off road comes up, our club folks get super pissy and claim it destroys the trails. I tend to agree and just wait till there is enough snow packed to float. I'm totally cool if I've gotten misinformation, though.
Alaskan89XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Alaska
Lot to read at their site, but by glossing over it, it seems that they can handle those low temps. I question 'testimonials', as I wonder it they are real. However at this site I would weigh-in that they are real, and many are in extreme cold areas of the Continent. Without going back to the site, I seem to recall that it is suggested to travel at low speeds, (30mph), as they can't claim higher speeds due to some politically-correct insurance thing.., sheesh.
As for damage; from "ROCKS".., lol, they offer a rather complete three year warranty.., as I recall. I wonder about that too. As for construction; I am not certain, but from what I think I see there would be no metals in the cross-over 'X' pattern centered on the tread's foot-print.
For sure, chains in deep snow with rocks exposed might be the better application. However different geo-areas might not be so damaging. My area does not have sharp rocks, mostly frozen mud/tundra stuff, and rounded rocks/small boulders, etc.
As a slight aside; I have traveled through pre-existing rtv tracks on my Yamaha Kodiak 400 where previous warmer season 'balls-to-the-wall' dudes have unnecessarily torn up, and uprooted rocks, roots, and dug deeply down into the turf from their extreme tire lugs making egress even more difficult for negotiating same at a calmer pace with less aggressive tires. I tend to avoid those areas when the big freeze comes, and snow hides those tire-piercing/slashing-objects.., chains, or no.
I use Blizzak winter tires which are siped big time. In fact they are used on a frozen lake in automotive racing, and are generally superior to studs. My use is for normal bad condition highway travel whether ice, or snow, or both.
I doubt those agencies that 'mandate' chain-use over mountain passes in the lower 48 would let me pass by.., even with such superior tires. (However we in Alaska do not have those safety advisories standing in our way. THEY just close the road off from travelers). Whatever.., It's smart to have either chains, or those snow-claws, or some-such, available in a pinch at the very least, or for longer prolonged slower speed driving.., should one intentionally want to.
Once went off of a dirt road with only a clear sheet of solid sun warmed wet flat ice on it, and lost steering control. Not because of the Blizzak tires, but when my 100 pound dog landed on my lap barking, and gnashing the door window charging a moose.., sheesh. Left rear wheel ended some three feet in the air, and all others down deep into the snow, and with no traction available beneath. Placing chains, after the fact, would have impossible for me to accomplish in that situation. However those 'claws' would have been easy to put on according to the site's blurbs, (especially since I carry a small shovel on a rifle-rack), and I would not have had to find assistance to be 'rope/towed' back up, (in a back country area), onto the road. In this, (lol.., off-road), example I think the 'claws' would have been the superior option.
Still I hope that some
member has experiences with the claws to chime in the pluses, or minuses as per.
As for damage; from "ROCKS".., lol, they offer a rather complete three year warranty.., as I recall. I wonder about that too. As for construction; I am not certain, but from what I think I see there would be no metals in the cross-over 'X' pattern centered on the tread's foot-print.
For sure, chains in deep snow with rocks exposed might be the better application. However different geo-areas might not be so damaging. My area does not have sharp rocks, mostly frozen mud/tundra stuff, and rounded rocks/small boulders, etc.
As a slight aside; I have traveled through pre-existing rtv tracks on my Yamaha Kodiak 400 where previous warmer season 'balls-to-the-wall' dudes have unnecessarily torn up, and uprooted rocks, roots, and dug deeply down into the turf from their extreme tire lugs making egress even more difficult for negotiating same at a calmer pace with less aggressive tires. I tend to avoid those areas when the big freeze comes, and snow hides those tire-piercing/slashing-objects.., chains, or no.
I use Blizzak winter tires which are siped big time. In fact they are used on a frozen lake in automotive racing, and are generally superior to studs. My use is for normal bad condition highway travel whether ice, or snow, or both.
I doubt those agencies that 'mandate' chain-use over mountain passes in the lower 48 would let me pass by.., even with such superior tires. (However we in Alaska do not have those safety advisories standing in our way. THEY just close the road off from travelers). Whatever.., It's smart to have either chains, or those snow-claws, or some-such, available in a pinch at the very least, or for longer prolonged slower speed driving.., should one intentionally want to.
Once went off of a dirt road with only a clear sheet of solid sun warmed wet flat ice on it, and lost steering control. Not because of the Blizzak tires, but when my 100 pound dog landed on my lap barking, and gnashing the door window charging a moose.., sheesh. Left rear wheel ended some three feet in the air, and all others down deep into the snow, and with no traction available beneath. Placing chains, after the fact, would have impossible for me to accomplish in that situation. However those 'claws' would have been easy to put on according to the site's blurbs, (especially since I carry a small shovel on a rifle-rack), and I would not have had to find assistance to be 'rope/towed' back up, (in a back country area), onto the road. In this, (lol.., off-road), example I think the 'claws' would have been the superior option.
Still I hope that some
member has experiences with the claws to chime in the pluses, or minuses as per.
