Is putting snow chains on a small car the same as on a CMV?

nextgentrucker · Aug 27, 2025 at 10:07 PM

D.Tibbitt said: ↑

Nice! That was lookout pass for sure. Can tell in the 2nd picture ur in the big pullout at the top of the hill .. Then u would've hit 4th of July about 50 miles going west.. That's the perfect mtn range to learn how to chain... I was up over those 3 times a day in the winter running Spokane to Missoula n back... one time about 4am I pulled off in the end of the chain area just off the shoulder of the road , the light was off but it was snowing like a mofo and road unplowed, so I decided to play it safe and chain up. . I threw all my chains and get around to start tightening them, heard this God awful noise coming behind me like metal scraping the ground, looked back and here comes the snow plow hauling ###. Tried to run back to my truck, made it to about my fuel tank before I got hit with a wave of snow. All I can say is I'm not sure where I'm going when I die but I know I will have to answer for the words that came out of my mouth after that . I was drenched from head to toe, and I had my waterproofs on too.. That was one of those days I would've rather been doing anything else in life
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D.Tibbitt said: ↑

Defiantly check with ur company about that. If they don't want u chaining then probably best not to. The company I'm with now has the same policy but I won't Park unless it's to icey. But that's just me, u should do what the boss man wants u to do. And yes my chains are a tangled mess. I am not looking forward to the day I'm gonna need to use them lol .. A good comp=ny to get chains from is quality chain Corp. They have everything a guy could need and good prices.

I will say if u can run the northeast successfuly then u can conquer the western mountains as well. It takes a different skillset but it's nothing that can't be learned.. I have been to Jersey and that area only a handful of times and I find it to be quite difficult to deal with. The roads are designed so differently than what I'm used to and found myself getting lost a bunch and missing my turns, which creates a whole new set of problems... if I had to do it everyday or on a regular basis I'd have a lot of rookie moments but would spend time learning and sharpening my skills... running out west is winter is no different , just takes time to sharpen your sword and gain experience..
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Yeah, it's crazy up here lol, almost got lost with all them split lanes on the highway Lol.

Buc said: ↑

Count me in the camp of "Chain Up and Ride Out, Driver!".

Once you do it the first time, you'll feel a whole lot less nervous about doing it again. I watched a whole bunch of YouTube videos about how to do it before the first time I practiced on my own in a dry parking lot. I only practiced one time, though...because the next time I pulled those bad boys out, I was doing it. Somewhere in Montana, I think it was Lookout or 4th of July Pass or something (it was out close to Missoula is all I can remember). Chain light came on during a driving snowstorm, I pulled into the truck stop, saw a couple old hands pulling out their chains, watched how they did it, and decided to myself, "bump it—I'm doing this."

Four drive chains, one drag Chain, took me about 40 minutes surprisingly (that's including hand-shoveling enuff snow out the way to even lay the chains out). Tightened the cam locks, but the bungees on like I saw other drivers doing, rolled out, and up the pass...where there was barely a flake of snow on the road. Got to the chain removal area and snapped a picture...chains didn't move one time. I was so proud of myself.

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Mind you, that was years ago, but after doing that for the first time, it gave me the confidence that I could do it again.

I wonder, though, if the apprehension to chaining is less the actual action of installing the chains and moreso the road and weather conditions that require chaining in the first place—and drivers' hesitancy to drive through them (provided it ain't absolutely horrible outside)...for me it was definitely both, but moreso the latter.
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Nice man, I am not looking forward to going to the Northern states... I'm happily content running Coast-to-coast lol. Are these Single tires only in the drive axles?

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