Tire chain & cable discussion - not "will it fit"

[eatSleepWoof]

I used studded v-bar chains on my Tacoma. They were an absolute beast and great on rough trails with a lot of snow on them. However these types of chains are not suitable for use on the street. Cam tensioners were what was recommended, and they worked well. Seemed like a good option for getting the chains tight, and keeping them that way.

 

[4gotalot]

Chains are designed for heavy duty loads and are able to take more abuse off road. Chains can be more difficult to install if you are already in the ditch. There are 2 common type of cam latches on chains. A cam over with a sliding ring to lock it in place requires at least 1, 5 or 6 point rubber tensioner (I use 2 per wheel). The half moon cam over type needs a chain tool to install. I prefer the type with one latch instead of a latch and multiple cams and a special tool with 2 tensioners holding them tight on each of my AT's for off road ice, snow and ice under mud. They work fine on pavement covered with ice, a bit rough but comfort is not why we put them on.

Cables are easer to install then most chains, are lighter weight, and require less clearance on all sides so bloc may have more room for the remote res lines. They work very well for on road ice traction. They are a quick and easy improved traction devise when needed and they came with pictures to help with the install if you haven't used them for a while. I now have a set of 4 cables from E Trailer that resemble the Z8's for going over the passes on short notice when snow tires are not enough. I intend to only use cables off road on a predicable FS road and for a short amount of time.

If you find yourself off the predictable FS road, be careful spinning with cables in reverse. I threw a cable off the front tire last weekend. It unlatched on the inside possibly from the cross bars rolling on the tread and giving some slack were it should not be. I have modified my cables since then.

Chains are part of my Minimum Equipment List in addition to my recovery straps and stuff.

 

[bloc]

Chains are designed for heavy duty loads and are able to take more abuse off road. Chains can be more difficult to install if you are already in the ditch. There are 2 common type of cam latches on chains. A cam over with a sliding ring to lock it in place requires at least 1, 5 or 6 point rubber tensioner (I use 2 per wheel). The half moon cam over type needs a chain tool to install. I prefer the type with one latch instead of a latch and multiple cams and a special tool with 2 tensioners holding them tight on each of my AT's for off road ice, snow and ice under mud. They work fine on pavement covered with ice, a bit rough but comfort is not why we put them on.

Cables are easer to install then most chains, are lighter weight, and require less clearance on all sides so bloc may have more room for the remote res lines. They work very well for on road ice traction. They are a quick and easy improved traction devise when needed and they came with pictures to help with the install if you haven't used them for a while. I now have a set of 4 cables from E Trailer that resemble the Z8's for going over the passes on short notice when snow tires are not enough. I intend to only use cables off road on a predicable FS road and for a short amount of time.

If you find yourself off the predictable FS road, be careful spinning with cables in reverse. I threw a cable off the front tire last weekend. It unlatched on the inside possibly from the cross bars rolling on the tread and giving some slack were it should not be. I have modified my cables since then.

Chains are part of my Minimum Equipment List in addition to my recovery straps and stuff.

Have you seen any chains available for tire sizes like ours that have the single cam? I've seen that on heavy truck tire sizes but so far only the multiple cams for my setup.
(Edit: or was the one in the picture with the cam and sliding link plus the half moons what you were referring to?)

Thanks for the thorough post though, exactly what I was looking for with this thread.

 

[coleAK]

Growing up in Tahoe (Nevada side) and always dealing with the CA chain requirements when I crossed the west side of the hill I have a variety of experience with chains. The chain style have the best reaction on snow and ice, but are louder, rougher riding, can get sketchy at speed, and tend to be more difficult to take on/off. In conpairison cables are smoother, quieter, easier, with a little less traction on snow/ice. I always felt this style (also mentioned above) was a good in between and the style I always used.

Peerless 0232105 Auto-Trac Light Truck/SUV Tire Traction Chain - Set of 2 Amazon product ASIN B003SK8DMQ

 

[4gotalot]

bloc, I did notice that almost all tire chain searches led to multiple cam over type chains. Then I went to page 2 on a ggl search and found a wholesale distributer. Take a look at Quality Chain Co. and then you may find the part number for your application localy.

 

[bloc]

bloc, I did notice that almost all tire chain searches led to multiple cam over type chains. Then I went to page 2 on a ggl search and found a wholesale distributer. Take a look at Quality Chain Co. and then you may find the part number for your application localy.

Chains are about as common around here as penguins.. I'll find a good place online to order something from. Thanks for the research.

 

[chris777]

Do you only put chain or cables on the rear wheels, or on all four wheels?

 

[tbisaacs]

Do you only put chain or cables on the rear wheels, or on all four wheels?

Rear is most common but I’ve ran on front and rear depending on situation.

 

[bloc]

Need to be a lot more careful with the front depending on clearance to the UCA, sway bar, and front and rear edges of the fender opening. The rear generally has a lot of room.

 

[chris777]

Need to be a lot more careful with the front depending on clearance to the UCA, sway bar, and front and rear edges of the fender opening. The rear generally has a lot of room.

Thanks. What is an UCA?

 

[bloc]

Thanks. What is an UCA?

Upper control arm, which is one of the closer suspension points to the top edge of the front tires. Anything that isn't low-clearance will likely hit in that area unless you are running hub spacers or wheels with significantly less offset.

 

[TeCKis300]

The front can be deceiving. What may look like good clearance quickly disappears with articulation and steering. I would bet for many that run even modest 33s, there's no more that a fingers clearance to the stock UCA at high compression and some steering dialed in.

 

[rscoleman]

So I needed some chains about 8 years ago for our Honda Pilot. We were driving to Colorado to go skiing. Our Pilot was FWD model. I did not want to purchase bulky chains or cables and after talking with some friends in Colorado I purchased those cheap looking plastic zip tie style tie chains. I did not have to use them but from space, size, weight, etc.... perspective they were great. I still have them but they are to small for LC or my T100 tires. If what you need is just an emergency use case and plan to stay at low speed I would suggest those things. Good luck with what ever you pick.

 

[chris777]

So I needed some chains about 8 years ago for our Honda Pilot. We were driving to Colorado to go skiing. Our Pilot was FWD model. I did not want to purchase bulky chains or cables and after talking with some friends in Colorado I purchased those cheap looking plastic zip tie style tie chains. I did not have to use them but from space, size, weight, etc.... perspective they were great. I still have them but they are to small for LC or my T100 tires. If what you need is just an emergency use case and plan to stay at low speed I would suggest those things. Good luck with what ever you pick.

Thanks, but frankly, how can you recommend something that you never used? how can you say they were great?

 

[chris777]

Rear is most common but I’ve ran on front and rear depending on situation.

Maybe chains on the back and cables on the front?

 

[tbisaacs]

Maybe chains on the back and cables on the front?

Cables are much easier but I have ran chains up front. They barely cleared because of my larger tires but did clear.

 

[bloc]

Cables are much easier but I have ran chains up front. They barely cleared because of my larger tires but did clear.

View attachment 2871661

Spacers or no? What size tires? And where were the clearance issues? UCA/rear fender.. front fender if you had one?

 

[tbisaacs]

Spacers or no? What size tires? And where were the clearance issues? UCA/rear fender.. front fender if you had one?

295/70/18, 1.25” spacers. The concern was clearing the body mount and UCA but no issues.

 

[HSTexan]

Cables are much easier but I have ran chains up front. They barely cleared because of my larger tires but did clear.

View attachment 2871661

I would imagine that the front fender liner/bumper would also be a point of clearance issues for those of us running stock bumpers. That is where I've always had the smallest gaps with oversized tires.

 

[TeCKis300]

So I needed some chains about 8 years ago for our Honda Pilot. We were driving to Colorado to go skiing. Our Pilot was FWD model. I did not want to purchase bulky chains or cables and after talking with some friends in Colorado I purchased those cheap looking plastic zip tie style tie chains. I did not have to use them but from space, size, weight, etc.... perspective they were great. I still have them but they are to small for LC or my T100 tires. If what you need is just an emergency use case and plan to stay at low speed I would suggest those things. Good luck with what ever you pick.

Wonder what Highway Patrols position is on these and whether they'll satisfy checkpoint and chainup requirements.