Tire Chains for Snow (1 Viewer)

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Quantumkiwi said:
Little out of the loop, never had chains before.
What should I look for?
Where should I buy them from? Seems like anything sold on amazon is general crap.
Would like a set that can do anything from full snow wheeling to iced over roads, I'm admittedly not the best ice driver (and slightly paranoid about it.)
Click to expand...
I would not over analyze the choices. Some of the cute, trendy choices don't seem to hold up to the kind of snow wheeling we do. They are fine, maybe, on pavement. I would consider the square-link, or twist-link choices.

Tire Chains-Best Snow Chains-TireChains.com

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1st snow wheeling event I attended when I was in Montana was the 2015 Snow Bash. At the registration parking lot I looked around and asked about snow chains. The guy I asked said, "look around, does it look like anyone has snow chains?" lol.. Im not saying I'm anti chain and I know they do their thing. But I also learned about single digit tire pressures and snow driving technique. it's a different skill set for sure
 
Quantumkiwi said:
Little out of the loop, never had chains before.
What should I look for?
Where should I buy them from? Seems like anything sold on amazon is general crap.
Would like a set that can do anything from full snow wheeling to iced over roads, I'm admittedly not the best ice driver (and slightly paranoid about it.)
Click to expand...

Unless you're wheeling in deep snow in the forest, I don't think they're needed with our rigs. Tirechains.com for the biggest/heaviest/$$$$ you can buy!
 
alia176 said:
Unless you're wheeling in deep snow in the forest, I don't think they're needed with our rigs. Tirechains.com for the biggest/heaviest/$$$$ you can buy!
Click to expand...
I want to ski some of the more appealing lines in the Jemez (and surrounding areas) when a good storm hits. So, deep snow in the forest? Yes please.
That south face of Chicoma Mtn has been calling to me for years.
 
Quantumkiwi said:
I want to ski some of the more appealing lines in the Jemez (and surrounding areas) when a good storm hits. So, deep snow in the forest? Yes please.
That south face of Chicoma Mtn has been calling to me for years.
Click to expand...

In that case, go with my suggestion and get the most aggressive chains you can fit on the rear tires. If they ain't at least 40lb/each, you're doing it wrong :flipoff2: V bar chains are mondo aggressive and I've interspersed those between the traditional ladder chains across the main tread (not saying you need to do this). The front will have to be less aggressive due to clearance issues and due to weaker drivetrain on the 3rd gen
 
alia176 said:
In that case, go with my suggestion and get the most aggressive chains you can fit on the rear tires. If they ain't at least 40lb/each, you're doing it wrong :flipoff2: V bar chains are mondo aggressive and I've interspersed those between the traditional ladder chains across the main tread (not saying you need to do this). The front will have to be less aggressive due to clearance issues and due to weaker drivetrain on the 3rd gen
Click to expand...
That way you can get super buried to the frame as quickly as possible!! :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
I've done my share of snow wheeling and have never run chains. I guess I focus more on looking for the right combo of fresh snowfall, existing snowpack, and weather conditions. When you hit the right combo of weather and snow conditions, it gets epic and is one of the funnest situations to be out wheeling. Having been out on rotten/crusty snow, wet hardpack, layered snow/ice, deep dry powder, etc I can tell you they all drive different and each situation calls for a different technique.

I can see chains being extremely useful for any situation where you have an icy layer in the mix. Off camber shelf roads get extremely scary when there is ice present and I have had some of my worst pucker situations in that scenario. But I've also been in two feet of deep, freshly fallen powder and had the 4Runner devour it with F/R lockers engaged... like driving a tank, just unstoppable.

Another thing that helps is having a smooth belly/ground clearance... skids front to back to keep the under carriage from hanging up and to provide some flotation. And of course finding the right tire pressure for footprint/flotation. Long story short, if someone gave me a set of chains, I'd run them to see what they are all about, otherwise it's all about the other stuff.

Maybe a foot and a half of snow on the road crossing this meadow, but an icy layer on the bottom. Grant burned a day worth of calories digging me out of this one. Lockers didn't matter once I hit the ice layer. Chains would have made it a cakewalk to back out.

P1214259.JPG


P1214261.JPG


Deep, fresh powder... epic fun and leave the chains at home. First pic was the end of the road in one direction, pushing 2.5 feet.

PC294121.1.jpg


But 12-16" following the tracks of cross country skiers was a blast.

PC294163.JPG


The worst is in the spring when you start the day with a couple of inches of snow, then the temps rise and you drive out in MUD. :hungover:

P4160557.1.jpg
 
Well stated @BigFishAllDay
I try to reserve the chains for when I've gone as far as I can W/o chains so I know I can get back
Agreed, nothing like the fresh powpow!
 
I hated the PNW icy crap
 
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