nrvs I have run up here 2 winters and have yet to shut er down. Even in freezing rain. Even when the pull outs are full of trucks.
I have NO issue with going slow. Don't mind one bit when the road is treacherous. If I do happen upon someone going slower than me I have no trouble at all letting them by.
Do whatever your comfortable with.

never hauled logs off the mountains in AK have you?

Supertrucker! :wink: 8)

I wouldn't haul logs here, much less in Alaska, or Iraq! ROFL!!!

Call me crazy :P
Roads in either place aren't designed the best except for Baghdad. Roads there put ours to shame.
and you're right LNS-no problem at all going at speed you're comfortable with and there's no such thing as too slow.

Colorado law basically is like this- their are two stages of chain law. Stage 1 is all single axle combos chains required. Stage 2 all commercial vehicles chains required. When running with chains on, you shouldn't run more than 35mph. There will be times when it is best to run with chains on between Eisenhower and Vail just cause you don't want to pull chains off then have to put them on again. Their are signs along the interstate that inform you what is required for chains. If you don't chain when it is required, and get stuck, you could be fined, cause now it is unlawful to not chain when required. The fines vary, depending on the situtation. As for Passmore, just let them know that you need some chains, cause you have a bad set.

Merry Christmas

as far as the links breaking this is not uncommon, i drive a plow for the state in the winter.
when you are on ice and snowpack they wear very little, but when you hit dry or even just wet pavement they wear just like you had a chain dragging the ground, the links that are on top of a tred will wear faster then the others and cause them to wear so thin they just break.

i carry (when working snow duty) 6 sets of chains, and its not uncommn after 12hrs of driving to have to re-link about 2 of those sets due to breaks.

also the type of chains your company buys will also make a differince.
i got a new set last year from a differnt company then we were using, didnt last 4 hours before i had so many breaks i had to put on my old chains, i wasnt the only one every truck on my shift had the same problem with them. so we went back to the old company.

hope this helps a little.

and merry christmas

My basic rules for chains are as follows.

Chains are for hills not flat ground. If you need to chain for flat ground, get off the road. If you chain for flat ground, then you are chaining for sheet ice. Get OFF the road....

Third gear maximum for chains. Any more road speed, and you will break them pretty quick.

My experience is as follows.

Third gear, chains will last for years.

Fourth gear, chains will last for months.

Fifth gear, chains will last for days.

Six gear, chains will last for minutes.

Put them on as tight as they will go, put on bungies, then drive a few hundred feet, then tighten them up again.

Thanks for the input. That's exactly what I wanted was experienced drivers letting me know the truth. Going up Monarch Pass I never got out of fifth gear and never got above 30mph, up and down the pass. Going up to Vail Pass, there were parts that were completely dry and I got to 50mph with the chains. That's when I decided to take them off. Although I had no idea how fast I could drive with chains on, I didn't think 50 on dry pavement was good for them so back in the sidebox they went. When I took them off I noticed some of the links were broken and my driver's-side fender was bent up a bit. Even in the little "scenic pull-off" I was thinking: "I should post on the CAD forums to find out more details about these dad-gummed things!". Hope it helps out some of the other rookies out there! Thanks guys and girls!