Tire cables or chains

CFerguson wrote:
Heartily disagree on the snarky 'bad life choices' comment. Some of us LOVE the snow and winter sports. Of course, you have to be careful and know the limitations of your rig AND yourself.
Don't apply your standards to everyone elses' abilities.

I thought it was pretty funny! I'd say more tongue in cheek than snarky, lol.
I love the snow too, forgot to get offended at the comment though. When my buddy stops his Moho to put on chains to get up to the snopark, I try to be just far enough behind him on I 90 so I can try to douse him with slush as I drive by!

bbeezzz wrote:
How many folks carry tire chains or cables for their motor home? Our Winnebago Sunstar is 18000 pounds and we are planning to travel mid October from Calgary to Spokane then further west to the coast and south to California.

Seems you (or your brother) posted the same question on the SKPs forums.
Received good answers - if not you, go there and search "chains".

Check with the DOT(s) for the states you will be traveling through - for the requirements as well as which type/s of chains are acceptable.

Req's may also include date you are req'd to "have" chains with you.

The state DOTs are lots more reliable than folks on an internet site..:W

~

Heartily disagree on the snarky 'bad life choices' comment. Some of us LOVE the snow and winter sports. Of course, you have to be careful and know the limitations of your rig AND yourself.
Don't apply your standards to everyone elses' abilities.

I've found the diamond chains to be easiest to put on. Traction like a link, install like a cable. Don;t generally speaking have to lay out chains, drive on them, hook up. Can do all the above in one place. ALL versions one should drive a few hundred yards, check tension, then do so every so often to make sure they are tight. Otherwise as noted, if too loose, they fall off, tear up the rig etc.

From Nov 1 to April 1, ALL rigs over a total of 10K lbs, be it a single rig, or towing, are required to carry the appropriate quantity of chains for the rig in Washington state.

I would suggest a chain you know will work, as you can not always trust mother nature, or your days of travel! You may get caught in a freak snow storm, and your ability to wait it out is not legal, or no place to truly wait it out. I was at Timberline in the parking lot, a place I have stayed and been many times in the winter, 60 mph winds, blowing snow into every nook and cranny of window vents etc. Put chains on truck and trainer, down that 10% grade I went to Government camp, spent the rest of the weekend in a parking lot down there. If traveling in the winter, be safe over sorry. Putting on chains is not that big a deal.
This is from a person that used my RV trailer as a ski hut, not a summmer vacation traveling home! Hence the license plate I had too "SKIHT46" or truck plate, see handle!

Marty

Darryl&Rita wrote:
If you need to put chains on an RV, you've made some bad life choices. They're hard on tires, bodywork and the body of the guy putting them on. That said, the laws of the land do require them to travel, so get the cheapest, lightest ones you can find, to meet the minimum standards of the law.

That first sentence is classic!

Btw, agree, cables for show, chains for go.

bbeezzz wrote:
How many folks carry tire chains or cables for their motor home? Our Winnebago Sunstar is 18000 pounds and we are planning to travel mid October from Calgary to Spokane then further west to the coast and south to California.

We carry cables for our class c and for our 5th wheel. Lightweight, don’t take up much room, and inexpensive. Don’t really want to use them.....but I like to have an insurance policy! Cables work great on ice and shallow snow, don’t beat you to death when using them. Chains generally are best for mud or deeper snow....not saying that they shouldn’t or can’t be used at any time. For highway use, I just prefer cables.

As we do a bit of fall/winter boondocking, we have light duty , v-bar chains for our 5er and heavy duty, large link, mud chains (off road chains) for the truck!

I keep a small piece of “Astro-Turf” to lay down on. It doesn’t slide around like a vinyl tarp, yet keeps you clean and dry! memtb

We go skiing in Mammoth & Tahoe every year. Had to put chains on the Motorhome's 5 times over the past 30 years. Used link chains as they were the cheapest and never had to use them for more than 10 miles. Kept speed down to below 35 mph.

YOU WILL GET WET!! I lay down on a blue tarp and wear ski pants. Not hard, but practice beforehand. It will be a rough ride.

If you need to put chains on an RV, you've made some bad life choices. They're hard on tires, bodywork and the body of the guy putting them on. That said, the laws of the land do require them to travel, so get the cheapest, lightest ones you can find, to meet the minimum standards of the law.

I would never put link chains on a motorhome as they could possibly beat the fiberglass to pieces if a link came loose. I have used cable chains and they worked fine with good traction on Oregon pass. Oregon DOT had a check point and gave me the thumbs up. I ran the inside dual onto a 2 by 6, so putting on the cable chains was a piece of cake as there was more than enough clearance to slide the cables under the outside dual.

I carry link chains, it's required in oregon in the winter, and occasionally they do check. And I have them for the trailer. Oregon requires "drag chains" on at least one trailer axle when chains are required. Now, I've only had to use chains once when towing, it was NOT a pleasant experience. All the other times, I just wait out the weather.

I will never use cable chains, way to many of cable chain pieces laying beside the road after a storm.

My experience in oregon is that by the time they actually have a check stop for chains, you (well I) will NOT be going any further.

But the I-5 summit border into CA can be a different story. Last winter our son going down to San Diego was required to stop just into CA and install chains even though the road was clear of snow. CA state police pulled traffic off the highway at an off ramp and would let anyone without chains back on. He put on chains followed a few trucks and when they pulled over to take of chains he did so as well.