I am curious as what veteran drivers do in order to put chains on the easyest. I'm going to be very new to this, in this years winter driving. My thoughts are to lay chains down in front of tire and drive over them till tire is halfway in the chains, then hook them from on top of tire? Also do you chain up all trailer tires and rear axels on tractor, or just drivers? Any wisdom on this would be great!

My best way is to not chain at all. Park it.

Bring a lot of rubber snubbers with you, It will make life a lot easier.

One of the easiest ways, I've found. Keep a couple of 2x4's in the side box.

Pull up onto them, and apply the chains from the top of the tires. This allows you to get the chains a bit tighter on the first shot.

Some people nail two 2x4's together and cut a slope into one end, raising the tire even further off the ground.

Keep plenty of bungee cords to keep them tight, criss cross pattern.

You can do it without the boards. They just make life easier IMO.

Minimum chain law, rear drives and a set of drags on the trailer. Drivers differ on drag placement. I prefer to place 1 set on the rear axle, the opposing side I place on the front axle. While other drivers place them both on the same tandem.

30-40 mph tops. Although you will see drivers attempting 50-60 mph, it's not a good idea at all.

Generally, CA hands out chain placement cards at check points. You won't be able to do it wrong. They will stop you

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Team Players.....
It's hard for me to play professional team sports. On a minor league salary.

Lots of different ways that folks chain up. What I do is lay the chain on the top of the tire and tuck the front (or back) of the chain in under the tire, which ever way you are going to roll it so you make sure you have enough room. That way you will only have to roll a little way and wont have to be lifting them more than necessary. Then try to pull it around as tight as you can and hook the inside first making sure the chain is still centered on the tire, then do the outside and lock all your cams. You might want to have some extra bungee cords and put one or two on the outside of each chain, crisscrossing to keep them tight. Some guys use a zip tie or little peice of wire to tie down the dangling piece of chain on the inside, I never bothered. Make sure you have them on the tire with the rough/cut side of the chain facing up/out so you dont chew up your tires. You might have to drive a bit then tighten them up again, thats why bungee cords are good to have and make sure you get them sung the first time so you dont have to around in the cold anymore than you have to. You will either have single rail or double rail chains (or cables, which I know nothing about), the singles will go on each tire and the doubles can go on two tires at once. The singles are eaiser to put on and much lighter. How many you put on is usually what you are comfortable with or they (the state) will have signs posted (I think).....at the very least two on the tractor and one on the trailer, which is called a drag chain. Four on the tractor and two on the trailer does not take that much longer and is much safer. Make sure your power divider is on if its bad enough to run chains. They probably have a set at the school where you are, maybe they could show you all how they do it. I would also like to hear how other people put theirs on

Mud boggin with a semi is fun. ..................... until you get stuck. And then you are REALLY stuck when all four drives are chained up.

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Driving in mud is fun! Last year I couldn't believe some of the places we took our trucks. The only scary ones were the times there was a steep drop off and loaded. I tried to talk our boss into starting a TV series, mud bogging in Pete's lol.

Not fun when it's cold outside and your messing with chains to pull each other out................

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"Tude"

" A good attitude will get you through almost anything"

Thanks for all the good info!

The best way to put on chains......



...is to get someone else to do it.

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Z-Lady's devoted hubby.

That pays very well. There are many guys in WA, OR, and CA at the chain up points that LOVE guys like you. $50 or more a truck. Takes an hr. Pays better than driving truck.


Seriously dude it is not that hard. And I'm a fat boy.

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