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Wed Oct 28, 2009 11:08 pm

As tristessa mentioned, the worst is frequently the freak storm system in an area where neither the drivers nor the infrastructure are prepared. I recall a week of that in Vancouver, BC, back in the 1980s; fun for some!

After years of living in the mountains, my personal favs: diamond chains for the baywindows, cables for my water-cooled VW sedan/wagon, straight-across chains with gripper teeth for my 'merican Ford wagon/tank w. limited slip and AirLifts. Guess ya' go with what works.

http://www.cafepress.com/ChainsRequired.143923862#

Thu Oct 29, 2009 5:52 am

I'm with VDubTech again on this one: I used to live in Colorado, and when the snow came down, I came out to play in it with the bus. No chains ever, just good beefy BFGoodrich All Terrains. Like a tank? More like a snowcat! Drove up some dinky little country road into the Rockies one blizzard day with a few friends, no problems at all. The deeper the better!

Thu Oct 29, 2009 6:55 am

Traveling Writer wrote: I'm with VDubTech again on this one: I used to live in Colorado, and when the snow came down, I came out to play in it with the bus. No chains ever, just good beefy BFGoodrich All Terrains. Like a tank? More like a snowcat! Drove up some dinky little country road into the Rockies one blizzard day with a few friends, no problems at all. The deeper the better!

You totally rock, dude! You're a snow monster! Raaaawr! *high five*

Thu Oct 29, 2009 7:12 am

WestyPop wrote: As tristessa mentioned, the worst is frequently the freak storm system in an area where neither the drivers nor the infrastructure are prepared. I recall a week of that in Vancouver, BC, back in the 1980s; fun for some!

In the 80's? Try last year! And the year before last too I think. Its weird...everybody told us it never snows in Vancouver. Well, its snowed every year that we've been here and some years have been pretty nasty. Vancouver itself is pretty bad and for some reason, they never get their act together. I've never missed work though...first with my front-wheel drive Rabbit that felt like a 4x4 with good tyres and now with my RWD Merc that just seems to go anywhere with good tyres and two bags of cement in the boot! :lol:

My bus stays in the garage though...no rain or slush for my precious :D

Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:36 am

WestyPop wrote: As tristessa mentioned, the worst is frequently the freak storm system in an area where neither the drivers nor the infrastructure are prepared...

Exactly. The Portland area is a good example and is hilly, some gentle but a lot that are steep. Add several inches of snow at night, then warming temps that hover around 32 degrees during the day, and you get a Oregon flavored slurpee packed on the streets. The conditions are slick -- not the nice, packed snow or temps that are well below 32 degrees many places get.

The Bus gets chains; my Jetta gets snow tires (w/studs up front) and even though she's lowered, the LSD really helps :twisted: In the past, when my Squareback was my daily driver, I drove without chains on street tires but that was in southern Oregon (Ashland & the mountain) where there wasn't the slush issue. My fiancé's Passat stays in the garage and, most of the time, so does my motorcycle. :-s

Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:42 am

RIOMX wrote: Traveling Writer wrote: I'm with VDubTech again on this one: I used to live in Colorado, and when the snow came down, I came out to play in it with the bus. No chains ever, just good beefy BFGoodrich All Terrains. Like a tank? More like a snowcat! Drove up some dinky little country road into the Rockies one blizzard day with a few friends, no problems at all. The deeper the better!

You totally rock, dude! You're a snow monster! Raaaawr! *high five*

No need to be an a$$; I'm simply telling the OP (who seemed concerned that his bus wouldn't do well in the snow) that busses really handle the snow unlike most other cars, and that there's no need to chain up when a foot comes down because you'll be having a damn good time flogging around in it while other people are wringing their hands! Just watch for frozen feet, tho... :wink:

Thu Oct 29, 2009 4:40 pm

I plan on driving my bus when it snows this year- when western Wa was socked in with snow on the ground for a month straight last year, I found out that that nifty "dub" trim on my toyota matrix had turned it into a snowplow. I was trapped at home - couldn't drive my old double cab, because I had sold it, and was waiting for a break in the weather so that I could deliver it. So, long story short- the high clearance of a bus would have been a good thing, Martha. So, this year, when it snows, it'll be a Bay day for sure. The old double ran good in the snow- no chains needed. But stopping is always the worry- and all the other drivers on the road.

Thu Oct 29, 2009 4:46 pm

my biggest problems without chains have been gong downhill on ice. Even with snow tires the bus wants to swap ends when you take your foot off the gas. Twice ended in a snow bank and once a recovery by stepping lightly on the gas as the rear end came back into line. I think that chains or an anchor would help.
Aloha
tp

Thu Oct 29, 2009 4:48 pm

I've spent my whole life in the rural Appalachian Mtns, and while they are not the Rocky's, I have learned a few things in my day: Driving in bad weather is 95% the driver. One can have the best tire and chains money can buy on the most capable vehicle built, and they can still get themselves into a bunch of trouble verrrry quickly if they are not patient and diligent with their gear selection. The other 5% of the equation is the sense to realize it's just too dangerous, and to stay at the house.
I work in the oil&gas industry; navigating, sometimes literally, cow paths in all kinds of weather and terrain, and I have never used chains. In fact I'm not sure how to put a set on... :?
My advice is to get some practice driving in the snow first, then worry about upgrading your contact with the ground.

Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:52 pm

It's NOT the freaking snow that kills ya.......

IT'S THE ICE! think 'packed snow' after a week or two where we DON'T use SALT!

Drive 5 miles down a 7% grade on ICE...

chains keep you, and your bus very happy! :D

nothing wrong with chains.

Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:36 pm

Quote: my biggest problems without chains have been gong downhill on ice. Even with snow tires the bus wants to swap ends when you take your foot off the gas. Twice ended in a snow bank and once a recovery by stepping lightly on the gas as the rear end came back into line. I think that chains or an anchor would help.
Aloha

Yes - buses do really well on dry unpacked snow. They are very unstable on ice and serious chains or carbide tipped snow tires are a must.

Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:47 pm

SGKent wrote: Yes - buses do really well on dry unpacked snow. They are very unstable on ice and serious chains or carbide tipped snow tires are a must.

Are those anything like Zirconium Encrusted Tweezers?

Fri Oct 30, 2009 1:18 am

Problem with Seattle is the snow is rarely deep enough to cover all the streets with a nice layer. I had a set of those "Diamond" chains, they got ate up by the concrete. I think they're some kind of alloy, not even steel. I couldn't find a genuine set of actual steel "chains" very easily, so I went with studded tires on all four corners. They're beefy like those BFGoodrich All Terrains mentioned above, with a little added insurance of the studs for icy conditions plus serrations that grip the snow/ice. Another thing about winter tires, the rubber is specially formulated to perform better in cold conditions than regular tires. My pizza car doesn't do very well in the snow, so when shit gets bad, out comes the Bus :) I even have the studded tires already mounted on their own set of stock rims, so I can simply jack it up on one side with my 2-ton jack, swap out those two, then around to the rear jack point on the other side to swap out the other two in one jack-up. I probably should keep a set of chains in the Bus, just to get me out of a jam if I get stuck. I heard a bag of cat litter sprinkled around where you're stuck can also get you out, if you're lucky, lol. Wish it had lsd, we got like ten inches last year, crippled the infrastructure, did alright with it's good ground clearance, but I had to tread lightly. Glad it's something I enjoy, delivering pizza to people stranded in the stuff -the heater blows when you have to turn it off every ten minutes! What other job allows you to blast your tunes while you work, lol?

Fri Oct 30, 2009 6:01 am

73kombi wrote: It's NOT the freaking snow that kills ya.......

IT'S THE ICE!

I'm glad someone said it, because I was about to. The greatest tires in the world don't do a damn bit of good when you're trying to mount that forest road that's completely frozen over with ice. There is a place for chains; under a foot of nice fluffy new-fallen snow may not be that place, but on top of three inches of ice is.

That said, Les Schwab sells 'em that'll fit the bus.

Fri Oct 30, 2009 8:53 am

whc03grady wrote: That said, Les Schwab sells 'em that'll fit the bus.

Les Schwab is kinda regional...and very, very dead!

But they do give away "free beef" every year!

Fri Oct 30, 2009 10:08 am

Joe,

I have a set of the tirechain.com diamond chains. It I was repurchasing I would get the low profile ones. I've had them two years now and have never needed to put them on though.

Fri Oct 30, 2009 11:44 am

Buses use truck tires. So any place that services trucks (4x4, Jeep, off-road, etc.) should have chains; if not in stock then they can order them quite readily. That's where I got ours ;)

Fri Oct 30, 2009 5:21 pm

A friend of mine who lives in Silverthorne, CO showed me this product called a "Snow Sock" that fits over the tire and does the same thing as chains without the risk of damaging the car. Apperently their all the rage in the Colorado mountains.

Fri Oct 30, 2009 6:01 pm

77VWBusDude wrote: I even have the studded tires already mounted on their own set of stock rims....
I've had the same setup for years, works great. I've also got an old set of cable chains for the bus, have only had to use them a few times over the last 26 years, and that was when it was icy as hell. Out here where we live, they will not let you up Cabbage Hill on Interstate 84 in certain conditions unless you have chains, period, and that's for all vehicles unless the big signs state otherwise.

Fri Oct 30, 2009 8:15 pm

In Portland the freezing rain can strike any winter evening. People slide all over hell and just get out of the car and walk off creating a nightmare jumble jam.

I think Les Schwab still buys back your chains in the spring if they're not used. Truck shops have the best chains.

We used walnut shell tires for the ice.