Tire Chains

Hobo,NC · Feb 19, 2015

Got a customer that's a Army doctor and has to go in all types of weather. He lives 3/4 a mile are so off the highway and has a steep hill to clime most of the way. We normally get ICE and he has trouble getting up his hill. He has a 2000 F250 4X4 and a 07 f-250 4X4 he would like to put snow chains on once he makes it to the road will take them off... He needs a set for both him and his wife what do Y'all recommend and are some easier than others to install..

To make it tractor related he has a few tractors and found out his tractors have a hard time climbing the hill also... He just told me he got his Bota up the hill but scraping ice was a useless venture... His drive is chip & seal and he did not want to tear it up...

Ozarker · Feb 19, 2015

Google automatic tire chains. Often used on ambulance, fire, and public service vehicles. Traction at the flip of a switch.

RESLLS · Feb 19, 2015

Gonna sound funny,but would say a couple sets of
double strap ons. Nylon straps go through holes on
rims with quick release buckles. Not for everyday
road use but easy off and on.
emergency chains

dpendzic · Feb 19, 2015

I have an F250 4x4 and what i do in the winter is put a 2000 lb load on it and climbs icy hills very well

Hobo,NC · Feb 19, 2015

His wife is a vet (large animals) and has a refrigerated box in the bed that weighs in around 1500 lbs... He said she had as much trouble as he did... The hill is rear steep and about 1/4 mile long...

He wanted something today that's not gonna happen around here...

Geo-TH,In · Feb 19, 2015

On the farm, 50 years ago, we had a tire chain
that was held in place by a strap that went through
the slots in the rim. Easy to put on after you got
stuck. Had to install many on each tire. Easy to
get off too.

Tire chains don't work so well at high speeds, not
to mention don't last long if not on snow. So we
only used these when we got stuck in the field.

Mike M · Feb 19, 2015

I'd say get studded snow tires or the Blizzacs studless ice tires

ss55 · Feb 19, 2015

It used to be common to see a car parked at the end of a bad driveway in winter. The owner would shuttle between the house and the car on a tractor, then drive the car on the road.

Taking tire chains on and off in mud is not fun, clean, or quick.

I'd suggest he put the tire chains on an old beater 4x4 pickup and leave then on to use it as a shuttle vehicle in bad winter. If he doesn't drive it on the roads he wouldn't need to license it or insure it. It won't depreciate too much more either, repairs and fuel would be the biggest expenses.

Spudm · Feb 19, 2015

Something about those 4x4 F250's, they don't move on snow or ice unless they are in 4 wheel drive. I have a 4x4 F150 short bed, that handles the snow and ice much better in 2 wheel drive, than the other one does in 4 wheel drive.

M w J · Feb 19, 2015

I would say salt in sand would be about the best .

dpendzic · Feb 19, 2015

I would say then its the tires---need a more aggressive tread on them

Hobo,NC · Feb 19, 2015

(quoted from post at 00:50:25 02/20/15) I would say then its the tires---need a more aggressive tread on them

On ice do you think the thread makes that much difference... I am sure after this event there tire choice will be different...

Pipestem · Feb 19, 2015

I have a two mile stretch of farm road that includes some steep
hill and drift area during snow. I also have a 2000 F 250 diesel
and a 93 F 150. I use regular tire chains to get in and out when
necessary but I put the chains on the front wheels. Weight of
motor and steering control a real plus. If real bad I chain all
four.

RLA · Feb 19, 2015

In my opinion.. For what it's worth , Car
companys today don't make vehicles for tire
chain usage.. On most F250 4X4 you have anti
lock brake sensor wires & brake hoses that run
a little too close tire on the frt. Rear brake
lines to the caliper's With little room for
error.. I'm in Pa & work at a Ford store & I
sell these replacement parts to well drillers
daily. I'd go with GOOD tires & Studs, + spread
a little sand on the ice...

rustyfarmall · Feb 19, 2015

(quoted from post at 14:11:23 02/19/15)

(quoted from post at 00:50:25 02/20/15) I would say then its the tires---need a more aggressive tread on them

Click to expand...

On ice do you think the thread makes that much difference... I am sure after this event there tire choice will be different...

No. On glare ice, such as you are describing, the tread pattern will make very little difference. Studded tires will help, and most tires can have the studs added, but that is probably not a real option even though the studs CAN be removed when no longer needed. The only REAL choice is chains.

Another option is to hook a worn out spike tooth harrow behind a tractor, add some weight to the harrow, and go DOWN the hill. Might break up the ice just enough.

Another option is granular lawn fertilizer. It will behave much the same as salt, and if you get a day with some sunshine, the ice will begin melting.

Wheatfarmer · Feb 19, 2015

I have had 4x4 F-250 and F350. 2002 4x4 F-250 now use chains on the front a lot. learn how to pull them on and off. Wife does it as much as I do. Putting on. lay chain over wheel with the chain just toughing the ground in the back. back up until the front of the chain is ALMOST to the top. You can even turn the wheel each way to make it easy to hook the inside. I plowed driveway of 15% grade with the F-350. Chains stayed on all winter. Put keep them tight. Use heavy black straps. The old cable with springs if you can find them or make your own.

ss55 · Feb 19, 2015

The Minnesota Highway Patrol uses Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice tires on a neighbor's patrol car. They don't use studs.

That sounds like a long term problem for every vehicle used on the property and any visitors to the property. Does he have space to put in a wide gravel shoulder or a second gravel drive parallel to his trouble spots on the asphalt drive? They can use the paved drive for fifty plus weeks a year. When that is too slick they can move over to drive on the gravel.

Chris Jones · Feb 19, 2015

Someone beat me to the emergency strap on chains and included a link to one brand.

But, I agree with others that putting something on and taking it off isn't a practical solution. I doubt it's one the wife will use too. I also wouldn't be surprised to hear they weren't installed correctly and damaged something if they do decide to try that.

I second the recommendations for salt or fertilizer but I'd say that small pea gravel (the crushed kind not smooth rounded rock) spread generously on the icy patches. I don't find sand does much.

On chip and tar drive I'd avoid pulling anything over the ice to chip it up by digging under it. Now if you have something heavy like a lawn spiker that would perhaps crack up the ice but not heavy enough to damage the pavement--perhaps--but be careful.

WellWorn · Feb 19, 2015

I dunno... in my experience, on hardpack, chains do wonders because there's enough 'give' in the surface to provide some bite. On glare ice, not even tire chains help much on a grade. BTDT with tractors, trucks and cars. Studs tend to be better on ice, or really soft compound tires (wear really fast), or possibly those tires with grit built into the rubber. It's all about pounds per square inch and how much 'give' or 'take' one surface can provide to grip the other.

Hobo,NC · Feb 19, 2015

His wife is a go get'er and don't mind getting dirty... She is on the skinny side and I tell her she needs to eat sum side meat (fat back)

They spend all there off time on the farm and learning the hard way how to maintain a 100 ac farm... They are not lazy...
On the farm they brought the house was built during the civil war... He has had to do right many tours in Afghanistan/iraq and across the usa...

Thanks for the suggestions I will pass them along to them... I know they wanted a instant fix but to me its like a generator its nice to have one but its gonna sit there and be useless till you need it...

teddy52food · Feb 19, 2015

Get all the ashes from the wood burners you can & sprinkle across the tracks in dabs to stretch it as far as you can. As the tires hit it , it will spread along the tracks.

ShadetreeRet · Feb 19, 2015

ss55, we "used to" do a lot of things differently. But back then there was much less traffic, and few cars had radios, much less all the other luxuries that modern day vehicles have, so there was little or no incentive to break into a vehicle. I understand exactly what you are saying, I've done it myself, but that would be taking a big chance today.

El Toro · Feb 19, 2015

Back in the late 1960's my wife was taking our daughter to and from school. They run buses now.
They didn't close schools when it was icy or snow covered. I studded a pair of snow tires in the
kitchen. The car was a 1963 Mercury and she said
the studded tires were great on ice. They outlawed the studs in MD, but the Post Office trucks use them. Hal

Royse · Feb 19, 2015

If these were re-usable they'd be great. Zip Tie Chains
Maybe roll your own something similar?

showcrop · Feb 19, 2015

Here in the north country no way we would be putting chains on. He can get a small sander that mounts into his receiver hitch. You see a lot of them around here. He should mix salt and sand 50-50. The sand needs to be clean, the same as leach field sand, or it will hang up in the spreader. When the ice event is coming he can load up, then when it is time to go, back down his driveway sanding as he goes, and then continue on to work with the sander still in the receiver. Locked of course.

Rich_WI · Feb 20, 2015

(quoted from post at 20:13:42 02/19/15)
His wife is a go get'er and don't mind getting dirty... She is on the skinny side and I tell her she needs to eat sum side meat (fat back)

They spend all there off time on the farm and learning the hard way how to maintain a 100 ac farm... They are not lazy...
On the farm they brought the house was built during the civil war... He has had to do right many tours in Afghanistan/iraq and across the usa...

Thanks for the suggestions I will pass them along to them... I know they wanted a instant fix but to me its like a generator its nice to have one but its gonna sit there and be useless till you need it...

I was going to recommend studded tires till I read this additional information. They are legal in North Carolina, so thats a plus. http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/studded-tires/ I just wasnt thinking putting on chains and taking them off again, twice a day (4 times if he has to do her truck as well) wouldnt be a solution but maybe with go-getters like them it is. Thats why I would go with another set of rims with good studded snow tires for winter and a normal set for summer.

But chains are cheap, I think $50 or so per axle. Real cheap in summer on craigslist, sometimes on ebay. The tire chain companies recommend those cable sets for most cars and some trucks due to the close fenders and such. Might want to check a few websites and order, they can be to you by mid week next week. While its not a NOW solution, its pretty quick. Maybe even quicker if you can find a set on the shelf at Autozone or some place like that.

rustyfarmall · Feb 20, 2015

Another thought. Is it possible to drive in the field next to the driveway?

smallercrawler · Feb 20, 2015

Handy but expensive. Install and forget until you need them. Lots of emergency/vehicles run these or like.
Automatic chains

Hobo,NC · Feb 20, 2015

Another thought. Is it possible to drive in the field next to the driveway?[/quote]

Straight up hill trees on both sides BUT now that you bring it up they have a side road to get a combine to there land (main drive to narrow for it)... Problem is they have to cross a right big creek but worth looking into.... There was a couple inches ice on most roads today were the sun could not melt it off... Normally when we get hit with ice/snow its gone in a few days,,,, like I spec elsewhere its been cold as elll....

NoNewParts · Feb 21, 2015

those strap on emergency chains will keep them moving.
slow speed of course.
(steep tree-lined driveway, a winch is a good investment too)

I see you say in your area, ice, rather than snow is the problem,
but a few Northern tricks since they both have 4x4's.
I have a steep area hunting camp with a long driveway....up.
I rarely plow it.
Plowing makes a flat surface which makes ice.
(if the snow is 4' deep, I might plow it down to a foot deep.)
4x4's are happy churning thru snow, and it will get as rough as a plowed field. Which is a good thing after a refreeze.
Also, never salt on a long gravel steep grade. Sunshine melts, then it refreezes...skating quality ice.(the town trucks in those areas use sand only)

And sometimes you just have to walk. You just have to be honest with yourself. Looking up at the icy grade...'nope, no way"
Park in the end of the drive, or at the base of the steep part....and walk.
Do I like it..no, do I have a choice...also no.

Texasmark1 · Feb 21, 2015

I am curious about the p/u I use to go to town and obtain tractor
parts. Seems now-a-days, p/u trucks are jacked way up in the
air where you see a lot of the under carriage and it looks awful.

I have had 1000# on my Silverado 1/2 ton with 20" OEM wheels
and I am just getting on the overload spring good but still 3" of
clearance when looking from the side between the tire and the
sheet metal.

In trying to understand the unsightly current craze, I suppose it
is there because it makes it easier to install tire chains in the
winter.

Is that the way it is or do you guys have a different idea?

Thanks,
Mark

Tire Chains

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