adammjarvis

I can tell you lack experience in this.

The weight of the vehicle
The balance of that weight of said vehicle
Type of snow (dry or wet)
Snow rate
Ground temps
AWD vs 4x4 system and how power distribution is managed.


I can assure you that a 4x4 with locking diffs can require the use of chains or cables. There are no magical powers going on with split 4x4 system using lockers.

Blackbuzzard

Inexpensive chains can quickly become very expensive chains when they break and wreak havoc on the truck fender wells.

You want quality metallurgy, not mystery-metal from that big importer nation over in asia.

adammjarvis

Driving in snow is easy. Just gotta take it nice and slow. Don't let the ego make you believe a big truck is a traction king.

Generally if you are driving down a highway that has chain restrictions in place - you won't be going very fast if at all. Typically those conditions contain idiots who loose control and crash either causing traffic to a crawl or a standstill. I've been stuck on the side of mountains more times than I can calculate. So much wasted time just sitting in a warm vehicle bored to ****.

I'd get cables just to get past the check point. I'd personally never use them unless I was legit stuck. My go-to would be a couple bags of cheap kitty litter.

And black ice sucks. Nothing will make your butt pucker up like hitting black ice on a curve!

I remember one time I was just going up to visit my brother a couple hours away in Breckenridge, CO. I was traveling up I70 from Denver. Hit a corner on the highway doing 70 and slid across 3 lanes into the left shoulder which was a guard rail and 30+ ft cliff to the opposite way of traffic.

Trucks go through snowy areas and accumulate snow. This falls off their rigs in chunks onto the highway. If late enough into the day and in the right conditions - the snow melts onto the roadway and doesn't evaporate before the sun goes down thus turning into ice. Fun. Or run off if going into spring - warm day melts side snow and melt crosses roadway.

Anywho the truck (89 Bronco) jerked to the right once I hit some dry patch on the highway and regained control. Pretty sure I **** myself that time. Not ashamed to admit letting my guard down!

BadAV

Yep, you are an expert on my experience. Lots of keyboard cowboys around this thread. Please tell me my future while you are at it..........

tvsjr

You didn't hear? They discovered a new element on the periodic table. It looks heavy but is deceptively lightweight. They named it Cn - Chinesium.

Ssls6

I drive in the mountains of Co every year. I don't use chains on my F150 as I'm able to go up and down without spinning out. I do go slow so I can remain in control. I have also sat for hours in I70 because someone was going too fast or a 2WD car was running without chains and could not pull the grade.

What I find as the biggest risk is people who pass because they want to go faster. The right lane is usually the cleanest due to traffic and when they move to the left to pass things can go sideways. I don't think I've run into a rode that had chain rules for 4x4 vehicles.

BadAV

FINALLY someone with a little sense that agrees with exactly what I said, albeit in a little different way.

For the edification of the all-knowing keyboard cowboys on this thread (you know who you are), I have averaged over 30k miles a year for over 40 years, in all kinds of weather and road conditions and all over the US, Mexico, and Canada. Snow, sleet, freezing rain, black ice, blizzards with 3' drifts, tornadoes, hail 6" deep on the road - been in all of those conditions multiple times and never got stuck or wrecked out. Rear wheel drive, front wheel drive, AWD, and 4X4, I have owned and driven them all. It really doesn't matter - a little common sense and taking it appropriately slowly for the current road conditions and vehicle you are driving goes a long way to getting to your destination safely, as does knowing when to get off the road when you should.

Blackbuzzard

In my experience its the lightly traveled back roads in mountainous terrain that require chains......the roads are just too freakin steep to do with out chain.

State game lands, BLM roads etc are never (rarely) plowed and absolutely require chain ......for fall/winter hunting and recreation. Its not the law, just common sense....you wont get far without them. But these aren't the same roads one drives to the local walmart.

kbroderick

Most of the better drivers I grew up with got pretty good at shoveling out of ditches and snowbanks in their first few years of driving, and I still think that's probably a normal part of the learning process in places with winter weather—it's incredibly hard to learn how to drive with limited traction without sometimes exceeding that traction, and the key is knowing when the consequence is going to be inconvenient (i.e. needing to shovel or get towed out of a ditch) versus injurious to you or other people on the road. That's also why I think new drivers should be limited to five-speed, four-cylinder, normally aspirated and underpowered 2wd pickups without ABS or traction control for at least two years, but some might call me a curmudgeon.

If you're not close to the edge of traction in winter conditions, you're going absurdly slow (like the LX450 I got stuck behind the other day on the way to the ski hill). If you're going up a snowy mountain road at 25 MPH and not sliding a little on corners, add more throttle, just not too much, and pretty soon it will be second nature to hold a slight powerslide even if you didn't intend to start it.

I also grew up as a ski racer, and the idea of staying home just because roads were bad wasn't really part of the equation. I still don't get the people who live around here and won't drive in 4-6" of snow because "the roads are bad." Yeah, no $@#%, you live in Montana, it happens.

...which is also why part of being a safe driver is watching your six on two-lane roads and pulling over to let traffic by if you're holding it up, regardless of how fast you are going. Obstructing traffic is against the traffic law in every state I'm aware of, although sadly it's rarely enforced, and failing to yield when obstructing traffic encourages unsafe behavior. Interstates are a bit more challenging, because as you noted, they're often down to one clear lane and one lane of questionable usability.

I believe it's not uncommon in some states to require chains to be carried for all vehicles, even 4x4s with severe-weather-rated tires, but not to require that they be installed. One of the local roads here is posted chains are required, but I've never seen anyone enforce it; I was told when I moved to town they put the sign up after a couple of folks got stuck and gummed up the works on busy weekends (it's the road to the ski hill) and that it's largely a "we'll ticket you for it after the fact if you block the road" situation rather than an expectation that anyone actually chain up.

tcp2

I have no direct experience with these, but they seem to be showing up more and more. I suspect for the situation where you are expected to carry chains but not necessarily install them, these would be fine. Buy a set of 20 and throw them into the back of the truck. Probably better than nothing and might be useful in an emergency:

http://www.tmart.com/10pcs-Universal...BoCxrYQAvD_BwE

I did pick up a set of nokian nordsman tires/steel wheels on kijiji and installed them for the winter here, but throwing a set of them into the truck will cover the "required" chain situation.