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Sat Oct 31, 2009 6:21 am

73kombi wrote: 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.

Ice bad. :( Summer good. :)

Chains give one the false sense of security. " I've got chains on, I can't skid!". Famous last words for many inexperienced drivers, as the OP states he is.
Drop a gear from your normal driving style, and let the engine cylinder compression do the braking for you. At this point the pedal in the middle is to be used only for controlling engine speed, rather than wheel speed. Never let your wheels "lock up"! Bad things can happen. It takes nerves of steel to do this the first few times, but after a while, it becomes second nature, as it is a better way to stop, in any conditions.

All I say is, better to learn to drive w/o chains. If one relies on them from the start, then the one time they don't have them in the vehicle... they're SOL.

Oh yeah, salt. It simply acts like a chemical zamboni machine, melting it so that it can refreeze overnight, making it worse than before. Bad stuff.

Sat Oct 31, 2009 6:26 am

gkdorman wrote: Oh yeah, salt. It simply acts like a chemical zamboni machine, melting it so that it can refreeze overnight, making it worse than before. Bad stuff.

Strange, in 33 years of living in upstate NY and getting anywhere from 130 to 200 inches of snow a year on well salted roads, this has never happened. Roads don't freeze overnight after they've been salted......you know....since they're covered in salt. Last I checked, salt doesn't evaporate. :roll:

Sat Oct 31, 2009 6:51 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*

haha, hilarious

Sat Oct 31, 2009 6:53 am

gkdorman wrote: Chains give one the false sense of security. " I've got chains on, I can't skid!".
All I say is, better to learn to drive w/o chains. If one relies on them from the start, then the one time they don't have them in the vehicle... they're SOL.
Chains may give you a false sense of security. Maybe they'd give the OP a false sense of security. Maybe not. But in any case it's not the fault of the chains that some idiot with them thinks "I've got chains on, I can't skid!" They're a very useful tool sometimes, sometimes a trip-saver or even a life-saver. Semi drivers don't have to chain up around here in Winter to give themselves or anyone else a false sense of security; they have to chain up so the rig doesn't slide back down the damn mountain.

As for learning to drive w/o chains, yes of course the OP and anyone else should learn to drive in icy conditions w/o chains. Big deal. There are some conditions that require them, and if you're a driver that might encounter those conditions, you should know how to drive with them too. And no excuses about forgetting them; that's not the chains' fault either. They get thrown under the seat in October and get taken out in April, here in the Northern Rockies anyway.

Sat Oct 31, 2009 10:28 am

Lil' Lulu wrote: 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 feel for the volks in the gorge...icicles aren't supposed to grow horizontially :shock: You need chains in there just to keep the wind from pushing you off the road!

Sat Jan 09, 2010 3:58 pm

I just picked up some cable chains at Kragen. Part number 1034. I'm running 195r14 Hankook tires on Vanagon alloys. There is not a lot of side wall clearance so I chose the cable style.

I did go to Les Schwab for a look. They have a chains but it seemed that they might rub.

For the once or twice a year that I may venture on up to snow country, the cable type will do just fine.

I test fit them to the spare. They fit snuggly with the circumference cable ending up at the middle of the side wall on both sides. Should clear everything nicely. No need for extra bungies but I will carry some just in case. Maybe even some small cinch straps.

Sat Jan 09, 2010 8:37 pm

Best kind are the kind you never need to use! :wink:

Tue Jan 12, 2010 3:04 pm

Some old chains I've had for years . . . Makes the bus pretty much unstoppable! Did great in 8 ~ 10" snow this year, but I've used them to get through some mud already too.

You can see the snow fallin in this pic - The idea is to put them on BEFORE you need them! :wink:

-Klauss

Tue Jan 12, 2010 11:28 pm

those are great chains. Back in 1978 we got caught in a bad ice storm while crossing the US. Outside Oklahoma City we came across a state trooper stopping traffic while they righted a VW bus on its side. They worked aboiut 20 minutes but it would just slide as the tires wouldn't bite. They tried nailing planks to the asphalt etc. We were first in line at one point and since we were in a VW bus I rolled the window down and said - how slippery is this stuff. The trooper looked at my plates said "You aren't familar with this so I'll show you." He put his feet together and his hands on the window frame and pushed. Slid about 6'. Damn. We almost spun 5 minutes later at 15mph so I put chains on - the VBar kind you have. Made it safely into Oklahoma City and spent the night. We came into the parking lot that had a very minor slope and turned and parked. Every other car that came in didn't have chains and by morning there were about 50 cars in a big mess down at the bottom of the lot. Some stopped ok then slowly started sliding on their own until they hit the pile.

Sometimes you have to have chains and those VBar ones bite into ice well, especially when new.

Wed Jan 13, 2010 10:34 am

Just a thought on chains. You need to put them on in the summer or at least before it freezes and jack up your bus and spin the tires and check the clearance. I had about 1/2 to 3/4 inch clearance between the chain and fender. I have used cable chains many years ago that was when they first came out. On my fist trip the cross cable pulled out. Lucky it was on the outside. I have seen fenders where it pulled out from the inside....NO PAINT LEFT.

Wed Jan 13, 2010 10:56 am

Just so everyone knows, a buddy pointed out that I've been running snow tires this whole time, so I've just gone through winter without chains.

Haven't had any issues so far, save for one day when I fishtailed on the highway on a slushy day.

Wed Jan 13, 2010 11:19 am

73kombi wrote: 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?

Ahhh, thanks for the FZ reference...It made my day.
Hope you had a great Zappadan!