Tire chains can really save your RV or tow vehicle’s butt if you get stuck traveling in snow or on ice. When you travel, do you usually carry tire chains with you for those “just-in-case” moments? Maybe you travel through snow and ice often, and tire chains are just part of the “must-haves” in your RV.
If you’ve ever had an experience with, or without, tire chains, that you’re willing to share, please leave a comment below and tell us about it. Thanks!
NO. I rarely drive my MH in the snow.
I said “no”. If you’re traveling via RV, most likely you are either retired or on vacation. If the weather is that bad, lay over an extra night and wait for it to clear. Two things I don’t carry with me are an alarm clock and tire chains. I do, however, have a set of aggressive mud & snow tires on my tow vehicle.
4×4 TV combined with common sense and patience mean I don’t carry chains.
I had to say no, but I have tire Sox for the motorhome. They’re easier to install and I personally think they work better. Fortunately, I have not actually needed them but put them on just to see if they worked.
We have a set for the pickup and the travel trailer. Many times when winter traveling they are required in snow conditions.
We try really hard to avoid snow travel. Better to wait it out. So far, it has worked for us.
We have chains in the the rv. They are required to be in the vehicle during the winter. I am retired and wouldn’t drive if required. Just park it till the snow melts. Y
I’m retired. I lived in Wisconsin for 69 years. I don’t take the camper where you can hit snow / ice or need chains. I think that is just asking for problems, and in my 50+ years of driving in winter, never needed chains!
Tire socks. They are easy to apply, make less noise, easier on our roads and can be washed and reused. More states are accepting tire socks as traction devises. Yay!
Thanks, Suellen. For those who haven’t heard of tire socks, here’s an article Russ De Maris wrote awhile ago about them: https://www.rvtravel.com/tire-socks-933/ Have a good night, and a healthy and terrific 2022! 🙂 –Diane
I did not answer the question in my reply below. We do not carry chains in our RV nor do we carry them in our daily drivers. And not in either of my show cars because they hibernate in the winter.
Out west there are places where chains are mandatory on certain roads during certain conditions. We live just outside Buffalo, NY and our communities are well prepared for winter weather. There are huge fold down gates on the entrances to all the thruway and express way entrances in our area that can be closed at the discursion of a weather safety committee to prevent drivers from entering those roads in the event of sever weather. It took years before they were installed to prevent the type of situation that has happened on I-95 in Virginia. Heavy deep snow does not cause “snow days” here . Four foot of snow we just wait for the plows if they have not already done our street and off we go like normal driving with common sense. Only very cold weather gets “snow days” so students don’t have to wait outside when the temperature or wind chill gets to a set degree. Stay well, Stay safe
Upstate NY snow is easy… Now freezing rain, that’s another story! Lived in Buffalo and Syracuse and learned that the hard way. Stay safe and warm!
I’m from the northeast and nobody really uses chains. Most people just get snow tires and if you live in Northern Vermont like I did for over 35 years you might get studded snow tires.
Tire chains and windshield brush/scraper came out of the trunk when I got to Florida and are hanging on the side of my shop to remind me of from whence I come. It is fun to educate when someone asks: “what are those?” Ahh… the night I spent in my 1960 VW Bug, in a ditch, in a white-out snowstorm, in a snowbank, in Iowa, in March. Chains didn’t help, but a little common sense may have. Gosh, it was fun when I was young.
While I normally have our Motorhome in winter layup, I keep a set in my garage in case we need to take it across the mountains. I keep a set of chains in my Jeep just in case, but have never had to use them as I swap out my 18″ Pirelli Scorpion (summer) for a set of 17″ Bridgestone Blizzaks for use in the winter. The diligent work of the Washington State DOT clearing the passes saves drivers a lot of effort!
Always have them in my pickup. While I don’t intentionally tow in snow and I’ve never had to use them when towing, they are what I consider part of my survival kit for living and recreating in the PNW. In addition to camping in our trailer pretty much every month of the year, we are avid Cross Country skiers and generally use my truck to get to the mountains and skiing.
Living in Punta Gorda, FL, there is no need to carry chains. Can’t/won’t use them in sand and have no intentions driving on sand with a 25 foot B+ MH. BUT I do have a question. We are planning a trip to Wyoming, Colorado, and the Dakotas from beginning of August to late September. I believe that we will be travelling (as a group) on major highways. Seeing what happened in Virginia this week on I-95, are chains or something similar suggested for travel in the late summer early fall in that section of the country?
Mike, you never know in Colorado. This year the first snow in Denver wasn’t till New Years Eve. But last year, we had a cold snap and snow storm in September. We were camping in Granby, CO. It was so cold outside I was in a FHU site and had to fill my tank and run off of that. Plus, we had to take the outside shower faucet off, and plug the lines inside the RV. We stuffed the cavity where it went with insulation. It was fun.
chains require winter travel. we don’t travel in winter or more correctly we don’t intentionally travel where winter conditions exist.
We stay away from the snow season.
We usually see a snow flurry or two each winter. Sometimes there is so much snow that the ground appears white rather than green. Perhaps every 10 or 15 years the snow does not melt away the same day it falls, but that is rare. Our last snow melted on contact with the ground. Everywhere we travel is warmer than where we live. 🙂
Living in Oregon I keep chains in my Suburban and in my TT. I’ve only used chains once going over the mountains from Eugene to Sisters. I found out that the chains are easy to put on you just hand them 25 dollars for the car and 25 for the TT and it is done in less than 10 minutes and you stay warm and dry.