Snow chains for small class C

We went to Yosemite in March. We had to turn back to get chains in Oakhurst. They cost just under $100. Cobra Jr. Cable Chain.



In Heaven all the interesting people are missing. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

If you have a Les Schwab tire store in your area, go there and get a set. if you don't use them you can return them for full refund.

We went to Yosemite in March. We had to turn back to get chains in Oakhurst. They cost just under $100. Cobra Jr. Cable Chain.


Hwy 140 to Merced is lowest elevation. That's what we had to do to get out.



In Heaven all the interesting people are missing. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

We have had to take 140 a few times. Nice drive, but gets you to 99 an hour north of Fresno. Probably works out the same in time considering driving with chains on 41.
Still they are required to be carried. Autozone shows the cable chains in weights. Obviously the heavier the stronger. Looked at Vulcan Chains.

There are chain laws in Colorado--although if I understand the rules for non-commercial vehicles right, the M/S designation on the tires is an acceptable alternative to chains. Still I bought these chains from Amazon for possible winter camping here in Colorado.
Security Chain WS 1705 Type S
The website says they are for smaller vehicles but needed type S because of the dual tires.
I did some research that said it was fine to put chains on just the outer rear dualies. Also that chains are only for the worst driving conditions--speed is limited to 25 mph with them on.
I have not yet tried to put them on though. Winter took me by surprise here this year! The temperatures went from warm fall to cold winter in literally one day.
The Amazon site says they don't fit the E350 but I read that they actually do. They are supposed to fit the Ford F250. The website says they fit the 225/75/16 tire size.
WS 1705 from Amazon

Amazon says they are 17.2 lbs and they are pretty heavy. They come in a plastic carrying bag. I guess I better go try them on the tires! Maybe it will finally start warming up again tomorrow.

DAS26miles - I believe I would go for the lighter weight chains. Unless you are going to frequently be traveling those types of roads. We drove through Denver, several years ago, heading to Grand Junction. The snow was really falling. We saw signs that chains may be required farther West. We slowed our speed and kept going. We saw several 18 wheelers over to the side putting on chains. We did not spin a wheel. We were carrying the load and they were pulling the load.

Found these on the internet Tire Chains 'R' U. The sixth line in the 16" size should fit. Price seems reasonable - $67.41 free shipping in the lower 48.

Gene in NE wrote:
DAS26miles - I believe I would go for the lighter weight chains. Unless you are going to frequently be traveling those types of roads. We drove through Denver, several years ago, heading to Grand Junction. The snow was really falling. We saw signs that chains may be required farther West. We slowed our speed and kept going. We saw several 18 wheelers over to the side putting on chains. We did not spin a wheel. We were carrying the load and they were pulling the load.

Found these on the internet Tire Chains 'R' U. The sixth line in the 16" size should fit. Price seems reasonable - $67.41 free shipping in the lower 48.

I agree completely. No reason to go too big really. This is what I have in my teeny class C.

I tried on the chains today and they are a bit small for the tires. I could have bought the WS1707 for the same price but opted to believe the manufacturer's site.
The main problem is the tensioner--it is only 9" in diameter and don't know how that rubber is supposed to stretch to practically double its size!
I tried the chains on the car tires and they are a bit big--but seem like they will work and the tensioners stretch just enough to pull them taut.
I ordered the larger QG20069 tensioners today, another $17 invested in the chains now. These are supposed to be for semi's but they are only 15.75 inches in diameter. The "stretch" between the sides of the chains on my tires is about 20" so think the new ones will be less trouble to put on in the cold.
On the RV the tensioner looks extremely small:

But they hold the chains on the car pretty well.

These are meant to be put on without having to move the car. There is a cable on the back side that hooks together and the top and bottom are split so that the chains can be attached on the facing side. Then the tensioner holds it all together. They do need to be tightened again after a short drive though.
Don't think we will be using them that much just had to have them just in case. Nice that we can take them in the car too.

Glad you tried them on before you needed them. I live 20 miles outside of Yosemite and needed them to get home last winter on my E350. We almost had a slow motion impact with a power pole. It's not the snow that's the problem- its the ice. I found light weight cable chains work just fine and keep them in the rig.

Going to order cables Class "S" heavy duty from TireChains.com. They seem to be the cheapest at $74.99 for Truck Diagonal cables. Can't see spending $150 for a set to use once or twice and only for a few miles. It's not like they will be on all winter. It's really just to show the Rangers or CHP that I have them. Going to avoid putting them on at all costs.