Chains in BC

[moisheh]

We may have to travel from Calgary to Vancouver sometime around the end of October. I know there are chains laws at that time Our mh is a 42 ft. and we do not have snow tires nor are there any available in that size. Chains would be next to impossible to install. Would I be ticketed? We also are towing a truck with summer tires. What do people in BC do to comply with the law? Thanks

[SideHillSoup]

StirCrazy wrote:

SideHillSoup wrote:
like.
Motor homes fall under the camper symbol on the sign.

that sign was a misprint that they originaly put up. most have been replace with the proper ones now. it should have a "Or" inbetween the mountian snowflake and the M&S.

I didn't see any snow on my way home from work this moring, unless your talking south of meritt in the snowshed?

Steve

I looked at every BC govt website that I could find, and they show that signs…. None of them show the sign I posted with the word “or” between the 2 symbols, however the other two signs for heavier commercial type vehicles does show the word “or”…. Go figure.
The web cams I saw this morning and this afternoon showed snow on the Coqu on a few cameras, and on Hwy 3 Paulson and Hwy 3-B. Most of it has melted now… and temps dropped so black ice is most likely Lerking.
However, 40kms away from Paulson Summit is the Kootenay pass which is the highest mountain pass open year round in Canada…. It didn’t have any snow at all….
Again….. go figure.
So…. Tomorrow it’s time to service the snowmobiles….. yippy…

Soup

[StirCrazy]

SideHillSoup wrote:
like.
Motor homes fall under the camper symbol on the sign.

that sign was a misprint that they originaly put up. most have been replace with the proper ones now. it should have a "Or" inbetween the mountian snowflake and the M&S.

I didn't see any snow on my way home from work this moring, unless your talking south of meritt in the snowshed?

Steve

[StirCrazy]

moisheh wrote:
We may have to travel from Calgary to Vancouver sometime around the end of October. I know there are chains laws at that time Our mh is a 42 ft. and we do not have snow tires nor are there any available in that size. Chains would be next to impossible to install. Would I be ticketed? We also are towing a truck with summer tires. What do people in BC do to comply with the law? Thanks

if you tires are "M&S" all seasons with a good amount of tread depth left you are ok. the requirments for personal vehicles is winter or M&S tires. end of october you likly wont hit much snow but you never know. on the coq if you hear the road is getting snow some times it is best just to pull over for a day and wait it out. it can be crazy at times even with snow tires, but it is a major trucking route and the road crews are mandated to have it back to bare roads within 24 hours and cleared and sanded with in 4 hours of the snowfall. it rarly happens in a heavy snow, but they try. ever sence the clearing has been sent to contract instead of provincial employs the maintence and snow clearing is sub par, but thats another issue...

Steve

[moisheh]

When I stated nuts I was not trying to criticize the rules. I just meant it would be nuts to take my rig through the mountains and play around with tires and some sort of chain setup.. I have done mountain driving in a semi but a large MH pulling a PU is different. The truck does not follow the ruts created by the RV. The brake system in the truck is not like the 2 axle braking of a trailer. The semi has the advantage of a Jake brake. On icy roads I avoid the brakes and just use stage 1 of the jake. I went from Calgary to the coast in a semi this summer. The construction was terrible and the detour was not great. And that was on dry roads. Thanks for all the info.

[SideHillSoup]

Since I typed my note this morning, it has snowed on the mountain pass to the west of me.
Just to give you a perspective, I live in South Eastern British Columbia approximately 3 hrs north of Spokane Washington.
When you live in the mountains of BC like I do and drive all winter for snowmobiling and Hockey you don’t screw around, even if your not going over the passes as often as I do you put on your winter tires, just to drive the valley Hwys.
In my yard a couple years back the snow was 4 ft deep, and I live in the valley bottom, my daddy from Fernie just laughs at me…
Winter in the mountains start now and end in April, and there is no fudging with tires from people who live here, no body “sneaks over a mountain pass” period, only idiots do.
I’m glad your thinking of your safety and ours my changing your plans.
My home, couple years back with my 2007 gmc 2500 4x4 parked beside my house, Honda Civic in the front. This is 2 days before Xmas.

[noteven]

moisheh wrote:
I cannot see myself buying grips for the drives. They are expensive Nd then you have to change them when you get to the coast. Nuts.

No, requiring heavy vehicles to have appropriate tires and equipment for the weather and conditions is not nuts.

[moisheh]

Oteven. Thanks for the offer. I really dont like my rig to be in snow.

[moisheh]

I cannot see myself buying grips for the drives. They are expensive Nd then you have to change them when you get to the coast. Nuts.

[SideHillSoup]

It snowed last nights in parts of BC. I know above Merritt on the Hwy got some, and cooler wet weather is coming over the next couple of days.
There is a reason that BC’s winter tire / chain requirements kick in October 1st and run until April 30th.
Winter chains don’t cover you for meeting the requirements. You must have the correct winter tires on first, then you can carry chains if you like.
Motor homes fall under the camper symbol on the sign.

[ssthrd]

charlestonsouthern wrote:
Moisheh -- Granted, I don't personally know the terrain you will have to cross to get to the other side of those mountains. But it sounds like at present that you don't have any "Mother Nature" problems. Can't you drive that territory now (immediately if not sooner -- ha!) with your rig before the weather closes in and store the rig (or leave it with someone you know) on the other side of the mountains until if perchance the border opens up. Of course, that still doesn't handle the problem of your traversing the mountains again from home in snow in a standard vehicle with chains to meet up with your rig if the border surprisingly opens up.

We were on the east coast for a couple of months (July/August), and drove thru BC on the way home on Sept 13. Sept 15, the Coquihala Highway had a snow storm....... Not much, but enough to remind you that winter is coming to the high country.

Like I said--any time. 🙂

[charlestonsouth]

Moisheh -- Granted, I don't personally know the terrain you will have to cross to get to the other side of those mountains. But it sounds like at present that you don't have any "Mother Nature" problems. Can't you drive that territory now (immediately if not sooner -- ha!) with your rig before the weather closes in and store the rig (or leave it with someone you know) on the other side of the mountains until if perchance the border opens up. Of course, that still doesn't handle the problem of your traversing the mountains again from home in snow in a standard vehicle with chains to meet up with your rig if the border surprisingly opens up.

[noteven]

moisheh wrote:
Thanks for the replies. We will not be going through the mountains this fall/winter!!!!!

Never fear moiseh!

Climate change will make summer tire transits of the western mountains in January a normal thing.

Meanwhile- if you need to get to the lower Fraser valley I’ll meet you in Calgary, you fly I’ll drive your rig. I’ll fly back to Calgary.

[moisheh]

Thanks for the replies. We will not be going through the mountains this fall/winter!!!!!

[SideHillSoup]

Little bit of info for people who don’t follow the British Columbia winter tire requirements:

BC winter tire requirements

I live in the valley below two mountain passes, you can’t go east or west from here with out going over one of them.
I have witnessed firsthand once, and read in the local news paper a few other times over the last number of years the RCMP and or the CVSE ( DOT) set up road blocks checking tires / chain requirements. The time I was stopped ( 2 winters ago) it was the morning before a winter storm was set to roll in across southern BC. They were turning some people around at the road block that didn’t have the correct tires, they were giving out tickets to some, and all the semi’s where getting ticketed and turned around who didn’t meet the standards. There were also a number of vehicles that got towed from the road blocks as well, for what I don’t know.
For the Correct answer to your question call CVSE.
Info to Call CVSE here.

So yes, they do check from time to time.
Soup.

[ssthrd]

Check here here for answers.
There is contact info at the bottom of the page if you want to call/email to get more info from the horses mouth.

I would think that winter tires on your toad will be a minimum.

If you have driven the BC mountain passes at this time of year, you may know that it can snow any time. I definitely wouldn't want to be driving your combo in a snow storm in the mountains running summer tires.

Check here for road conditions in BC.