Let's see your tire chains!! What kind are you using?

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ballisticexchris

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Winter is already here for some of us. I'm curious as to what others in different parts of the country and world are using. There are also other uses for chains other than snow/ice. Such as getting extracted from mud, sand, etc. I actually plan on using these this winter now that I replaced the heater core in my truck. I have not had a heater for almost 5 years!!

I got this set in the mid 90's for another truck I owned. I just recently pulled them out and fitted them to my current truck by adding a link and also getting a set of dedicated "chain bungees". You can also see I have the chain/spring tensioners for backup when the bungees fail.

What I like are the ice breaker blocks welded to the chains. I'm pretty sure they don't make these anymore. The new ones have the option of "V blocks".

As far as mounting it's just like mounting a tire. There are hundreds of different ways to do it. I like simple!! I just lay them across the tire, attach the hook inside the tire and rolling chain clip outside the tire. It takes about 10-15 minutes for both tires without moving.


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Sierra1

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. . . . What I like are the ice breaker blocks welded to the chains. I'm pretty sure they don't make these anymore. The new ones have the option of "V blocks". . . .
I had a set just like those back in '79/'80, when I lived in Washington state. I had them on a set of cheap snow tires; never got stuck. . . . once I got them installed. They went with the car when I sold it prior to moving to Texas in '82.

Now, the last time we had much snow (11") was back in '11. I haven't even seen a set of chains other than on the back side rack of an 18 wheeler. Our nemesis is ice. A couple of years ago we had what they described as "cobblestone ice". All the bridges had massive ice build up, even on I-35. I've got a set of Hankook ATs on my Jeep that give excellent traction. Between the tires, a manual trans, and some common sense, I can get around pretty well even on the ice.
 
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Wallkeeper

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Very BIG no-no here. Winter around here is hard on roads without adding chains and studs to the mix

exceptions...rural mail carriers and out of state vehicles temporarily in state
 

Checkswrecks

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We used to have winters. We'd get 3 or 4 big dumps like this a year.


Within the last half dozen years those have largely gone away. I think I used the snow shovel 3 times in the last two years and each of those were for maybe an inch or so of snow.
 

Thrasherg

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I saw the title and thought I was going to see some pictures of real hard core motocyclists with chains on their motorcycle tyres! Was quite looking forward to seeing the pictures!! Quite relieved most of you have the sense to drive cars in the winter!!
 

navynuke

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Can't see them but I have been using cable chains on my 2wd van. Never had a problem even in 8 inches of fresh snow.

Easy install ones that you don't have to drive onto


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Sierra1

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When I was stationed in Portsmouth NH, I had a little 2wd Mazda truck. When it snowed, I shoveled it out the drifts, and put the snow in the bed. With the weight over the back wheels with snow tires, and the manual trans, it worked amazingly well; never got stuck or slid off of the road. Bonus: the snow made a very good cooler/refrigerator.
 

Madhatter

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not much need for those around here . we do get snow here at times . could have used snow chains in '84 as I drove my in labor wife to the hospital . that was a big snow event here . about 3 years ago we got a nice snow , made for some nice pictures , was gone in 2 days . not a big seller in central Texas.
 
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