Snow chains

[Oldarborman]

Has anyone bought and used snow chains, they seem to use them all over Europe and Canada so I thought with winters getting worse and in North Yorkshire the last couple of years the snow has been lasting weeks not days where we are as we are high up, I can't afford a 4x4 so this is my best option for my van, any idea's please.

[Plymtom]

I think we should take a minute to think why they are so big in other countries, the thing is they have proper winters, it gets cold it snows and freezes then stays like that till spring, snow chains and other seasonal stuff comes into play and stays there till the groundhog has come out of his hole, over here the groundhog wouldn't know his arse from his elbow, we can get what for them is 3 out of the 4 seasons rolling over us weather wise in the same day in the UK, in Plymouth at the coast it can and mainly is clear and halfway across the city it can be snowing and settling, I've only seen about ten days in 46 years living here where you could have put chains on for a day realistically.

This lays at the heart of why other countries wonder why we go on about the weather so much, it's because here it changes so much all the time, they don't get that, they have consistent weather.

[unsure]

have you given any thought to a pair of snow socks .

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksi ... &_from=R40

[Plymtom]

Well there's something that may work here, well done Unsure to be honest with the disabled people at home and the preps when the weather turns bad enough I tend to bunker down as we don't have to go anywhere often by car, but if I had to get around in this neck of the woods they'd be useful.

[Oldarborman]

Thanks for the link

[poppypiesdad]

Got myself a set of snow chains last winter from lidl's £20 or so , they are under my seat in the van , had a few practice shots to put them on and stuck myself in a snow drift to see how east it was to get out , got out no problem , snow socks IN MY OPINION are useless and a poor substitute for snow chains .

J

[Oldarborman]

I'll check out lidle cheers

[jonb]

Hi

I would choose snow chains over snow socks.

Although another point to bear in mind is ballast !

Seriously , my L200 has four wheel drive and is great in snow but as with all picks ups has little weight over the rear driven wheels.

A couple of bags of sand (or other weight) in snowy conditions in the truck bed over the axle helps out.

I have heard snow tyres are very good but involves swapping them over or having a second set of wheels , not cheap !

[Ghost Prepper]

Generally in winter i tend to use a quad/ATV to get about as it saves fuel and im less likey to get hit by another driver.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Has anyone bought and used snow chains, they seem to use them all over Europe and Canada so I thought with winters getting worse and in North Yorkshire the last couple of years the snow has been lasting weeks not days where we are as we are high up, I can't afford a 4x4 so this is my best option for my van, any idea's please.

Not living a million miles away years ago i got well and truly stuck in Dalby Forrest in my Punto and i could still see the tarmac under the snow... Anyhow i then moved to snow chains which work well but they are a faff oh its great practicing in the dry but when the arches and wheels are built up with slush its not a nice job...... and the added risk damaging your car if the links snap either flailing your body work or rip brake lines apart neither are a good thing,,,

I used them to get me out of trouble once (again in dalby) I then looked into Winter tires and invested in 4 spare steel wheel rims (scrap yard is as good a place as any if you have a common car)

then winter tyres there are loads to choose from i ordered mine from a company called mytyres and they shipped them from Germany reasonably quickly

But local tyre firms are not overly happy about fitting tyres they have not supplied as they loose out...

However i just got 2 replacements from Thorne (near Doncaster) dicount tyres which worked out £6 more by the times you factor in the cost of fitting Messing about taking the rim and wheels to a tyre shop and most round here charge £15 ish to fit and balance a tyre they dont supply ..


Anyways without waffling too much baring in mind ive been running them for about 6 years now i opted for a little known brand (unless your into tractors and farming) called Vredestein and their in my opinion excellent SnowTrac 3 tyres which at one point won year after year as the go to winter tyre

(they do seem to fall down the reviews compared to some newer makes of tyres with newer technology or tread pattern)

The German equivilent of the AA (ADAC) do regular winter tyre tests of various sizes and types of car.....

use google translate on here

http://www.adac.de/infotestrat/tests/re ... fault.aspx

http://www.adac.de/infotestrat/tests/re ... geId=31821




this was the road between Dalby and the steep down hill to Thornton Le Dale village if you know it and how steep is went up and down there a few times