Washington Chain Law

It’s 4 tires, not specifically 4 outside. If the snow is wet and heavy you’re going to want to chain 4 tires on the same axle. Chaining the outside 4 in certain conditions will leave you stuck. The inside tire will spin on the snowpack and your outside chained tire will just spin and you won’t go anywhere.

 

Good Boy!... we call that practice

 

Don't forget the steers.
I'd probably just settle for autosocks up there, though.

TOTAL COVERAGE

 

I did see a couple Barefooters trying to slip across Willamette Pass and skirt the chain law.

Saw two get lit up with cherries and berries.
I bet that wasn't cheap.

 

As far as I am concerned, no company is chain and go. Chaining is counter productive

 

Counter productive? How do you figure?

 

I disagree. Even if you don’t like chaining if you’re coming to a pass and you’re on the front edge of the storm why would you not want to spend 15 minutes throwing chains and just get over the pass? Instead people will shut down, and then the full storm passes over which can dump feet of snow in the mountains, and now you’re in the middle of a bigger mess than if you would’ve just chained and kept going.

The funniest thing I saw was back in 09 or so. I was headed east on highway 12 and had to chain up when I got to Lolo Pass. There was a CRST truck parked in the chain area (fairly big wide spot, not just the shoulder of the road) and they were going to wait it out. I and other drivers offered to help them chain so they were sitting in the middle of nowhere while a raging storm blew in. Nope, they weren’t moving. I go to Salmon ID to deliver, reload in Missoula for Boise, get back to Lolo Pass heading west and throw my chains. I get to the bottom and here’s a tow truck from Missoula digging out the CRST truck. It snowed all night and the plows had built up about a 6ft berm around the CRST truck just trying to keep the chain area plowed out.

They still weren’t going to chain, the tow truck was going to tow them up and over once they got dug out. They wasted a day and who knows how many thousands of dollars because they wouldn’t chain.

 

Because it’s better to sit for 2 days than spend 15 minutes chaining up, duh.

 

And they deserved it.
Especially after everyone offered the help.
Now, if they were that uncomfortable driving the rig in those conditions, they really shouldn't have been out there in the first place.
But, that's a losing argument.

 

They didn’t know what they were getting into, they went the way they were told because it’s only 240 miles from Lewiston ID to Missoula on 12, but the person behind the computer doesn’t know it’s a 5 hour trip on a good day for someone who doesn’t know the road. Once you get east past Lowell ID there are no services for 100 miles until you get over the pass and into Montana.