Tire chains- any recommendation

[edpdx]

I don't think I have a chain big enough (in my collection) to fit the 31x10.5/15 tires on my M1009. Anyone use chains enough to recommend which brand or type?

 

[OLDCHEV4X4]

I really like the V-bar chain. They bite like nothing else in the icy stuff. As for brand i dont like one over another. I bought mine off Craigs List for $40 brand new.

 

[Incredilion]

Best Chain place...

I use tirechains.com.
I use a lot of chains in the winter, have a F-250, a skidsteer, and soon, a M1009. They know what they're doing & have the best prices.
On the chains themselves, the v-bars are best, make SURE to get spiders to hold them on good. They are the rubber bungee things that pull from all directions, and they make a tremendous difference in terms of how good your chains will stay on, and tight.

 

[Sasquatch]

Lots of good chain companies out there Pewag, Rudd, Laclede. They will have hardened chain that will wear longer than cheaper Chinese stuff. Really depends what your using them for and how often. If you are running them often basic ladder style chains are easy to repair if a cross link breaks. If you are just throwing them on rarely on the side of the highway when the roads get bad I'd consider something cheap but if you have to do it often consider somehing like the Laclede Alpine Sport, I hear they are super easy to put on, you don't even need to drive over the chains or jack the tire and they have a builtin tensioner. Spendy though.

I like the chain and spring tighteners from tirechains.com, the rubber ones break down quick. I've got laclede v-bars on all 4 wheels of my M1008 plow truck right now. I run it on steep gravel dirt driveways not on paved roads.

 

[b4thundr]

HI,
Can I chime in? I know I know what can a guy from NY know lol but I plow lake roads, and I run chains and I have found in doing do there is a lot of stress on the chains turning stopping turning and I have bent the link where the cross chain meets the side chain, so i had to weld every one of these so that would not happen anymore. I got them from NAPA they were a no name brand but they have the v bars on them and they work really well. just some info, something to look at in buying them.

 

[rosco]

Campbell or Weed. They come in different weights. Others are "wanna-be" chains, and wear out too fast.

 

[Sasquatch]

I would be careful welding the cross links. The connectors are cheap and easy to replace but a PITA when your fingers are numb, the winds howling and it's dark out, I can see why you did it. The side and cross chains are usually hardened steel while the connectors are not, this gives you a weak link to prevent your axles from getting overloaded. If you are breaking a lot of chains you may be working them too hard, quick stops, spinning wheels or they may just be too light duty to handle the rigors of plowing.

If you are buying chains, it's a good idea to get a small set of chain pliers and a handful of extra side chain links so you can repair them. Good to keep a spare set of tensioners on hand too.

 

[b4thundr]

I would be careful welding the cross links. The connectors are cheap and easy to replace but a PITA when your fingers are numb, the winds howling and it's dark out, I can see why you did it. The side and cross chains are usually hardened steel while the connectors are not, this gives you a weak link to prevent your axles from getting overloaded. If you are breaking a lot of chains you may be working them too hard, quick stops, spinning wheels or they may just be too light duty to handle the rigors of plowing.

If you are buying chains, it's a good idea to get a small set of chain pliers and a handful of extra side chain links so you can repair them. Good to keep a spare set of tensioners on hand too.

Yes I totally hear ya! they might be to light! Thank you didnt think of that, basically they kept opening up and the cross links would slap my truck!! DOH!! not good lol so i just welded them so they could not open up.

 

[WARWAG]

Pewag

 

[blybrook]

I recommend the Laclede's. I have a set for my F250 and after the ice storm that we had last week, I was extremely happy to have enough for all 4 tires. I have standard ladders for all 4, and an extra set for the rear's that are v's; but I only carry the ladders in the truck. I have standard rubber tensioners and a couple regular rubber straps & extra hooks for backup.

I have used tirechains.com in the past when I lived in the lower 48, good prices and reasonable shipping. Wouldn't order from them where I live now though, I'll go down the road and buy from the dealer.

just my

 

[allrevup]

Can someone please tell me what this chains will fit?

Excuse me for highjacking your tread, but I did not want to start another

 

[OddballJ]

Has anyone ever heard of an automatic/on demand snow chain system? Roto grip was the company that my 10 second Google search turned up, but it looked like there were a few of them out there.
I was on a bus equipped with a system like this a few years ago and was totally fascinated.
I don't know about the practicality of fitting them onto a personal vehicle, but the concept is fun to me all the same.

 

[Sasquatch]

Allrevup go to lacledechain.com then Traction Products then Tire Chain Specifications, scroll down to single truck chains and try to match the dimensions of the cross links and side chains to get a model number then you should be able to go to the fitting section and see what size tires they might fit. You can always remove cross links and cut the extra side chain if they are too long, just check your clearance.

All the school buses up here in AK have the automaic chain systems they seem to do pretty well. I'm sure they would be spendy to install, good if you drive a lot of variable conditions and need them occasionally, and need to take chains on and off a few times during a trip. I could see them being worth while if you took regular trips up the mountains where you had a few bad passes to get through where you would be stuck either running chains and going slow the whole way or stopping and taking them on and off a few times.

 

[REO 54]

Ok,here's a tip I just learned about.There called "Snap Chains".A friend on the Island here told me about it.He used to haul logs on the Olympic Pennisula.What they did was take a single chain and thread it through the budd hole and attach it together with a clevis hook/pin.Then put on the opposite budd hole on the same axle to balance.Repeat on the other side.He claims it got him out of real tough spots,plus he was able to drive at 50 mph with no issue. I'm going try it.Got to find some scrap chains first.

 

[WARWAG]

Whoa! 50 MPH! Sounds dangerous.

 

[REO 54]

Well yer talkin' 'bout PNW loggers here.Plus he was a former Nam Vet so......for the rest of us mortals yes that's a little fast.