Three-rail vs Two-rail Winter Tire Chains?

Three rail (dual) chains are more expensive because a pair of them covers four tires, not two. And there’s no reason they shouldn’t last as long as other chains. You can get them as tight as you want to get them. So if they don’t last long it’s probably user error.

 

Read @Long FLD 's post again. He nailed it.

 

Okay. No problem. Three railers are heavy and harder to put on than singles but they give much better traction.
If you get the kind with cam lock tighteners you can cinch them down as tight as you want.

 

What other kind is there? (serious)

 

In deep snow the two rail (singles) will still get stuck. The tire with the chain will dig a hole, the other dual will just sit and spin on top of the snow carrying all the weight.

 

My chains only had a single cam where you hooked them together, I assume he’s talking about the ones that have additional cam locks around them to take the slack out.

 

Serious? The kind without the camloc tighteners. Yeah, they actually made such a thing. I think I started seeing the camlocs about thirty years ago but it might have been less, too.
We took a whole pile of the old style chains to the scrap yard a couple of years ago. Once the drivers found out how quick and easy the camlocs were they wouldn't use the other kind unless they had to. I don't blame them either. We started phasing out the old style and replacing them with Pewag camlocks.
. Pewag makes the best chains.
We kept the old style single chains that weren't worn out and used them for drag chains and for our off road equipment that stays chained up for several weeks at a time.

 

How did you get them tight without cams? Don’t tell me bungee cords