On Spot chains

i beleive jj has them on his truck.

tire chains don't seem to last very long. running in the west.

i'd like to know how the replacement works on those things.

 

that's a pretty clever idea. But they say only 6 inches of snow is the deepest that it should be used in.

 

ambulance and fire dept back home have them and after talking to them as i was considering them for a tow truck application i found out in snow deeper then like 4 inchs they are pretty much useless and as they are air operated and can freeze up when water happens to be in the lines i would not rely on them for extended use. those trucks that do have them are stored inside a warm garage between calls

 

One of my customers in Oregon ran them on their company truck and they loved them. If I ran the mountain passes every day I would have them as well.

 

All the emergency vehicles around here run them. I have never heard any complains. Never heard of the 6" recommendation however things may have changed as well. I have heard they are useless if you have already spun out. You have to be moving for them to engage as they push out against the tire and cintrifical force is what actually causes the chain to work. Frozen air lines could be an issue a little alcohol can solve that problem. I would think if they're goodeenough for an emergency vehicle they're good enough for a truck. From what I hear you can squeeze about 1000 miles put of them before replacement. I don't run chains so I am unaware if that's good or bad, but the time savings is the main savings. And you also don't have to worry about running chains on pavement when they're not needed or broken cross links, etc. All those are also factors. Me personally I'd be willing to take a chance with them on my truck if I ran chain up areas. Since I don't and I'm not required too, there's no sense in wasting the money. If I can't make it barefoot, I don't need to be running. Chains are to get you out of trouble not into it, and I have a feeling if I had chains they'd get me into trouble as opposed to having me use my brain and remember to pull off and not take the risk. That also needs to be factored into your decision. I suppose if you have to pull off and chain it could be a blessing and a curse depending on the storm if the chain up law is in effect. It may be an issue where the storm passes and the weather gets better in that half hour it takes you to chain up, or it could be one of those things where it gets worse I'm sure you've been there before. Remember with auto chains its a flick of the switch and forget it until house out of the area. Soooo it could make things better or worse.

 

Don't know how they work and did not look at their video but if you are in stop and go traffic or on a slippery slope or such how would you get going?

 

Right now you don't wanna be anywhere near wy and sd,they got hammered with like 2 feet of that ugly white stuff.

 

Most of the food service and beer/wine dist. in Colo. run them, as well as fire trucks, ambulances and school buses. Some of my competitors run them. When they rotate into place, a small wheel rubs against your inside drive tire to spin the chains. Figure, about $2,500 to $3,000 per axle installed (unless you're ambitious to DIY it). They do work, and work well, however, I know most of the trucking companies who run them also carry at least one set of regular chains, just in case. But yes, it is on nice to flip a switch and roll. However, you also must have the OnSpot decal attached to your front bumper, otherwise you will be stopped for not chaining up.

 

So most of the emergency services groups?