Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Tire Chains?

Who uses them? What size tire? What name brand chain?
And what type of chain (diamond, v-bar, cables) pros and cons.
THANKS

A lot depends on what you're doing. For the highway, diamonds will run smoother. Off the pavement, you want something will more grab. I'll take v-bars any day for grab if there's ice.
Chains come in several size ratings, S, U, etc. Find out whats allowable on your vehicle. If you get them too big, you could do some serious damage underneath the truck.

This chart is from wikipedia:

SAE Class S - Regular (non-reinforced) passenger tire traction devices for vehicles with restricted wheel well clearance.
SAE Class U - Regular (non-reinforced) and lug-reinforced passenger tire traction devices for vehicles with regular (non-restricted) wheel well clearances.
SAE Class W - Passenger tire traction devices that use light truck components, as well as some light truck traction devices.

When I ran mine I used v-bar chains on all four. I would air my tires down to about 20 psi, bind them up at 6 and 9 with two short truck ties and cross them at the middle then hook them at 12 and 3. Then air back up into them and could hit 45 mph without and looseness. Also I would trim the extra links off and use a heavy nylon cable tie on the extra link. This was for mountain driving when I lived in Big Bear and Mammoth Lakes.

For casual use I would suggest v-bar or flat bar (they will last longer) and run them on the front, if a 4 wheel drive. My binding method is bulletproof and will tighten them more reliable than the skinny rubber hook binder that you get with the chains. You can also add another and work it in if needed.

No need to air into them if you are going to be taking them on and off. Also, they will stretch a bit after the first or second running...