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Posted by David Sherman [72.47.9.228] on Saturday, December 11, 2010 at 15:48:45 :
In Reply to: Chaining up a dually posted by Chewie [207.199.226.9] on Saturday, December 11, 2010 at 15:14:12 :
By "single chain", do you mean the ones that are one set, with three circumferential chains and cross-link for each tire, or do you mean something like one big extra-wide chain with only two circumferential chains? I have not seen the latter kind in use. I use the other kind on my M35. They're heavy and no fun to put on, but once on, they definitely give you traction. Last year I had the M35 chained up with chains on all 10 tires when I went over the hill to retrieve the M37 late in the season. I think I posted pictures of it. That's the first time I had two sets of dually chains. One set of dually chains is good too, but the unchained axle won't contribute anything to the effort that way, and yet you still have to drag it through the snow.
As for just chaining up the outside tires, that is usually sufficient for getting over the pass on a plowed road that just has compact snow and ice on it. In that case. the chained tire has a good grip on the compacted snow, and the unchained one has little load on it. In deep, unpacked snow, I find that the M35 will never get "on top" at all like a 4x4 pickup with wide low-pressure tires will. Instead, it just digs down through the snow until it gets to hard ground and then bulls its way forward, throwing snow all over the place as it goes. I've had it in first gear with the pedal to the floor, 2200 rpm on the tach, and just using all the power to claw through the snow. The good thing is it always keeps going. Low gears and chains all around will get you through eventually. In deep snow, it's vital to chain up both front tires so you'll have some steerage, otherwise you'll have all push and no control.
I had to come out of my cabin one time in the M35 before I had any dually chains when the road was very icy due to springs running across it in a shady area that slants to the downhill side. I couldn't back up because ever time I tapped the brakes, it slid closer to the edge of the road, and if I turned the front tires, it had no effect on where the truck went because the 8 tires in the rear out-voted the 2 in the front. I ended up putting my one set of single chains on the front and proceeding on up the hill and over the pass. It was scary on the icy slanted parts because I ended up going sort of crab-wise with the back end trying to slide off the road and only the front wheels holding it in its track, but it worked. When I got to the pass, I took those single chains off the front and put them on the rear so that the back end would stay in the back on the way down.
If you're talking about driving on a public highway when the "chains required" sign is up, then you need to check the DoT regs, which are very specific about how to chain up various configurations of heavy trucks. They usually require chains on one tire of any trailer as well, to prevent jackknifing.
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