Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Another tire chain question for half-ton owners

This is another of those threads that cause learning to occur. Thanks guys.


mike r

Well, here is what the front end looks like. May be a little tight. I can barely fit one finger here. The rear seems fine though, a little more room between the tire and shock than what is seen here.

Back in the 70's and early 80's I was a supervisor in a factory (ACCO) that made about 1/2 of the tire chains in the U.S. at the time. (The V-bar was originally an ACCO innovation.) After transferring to the Engineering dept., one of my first tasks was to destruction test tire chains, in the summer, in a Ford Torino wagon, all day on back roads at a steady 35mph, and record cross chain and side chain breakages as they occurred (testing new designs/steel alloys). My buddy and I would load up in the morning with spare chains, sandwiches, drinks (more often than not six-packs of beer), and most importantly- ear muffs to deaden the sound of tire chains on pavement for 8 hours. At first it was a hoot- "Do you believe they're paying us to do this, ha ha!"- but after a couple days it wore thin, and lasted all summer. I think my butt is still vibrating from that experience...

I fixed up everybody I knew with chains for their cars/trucks.

One of my guys was a WWII vet who started riding Harleys back in the 30's, and all his life never owned a car or truck. His Harleys served him year 'round in all weather- and yes, he made his own custom tire chains for them. Pretty slick, but you should have seen him negotiating snow drifts that would have bogged down a car.

I see that you bought a set which is always smart to have, but for those that are traveling and want to have a set "just in case". Les Schwab Tires (stores all over western states) offers a purchase program where they will give a full refund any time if the boxes are still unopened. Never used it myself but might be handy if this is for one trip only.

I think you can't return them until spring, like sometime in April. I think they count on you losing your receipt by then.

I do the same, chain up before you need them.

The ones I get from them come in a decent plastic carry case. The ones I planned on returning, the receipt went in the carry case. No problems returning them later.

Now I keep two sets around (and use them) so I don't return them, but it is a nice program for those that might not have to use them.

Geno

It's a good program for those who want to take a winter trip in a car without good snow tires. 'Borrowing' a set of chains is a lot cheaper than a set of new tires.