# Snow chains?



## sgtusmc98 (Sep 8, 2013)

I'm more down south than a lot of you and don't know much about chains so I'm looking for recommendations, I have two vehicles I'm looking at getting chains for, one is a front wheel drive Ford Escape, the other is a 4x4 dually. 

Do the chains have to be very specific to the tire size and secondly do the dually tires get chained together?

Thank you for any input including specific manufacturers!


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

I have a few sets by Peerless and have never been disappointed in them, although I don't use them very often even. I prefer aggressive snow tires. They have several different models but the ones I have are called z-chain. I am pretty sure they are the same company that makes peerless handcuffs (or at least they share the same parent company).

http://www.peerlesschain.com/brands/traction/traction-product-comparisons/


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

i know very little about snow chains.even tho the Ford Escape has front wheel drive only.im thinking that it could prove to be a good idea to buy chains for all 4 tires.on account i figure,there's a chance on that improving the situation ..and as for 4x4 goes.i suggest buying snow chains for each tire.more the merrier comes to mind.. ..and as for them being for specific to the tire size..yes i think they are.and it's to easy to buy a set for a car,just to have them turn out to be for a full size truck.you might try going some place where they sell snow chains.and ask every question that you have about them.on account one set they have might work better then a diff set.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

Unfortunately I have used chains many times
I have always used Peerless or something very similar(I have often bought used chains). I have used chains on all four wheels but only on 4x4s. I usually put them on the front tires first and sometimes skip the back tires. I have never owned a dually pickup. I have only used chains in very bad situations. They work amazingly well in snow and ice conditions (not quite so good in mud). In the west many times you are required to have chains with to use roads in bad conditions.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

On both your front and four wheel drive the chains go on the front tires. You can put chains all around if you wish on the 4X4. If you have power to the front wheels then those get chained first. Be aware that if the front wheels are short on room you might have problems with the chains hitting when turning. Dual wheels can have all four chained though mostly it is just the two outside wheels. 

If you choose to chain up carry spare links and a chain link tool and don't drive very fast or very far. Chains wear out rapidly and a broken link will beat your car up quickly. Immediately remove or replace broken links. 

Most chains will fit a narrow range of tires from a wider shorter tire to a narrower taller tire but if one set of chains fits both your vehicles count yourself lucky.

I used chains for several years but I only recommend them in extreme circumstances or for short distances. I went to studs for several years. For the last ten or twelve years I have been ridding on Bilzzak tires by Bridgestone. They have soft rubber, an aggressive tread, and are heavily syped (sp)(micro cuts in the rubber that open as you drive giving hundreds of edges to grip the ice and snow). These are the best winter tires I have ever experienced. Living in Alaska most of my life and winter trips through Canada most years I still haven't owned chains in thirty years. Chains have their place but start with good tires.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

Chain selection is very use specific, Cable "chains" like the Z chain in the peerless link work fairly well on ice and are better than barefoot in snow.

conventional crossbar chains grip best in most conditions like the quik grip heavy duty, but they shake the crap out of you unless there is 2 or 3 inches of snow. 

Most of the time a set of singles on the rear of a dually are enough, if you decide to chain both duals, use triple rail chains, maybe it is just nomenclature, but here dual chains are just one really wide chain set with 2 rails, one for the outside of the outer tire, the other for the inside (closest to the truck frame) these tend to be a headache, triples have a rail that goes in between the duals and are much more stable. 
On a dually when towing a trailer, chain the rear truck tires, the rear axle can take a lot more torque than the front axle, then if you have them chain the steering tires, and very importantly at least 1 "drag" chain on the trailer.

If you think you might need to chain up do it.

always prefit your chains in a nice clean dry environment. the link Sentry posted has a pretty decent chain up video, although they didn't show triples.


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## sgtusmc98 (Sep 8, 2013)

I appreciate everyone's input, the chances for them to be used is slim but this year my wife ran into some strange weather where the roads started icing up fast and people where wrecking all over the place. A slow wreck doesn't bother me as much as her getting stranded. We were trying to figure out where she could stay if she couldn't get home but that's not easy here because of our rural nature and the mountain roads. Unfortunately my 4x4 is not 4x4 (damn electronics) so I wasn't able to get to her until she got with in a few miles of the house realistically (could have if needed but 4wheelers get real cold and aren't safe on the hwy).
Hopefully the truck will get fixed again this summer. We really need to be able to get to her work and home both of which are on mountains but not the same one. She is a veterinarian so animals still need their care and the ones at home can't be neglected either.


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## fteter (May 23, 2014)

Tire chains: an important item for those of us in northern Utah. Suggest you take this in steps, with chains being the last step:

1. Tires with an aggressive tread designed to grip in snow. This will make more difference than anything else you can do, unless you plan to drive with chains on 6 months out of the year. 

2. Weight over the drive axle(s). If you have front-wheel drive, the engine weight does just fine. But a little weight over each of the back tires will help avoid fish-tailing. In my truck (2WD), I put 400 pounds over the rear axles at the beginning of snow season. Usually tube sand, ice melt or kitty litter. Neighbors with 4WD do the same.

3. Now think chains. I like Peerless myself...they've never let me down. Keep them in a box in the bed of the truck during winter. In all honesty, I rarely need them due to the good tires and weight...and I'm grateful, because putting on chains in snow is a miserable experience. Still, I'm always more confident having those chains ready to go. Have chains for all 4 tires...it may be overkill, but I've felt the difference between 2 and 4 chained towers on snow-covered mountain roads.


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

Lots of good responses so far. Front wheel drive vehicles are sometimes low on clearance around the tires so if you get chains for the front of your car be sure that they will clear the fender skirts and other parts of the vehicle surrounding the tires. We have to use cable "chains" on our little car due to very little clearance for real tire chains. Cable chains work okay most of the time but they will break easier than real tire chains. Be careful with them.

Buy the heaviest, most aggressive tire chains you can get for your truck. Chains are great when they're needed but they're a pain to install and use. Be aware that chains can break. If they break you are stranded at best and at worst you just ripped the brake lines off the wheel they were attached to. I've also seen them wrapped so tightly around an axle that they needed to be cut off.

Always carry repair links with you.

We run the best studded snow tires we can find in winter but I've still needed tire chains at times when the weather turns cold and the ice is so hard the studs won't grip or I need to pull someone out of the ditch. I've seen a few times that the ice was so hard that tire chains wouldn't grip!!!!!


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

I was driving one Thanksgiving, on tough roads, with ice and snow. I should have gotten a room until the storm passed. I was driving a few hundred miles. I stopped somewhere and bought chains. 

I still remember what a horrible experience that was. You do have to drive slow with chains, and they will break. What a nightmare. I would much rather have a good set of tires than chains. I think that we eventually took the chains off. They did do some damage to the vehicle, with the broken chains hitting it. Never even thought of getting chains ever again.

Last winter, there were 22 accidents in the mountains of Colorado due to one snow storm. It was reported that 19 of those vehicles had tires with insufficient tread.

Studded snow tires are a thing and popular in some areas. I have had them, but again, I would prefer all season tires with good tread.


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