I thought those things hanging there and swinging were to keep flys away

 

I have some bags on my truck... Been there many years... Never opened.. I have a simple rule if i need chaines its time to stop.. There just to heavy those tri rails..

 

This is good advice (as always.) I've only chained up once. Don't carry chains, and have never run where you have to, but one time I got caught out in a hella bliazard in the Baltimore area, and I was trying to plod on and get my freight off. This place had a hard hook to the left, up a hill. I thought to myself I would get stuck if I didn't hit it hard, but I thought to myself I might jackknife if I hit it hard. So I hit it soft, and stalled out halfway up the hill in a single-axle cabinover with maybe 10 bushels on at most.

I happened to be blocking everything in or out, so some kindly fellow who wanted to get the hell out of that industrial park loaned me a pair of chains.

That was amusing. Neither one of us had a fricking clue what to do with them. He had never opened the bags they were in, and I had never seen a tire chain before, living my whole life in Virginia.

I'm not sure if I could get a set of chains on now, but I might could. We eventually figured it out, looking at what was left of the picture he cut in half when he sliced the bag open.

 

I dunno what they cost, but Penske uses them, as do all the Ambulance services I know of..

If you are in chain country, it might be argued that they're worth their weight in gold. Which would you rather do: stop, get out of a toasty cab into cold nasty weather, spend an hour chaining up, get back on to your cab, and putter on down the road.. then stop, get BACK out of your toasty cab - but this time in ALREADY wet clothes, UNCHAIN, etc...

or.. slow down, flip a switch, putter down the road, flip a switch...

and save 2 hours out of your day?