Ram 1500 snow chains

rjstractor wrote:


That's funny you mention cables on buses, both buses in the Seattle video that were stuck sideways on the hill had cables on them! :) The SFD fire engine that crept cautiously yet successfully down the hill had real chains on the rear and cables up front. In my department we have tried cables but they quickly get shredded on hills. They are fine for lightweight vehicles though, and perfect for the requirement to carry chains.

There's a few more things at play on that video. A bus has its engine setup like a Porsche 911, where the engine hangs back behind the rear axle. Most fire trucks have all their heavy equipment, even the engine either on the front, or in the middle. You have a better, more even distribution of mass on a fire truck. Where as on a bus, it's all on the rear end (Engine, cooling package, all the heavy gear). So on a fire truck, you're not subject to your rear end trying to pass your front end unlike a transit bus. Once the rear end steps out on a bus, it's game over when coming down a hill. Chains would not have helped that bus on as icy a road as it was (it's just glazed with ice, the chains wouldn't really bight into anything). That's why we have winter routes and we don't pull our buses to the curb when there's snow and ice.

Of course fire-truck wise, I'm only talking about an engine. If it as a tanker, then a full tank of water would probably weigh the rear end down pretty good (no idea how much water a fire truck would hold if it was a tanker version).