What are the easiest on/off chains made ?And anyone try the new fangled cable types?

you want EZ http://www.insta-chain.com/

I watched a guy at the Petro in Sturtevant, WI about a week ago with cables. They didn't do a darn thing - he kept on spinning. But they seemed easy to put on, FWIW. :lol:

I drive for Werner and they ONLY use cables. Luckily (i think) ive had the chance to use em 4 times so far. imo, they are junk, not worth a dime. They go on easy, can get em super tight, but then 10mi down the road you can pull over and their loose as hell, almost like they stretch. Also, ive chained for a total of maybe 250miles out of 4 times on the i-5 corridor and I think I broke 2 and lost 2.

I chained up behind a Werner truck 1 day last week at Vail Pass.....He was hanging the same chains I had....Standard 4 cam tighteners.....I saw them when he came back to ask me to check that his were on right,which BTW, they were not......

He had them hooked loosely enough that even with all 4 cams tightened the chains were loose and wouldn't have stayed on for a mile....Plus they were inside out....

At least he was smart enough to ask for help. Otherwise they would snap or fall off and possibly cause an accident and/or shut the road down :wink:

As some one who had an LTL peddle at South Lake Tahoe I have some experience with this.

A few from the windshield shots from my time at Tahoe:



Getting stuck on my 1st day:



The Cam-Lock style chains are easier to get on than the double diamond pattern.

It helps to have a paid of pliers and some quick links to get them on initially.

Make sure your chains are on the right way with the sharp end of the links pointing away from the tire. If you put them on in reverse you can blow a tire.

Rubber dish gloves are good for keeping your hands dry. Leather gloves with get wet quickly, the rust water will dry out your hands rapidly. If you will be doing it on a regular basis get some sturdy thicker rubber gloves from a chemical supply house.

When hanging chains you have to get them on, dive 50-100 yards and then tighten them up again. It can be 100 yrs it either forward or reverse. Sometimes in a crowed chain up area I'd go back and forth 15 ft for a minute.

You want them snug, but you should still be able to get 2-3 fingers under. Any tighter and you with break a chain when the tire bulges from a bump or pothole in the road.

Drive with your window cracked to listen to your iron. When you break a chain you will be able to hear the difference. Stop as soon as it is safe to do so. If you let it go long enough it can tear the crap out of your equipment. The week after I quit at Con-Way a driver was fired for driving with a broken chain until it tore a hole in his fuel tank, dumping 80+/- gal of diesel onto the road!

On bare pavement or ice your limit is 20-25. On packed snow you can do 25-30. Ironically you will sometimes be in the "fast" lane as it is less traveled and had more snow.


Be vary aware of what is in front of you. You stopping distances have tripled or quadrupled. Worst cast scenario on sheet ice it can take you A MILE to stop

On snow it is very easy to jackknife. Only use the jake on low in conjunction with light breaking. Use a soft touch on both the breaks and gas.

Watch for idiot 4 wheelers; especially those in late model SUVs. They seem to think that their $40k luxo-barge exempts them from the physics.