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XBoater · 11-20-2007, 01:59 PM

We had our first snowfall of the season and I drove around a bit today for the first time in the snow. If the road was white, the traction lost was very noticable, far greater that my pickup, probably because of the weight and less than aggressive tires. If there are several inches of snow or hard pack snow on the road travel would be very difficult. I was thinking about getting a set of chains or cables for emergencies. I assumed that cables would give a far better ride than chains and given that they would be just to move to a safe parking spot until road conditions improve, the difference in traction would not be an issue. I will be traveling in the winter, mainly from north to south and back and will be mindful of the weather, but today's snow fall was to be just a few flakes, so weather prediction is imperfect and I worry now about getting stuck.

Thanks for any input.

XBoater · 11-20-2007, 01:59 PM

We had our first snowfall of the season and I drove around a bit today for the first time in the snow. If the road was white, the traction lost was very noticable, far greater that my pickup, probably because of the weight and less than aggressive tires. If there are several inches of snow or hard pack snow on the road travel would be very difficult. I was thinking about getting a set of chains or cables for emergencies. I assumed that cables would give a far better ride than chains and given that they would be just to move to a safe parking spot until road conditions improve, the difference in traction would not be an issue. I will be traveling in the winter, mainly from north to south and back and will be mindful of the weather, but today's snow fall was to be just a few flakes, so weather prediction is imperfect and I worry now about getting stuck.

Thanks for any input.

AFChap · 11-20-2007, 03:46 PM

Either way, and especially for chains, you would want to make sure you have the clearance between tires & wheel wells, etc for chains. With the centrifugal force as the tires rotate, they "stand off" from the tires a bit. I definitely would not attempt chains on my rig. I've never used cables ...they might be ok.

Latitude · 11-23-2007, 06:38 AM

XBoater I don't think there would be clearance to run chains on a MH. I have used chains in the Canadian Rockies on a Highway Truck which has a LOT more room than a MH. As tight as you can get them to start they always seem to get slack.
My $.o2 Rick

Jim O'Mahony · 11-23-2007, 07:04 AM

I used to have a 36' Foretravel DP. From our house to pavement is one mile of dirt/gravel road the last of which is a very steep hill. Trying to leave for our winter escape one January day with six inches of fresh snow, I just couldn't make it up that darn hill. Bought a set of truck tire chains of the approiate size, put 'em on and drove rigt up that hill with no problems. I did take it very slowly and stopped at the top to remove the chains. As mentioned in previous posts, limited clearance in the wheel well means you have to go slow but,in my case at least, those chains made all the differance. Good luck with your trip.

Gus Weber · 11-28-2007, 05:41 AM

I live in Colorado and do a lot of winter traveling. In my experience I always remember two things - the first is that while I keep traction longer in the motor home than in the car, once I lose it, getting it back is very very difficult and the coach is going to go wherever it wants! The second is that in starting, if I skid even a little, I have made a patch of ice under the tire and will not get traction there. So I have to move a foot in either direction to get fresh contact.

I used to use chains, and they are a pain in the kiester! You spend a half hour putting them on for the mountain pass and as soon as you come down the other side, the road is clear again and you have to take them off or they will soon be slinging a loose chain into your wheel well. Most of the time I would hole up until the snow stopped and the plows cleared the highways, but sometimes this meant a loss of a day or more.

This season I discovered auto socks! They are a gripping elasticized fabric cover that easily goes over the tire - just stretch it on, move the rig a foot, and then finish putting it on. I have only used them once so far, but they are thousands of times easier than chains ever were, and tests say they equal chains in all but deep snow (if you believe the test claims). Anyway, I thought this ought to be of interest to some of you.

Safe winter trails

Gus Weber

Seattle Skier · 11-30-2007, 09:22 PM

I We have a 35 foot class A gasser and use it 20 plus weekends a year for skiing. There are about 100 rigs a weekend at our local ski resort. They range from small class C's to 45 foot Prevosts. Everyone in the lot has and uses tire chains (some cable some chain). Putting chains on a set of dualies can bea challenge but I have it down to less than 5 min. per wheel. There are some brands and styles of chains that go on much easier than others, With 20,000 to 30,000 pounds of weight and a good set of tire chains the level of traction is quite good. As mentioned earlier, if you do lose traction it can get exciting. I also run traction tires on my drive wheels. I have not ever had an issue going up the mountains but I have had some long slow drives down.

RV Wizard · 12-01-2007, 01:58 AM

Seattle Skier, welcome to iRV2.com. We are glad to have you join us here and we look forward to reading of your adventures and experiences. I am sure you will find this website and forum very intresting and fun. Good luck and enjoy!