Putting Chains On Tires

I went to a private school and they did show how. My first job had me driving to Boise ID every week from Portland OR. Many times chains were required on cabbage hill only a 6 mile stretch the whole trip. I got lots of practice chaining up my first winter.

I'm from California where chains can be required on all vehicles in snow.

Considering the effort for chaining (and unchaining!), and the idea of laying in the snow to get the chains secured, maybe just waiting roadside is the better choice.

Heck, I have chained in the rain to get a load.

The school I'm attending (here in UT), each of us put on a set a couple times.

^scott

You can get by without chaining in the east, but if you run in the west in the winter you are going to be parked a lot if you refuse to chain.

I haven't had to chain yet, but I'm running regional out of Colorado and company policy is "chain and go." I'm hoping to get over all the passes in Colorado this summer so I'll know the roads a little better when the snow starts back up.

Also, be aware that chain laws vary from state to state, including how many drive tires have to be chained, and how many trailer tires (if any) are required to be chained.

You can get by without chaining in the east, but if you run in the west in the winter you are going to be parked a lot if you refuse to chain.

I haven't had to chain yet, but I'm running regional out of Colorado and company policy is "chain and go." I'm hoping to get over all the passes in Colorado this summer so I'll know the roads a little better when the snow starts back up.

My first company was "chain and go" also. You get pretty fast after a while. I had it down after a few times. I could chain both drives and a trailer axle in under 30 minutes.

It sounds like it depends on the company, then. Some want you to wait out the storm while others want you to chain up and drive through it.

It sounds like it depends on the company, then. Some want you to wait out the storm while others want you to chain up and drive through it.

It varies from company to company but I think it's mostly an individual choice for the driver. I drove for 15 years and never once chained up. And I'm from one of the heaviest snow regions in the country in the hills outside Buffalo, NY. So I can drive in the snow. But I'm not pushing through conditions where I need chains when I can wait a short time and go through safely and easily. I'm fine with other people that don't mind chaining up. That just happens to be where I draw the line for me personally.

I pushed through a lot of heavy snow over the years that most people sat out. But I wasn't going to go through conditions where I had to chain up. The weather doesn't stay that bad for that long. Besides, it was a nice excuse to take a break and relax for 12 or 24 hours. I ran hard all the time so it was no problem getting the miles. I can easily make up for that day some other time when it's sunny and nice.

It's all about risk management out there. You have to know your limits and you must have the discipline to stay safely within them. Some people will be better at certain things than you are. That's fine. You captain your own ship. Let everyone else do what they want to do.

You also have to think long term. Don't put yourself in a dangerous position to make an extra $100 this week. That's dumb. The consequences of a mistake can be huge and you have to consider any sort of accident, even sliding into a ditch, to be unacceptable.

If you're not comfortable with the idea of chaining up then simply ask any companies you apply to about their policy. Most would not require you to chain up and drive through any conditions. They'll leave the choice up to the driver.

And no one in their first year of driving should be chaining up in my opinion. Even if you're from a heavy snow region, you haven't had any experience with that rig sliding around on you. You can't afford to learn the hard way in serious snow conditions that a 78,000 pound rig recovers differently in a skid than you expected. So play it safe as always.

I just want to add that here in the NW, chains are often required on mountain passes when the roads are not that bad. Many times I had to throw iron was because of a requirement not that I felt unsafe running barefoot. I wouldn't risk a ticket. For instance after the roads been plowed and gravel layed down plus enough traffic wore tire paths that were just wet pavement where your tires run, but chains still required. Although that being said there have been times where it was bad enough I would have chained up regardless of it being required or not.