Snow Chains 1 pair (front or back) or 2 pairs (front and back)?
 

Season's Greetings,

I'd like some opinions and advice about using snow chains on my Disco. I've never used chains on a 4 wheel drive, snow chains are not cheap, so I'd appreciate some insight etc from my forum brothers/sisters who have experience using them etc.

I'm looking for general opinions and wisdom here, not specifics for just my situation etc.

When applicable, include whatever assumptions about conditions, terrain, economy etc that are relevent to your comment etc. (such as "you only need 2 pairs of chains in snow 20 feet or deeper.")

Oh, I'm using BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A tires (255-70-16R) now.

1) If I only use one pair of snow chains, is it best to put them in the front or back? My assumption is to put them in the front.

2) One pair or two pairs? I'm assuming 2 pairs of snow chains will work better than 1 pair. Am I right?

3) If 2 pairs are better than 1, and if snow chains were free/cheap, we would use 2 pairs every time we needed to use chains. But snow chains are not cheap. So, under what conditions does it make sense to use 2 pairs?
Or When should 2 pairs be used?
Or When is 1 pair of snow chains not enough?

(The obvious answer to the above is "Use 2 pairs when using 1 pair will get you stuck" etc. But that answer isn't very helpful to someone who hasn't been lucky enough to get stuck when they were using only one pair of snow chains.)


thanks and cheers,

Thomas

Where do you live where as you require snow chains?
Some places will say you are OK with 4X4 drive.

Having them on one end will only help if you have your transfer case locked. Have you added the linkage for you CDL yet? If not, you could always do the crawl and reach with a 10mm wrench. With them on the rear and a locked transfer case, you will see much improvement in your traction in the snow. For use on the road, you should be in pretty good shape. However having chains on all four tires will give you the best traction for moving, obviously, but will also make for a huge improvement in braking. I typically find that stopping is the biggest issue in snow, not the going. If you are looking to go off road in the snow, then you will need two sets.

I don't really like those tires in snow (or rain) but they should get you by in soft snow. If you can lock your rear end, then chains on the back make sense for running around on snowy roads, especially if you have to climb a few hills. I've only needed chains on all four tires when heavy snow has fallen on top of thick, solid ice. They help quite a bit with stopping and it can help to get additional traction to whatever wheel happens to hit the ice when your heavy rig breaks through some deep snow.

Cascades/Rockies/Olympics mountain ranges... I-90 and Rt 2 mountain passes, back roads....

I carry chains. Used to have two pair, but in my efforts to test the limits (and I really abused them) I broke a set. So, I carry one pair now.

I only ever use them offroad. If the roads around here (Denver area) get so bad that I need chains, then the roads (major highways, that is) get shut down. Unless there's a really freakish ice storm that lays a thick layer of ice over everything, you don't need chains on the secondary roads around here. Locking the transfer case will do, as well as taking ones time.

As far as which end to put them on will depend on the situation. Do you need them to get up an incline? Then put them on the front. If you need to do a decent, put them on the back to keep the rig from swapping ends on the road (think lots of grip in the front and a totally loose back end on a completely iced over decent). Use them when needed, and put them on before you will need them (if you have any idea of what you'll be getting into). Much easier to get them on and adjusted before things go wrong or you're in several feet of snow.

I just went through this a couple weeks back while offroading. Found the trail had several ice skating rinks along the way and finally threw in the towel and turned around after the other vehicle pulled a 180 backwards and gained speed coming towards me. Fortunately it came to a stop before hitting me (I was in reverse trying to stay ahead of the impending impact). Between winching and chains, we got back down safely. Such is the life of winter wheeling in Colorado. :)

Yeah, I have driven up in Seattle.
I bought some good Coopers from Big "O".
But, I never made it up into the passes at this time of year.
If you are doing Blewett.. Or even Snowqualmie then I can see your need for chains.

Lots of people have studded tires in the winter there too.
That might be easier.