Anybody have automatic snow chains?

Jumping in late here.

I put OnSpots on my last truck.

The truck didn't have full lock-ups, just the power divider/interaxle. I run BC Canada. Chain, chain, and more chain. Most common question is what's the Coq like today? Chain!!!

I put the autos on the front axle, my logic being that they'd chew everything up for the back axle to get some bite. Worked like magic. Never any hassle, no slipping or spinning.

There was one time I decided to wait at the bottom of Albert Canyon. The snow was just too fluffy for me to want to damage the chains, but made the road slipperier than greased eels.. Of course, no plows for hours, standard in BC.

I believe the onSpots to be better than the other brands. But unlike the others, if you break a chain, you can't just replace the one "strand". So it's a bit expensive. Therefore, if you think you're going to damage them, be smart. Not unlike running a set of triples and you don't want to have to repair or replace them.

Only one other hassle. One time I had been parked and overnight 10" of snow got dumped. I deployed the chains, and yes, the arm swung down properly and the wheel was against the tire, but the chains themselves couldn't get sucked under the tire because the snow was blocking them. Good learning experience, after that I carried a tarp that I could use over everything back there.

One caveat, if you see the road blocked up ahead on a grade, deploy your autos. If you don't, and you stop, you'll have to throw some iron to be able to lift off again.

Otherwise I never had any issues with them, and it's fun to be able to roll past everybody chaining up, and then waving at DOT.

I would recommend auto chains to everybody.

 

With the auto chains which are a great device, make sure you keep a eye on the tires the wheel rubs on that makes them spin. They will wear a groove on the inside of that tire after extended use and if not caught will destroy that tire so rotate them when you see the groove starting.

 

and a grease zert that needs a bit of feeding often, dang deicers they use sure tear things up.

 

I'm just fortunate enough to travel where I don't have to deal with too much snow and ice. Never have put on a set of chains or even owned a set.

 

Zerts are cheap, and the autos I had only had one of each.

As for wheel rub on the inner tire:

Have your trained mechanic take all the measurements that the manufacturers request. The need all those because every truck is set up differently. That's why the manufacturers custom build your set to exactly fit what you have. You can install them yourself, but that is not recommended. A trained mechanic, who can and often does phone the manufacturer for directions etc, is the best way to have them installed. The average guy would take 10 to 12 hours to install them, whereas a shop would take 8. The average person could easily make a small mistake on mounting them, various height and distance measurements etc. But if a shop does it, then if they screw it up and your tires get shredded, then you can go back on them.

My local shop had never done that sort of job before. They were a bit nervous, but game to learn. They made quite a few calls to OnSpot while they were taking the measurements. The set up of my truck was a bit different from most (heavy everything including a double frame), so even Onspot wanted to know more measurements than the ones usually used. I didn't hear if any more calls were made once everything arrived and was put on. But they did a great job, and never a single problem at all, and they always deployed when I wanted, with no tire problems.

As the old story goes, measure it once then measure it twice. The mantra my kids used to hate was poor planning leads to poor performance (what I called the 4 P system). So do it right, or don't do it at all.

 

I did not really like them things on the truck because getting past the inspection point was easy and sometimes you really should have installed the bling. Most of the time did not really need chains unless everything came to a stop so just looked ahead and planned. That old way of driving with the egg under the pedal works well.

 

What I did, besides chroming the truck out and adding a bunch of avian lights, was find a diamond plate chain hanger. Put it on the scale side, and got some chains direct from China. 50 bucks and 40 lbs, but nice and shiny. Would never use them. They were for show, in order to not be bugged.