TIRE Chains?

[bigmoose]

Good advise on staying away from the made in China chains. Stick with Pewag, Campbell, or Weed. Weed makes the very aggressive V bar type and is best for off road or anywhere. Pewags are a square type link and can be a little rough on your tires but they will last the longest as well as the V bar type. The V bars are welded to a flat link and are the best option in my opinion. You may also want to stay away from cable chains unless you're only going to be on the highway. They're pretty much worthless off highway.

Some of the roads get nasty even when it rains. Don't wait to throw your chains on until after you're stuck.

 

[Hokkaido]

Find yourself a set and practice putting them on in your driveway. Make sure the buckles between both radius chains are sticking OUT and not digging into the sidewall. Get them so tight that you don't need the rubber tighteners. Cheap Chinese chains seem to be shinier and lighter than the real ones. Don't ever waste your time on them no matter how cheap, nor the cable ones.

Rust on chains doesn't hurt them. It comes off with one use. Look for some used ones if you want to save money.

Remember the weakest part of the tundra drivetrain is the front end, the spider gears will go to shit when worked very hard for long...or if you spin the wheels too fast when your stuck. Hunt is pretty well over then although 2wd will still work. Been there.

Chains are a catch 22 situation, yeah they will get you farther, but you run the risk of getting Seriuosly stuck where most other rigs won't be going to pull you out. You might spend a day or more of your hunt trying to get..the whole time thinking you should have parked and walked. The main accessory to a chain is a good shovel, don't leave home without one. I spend three months hunting in the snow, been stuck probably 50 times..it happens. I got winches front and rear with lockers BUT I have found over many years of off-road hunting, that when you need chains, you aren't far from the game and your best to start walking from there!

 

[blackdawg]

Thanks for all the information. Not sure which ones to try yet, the ice covered boat ramp will probably be my most frequent use so the chains will need to dig up a hill. Emergency equipment when traveling from back east to the mountians most of the time,,,may gather dust.