Chains for driving on snow and ice

I'm a retired truckdriver and the dual chains that are mentioned in this post are called 3 railers! I've driven my motorhome in the snow just fine without chains (one time April 1999, I went from the Grand Canyon to Flagstaff, AZ. 1-1/2 feet of snow in the drift areas and I never spun a wheel) and I had chains on board but did not need them. I recommend just carrying a set of singles and 2 short pieces of 2"X10" wood that way if you have to chain up put both pieces of wood under each inside dual and drive up onto the 2x10's. Your outside duals will be off the ground and set up easily to install the chains. And you will be legal if you go over any mountain passes which require chains Nov. thru Apr. RV's drive well in snow (not ice) because there so heavy. If it's super icy, I run two singles on the outside rear and a single chain on my left steer tire. I do carry chains today but I try not to chain up just sit and wait. Before I retired I chained up almost every night during the winter driving a set of doubles over the Cascade Mtns.

Outer dual chains are fine. Not like you're going off roading with it. When I worked for Verizon all we had was outer chains and our trucks did go off road, Remember when the state orders you off the road cause the snow is too deep....Verizon trucks are still out there. Never ever ran into a situation where the chained tire transferred weight to the inside dual and then spun????? Get your self a large block of wood with a wedge. Put it under the inside dual so you can drive up on it and the outside will be off the ground making it easier to put your chains on......Do your self another favor and try and find some heavy tie wraps. They have them 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide and bout 3 foot long or some you can make whatever length you need. Use them with the rubber band tensioners. With rubber tensioners the chains will still slap. If you use heavy tie wraps and pull them tight they won't slap around. Put your chains on and tighten everything up and then drive for a block or two and then get out and tighten them again. Yes being a Verizon lineman/splicer I am very experienced in chains unfortunately lol lol...But remember now and then a cross link will break and will slap your fender. When that happens the can do some serious damage,,,

I bought chains for the outer dually for my Class A DP. It is state law to have tire chains after November 1st over any pass.

I'm not familiar with your MH, but before buying chains,go take a look and see if there's really room to both mount them and then also look to see if there's room for them when you go down the road. By that I mean will the chains hit the fender wells (and chew them up) when you hit a bump or will they hit the fender wells when you're going down the road and the centrifigul force of the turning tire sends the chains out a little ways? I know I can't fit tire chains on my DP without them hitting.

Bill

harold1946 wrote:
Outside tires only. I gurantee you will not like installing a dual set.

Probably won't like installing a dual set - however - in years past we spent nearly every weekend in Oregon mountains while snowmobiling and I can assure you we've been stuck in level snow parks when an outside only chain dug a small hole and transferred all the load to the unchained inside tire. Consider that you're really driving only one chained wheel and when it spins - have fun!

Take a look at Z chains for outside dual only. Lightweight bus chains. I carry them and it is all you will need.
super z chains

Is there enough space between the tires for the inside rail? Many smaller dually set ups will only accept doubles (across both tires without a center rail)but spring clearance can become an issue.

I have my own chains for both duals and have had to use them a few times. There are roads out West where they are required at certain times of the year.
Most often I have needed them to get in to and out of RV parks that did not clear all of their roads.
Depending on where you want to travel, and if it is a one time thing or not, there are places that rent tire chains. You might do a search online near where you are going and see if you can rent/buy them if needed.

Outside tires only. I gurantee you will not like installing a dual set.

I have been driving trucks as big as most MHs since I was 10. Only on the Railroad did I ever use chains on both duals, we always used singles. I pack a set of chains for our MH, just a single that will go on the outside dual. Packing 3 rail chains is nice for really bad situations, but RVers are not going into places like we put the trucks on the railroad.