Automatic tire chains

[jkindt]

Many of the school busses meant for northern weather came with similar automatic tire chains just like these. My bus does not have them, which is okay because I do not use it in icy weather. The only downside I can see is that you would have a bunch of noisy chains rattling around, not that a bus is a quiet machine.

 

[Jarlaxle]

I think they're illegal in some states except for emergency vehicles.

 

[busdriver_phil]

A lot of buses have them in northern areas. Nearly every ambulance I see has them. I've driven buses that had them installed, you get a little bit of a chain noise but it's not that bad. I haven't had the pleasure of using them in snow, but I've been told they're very effective. Just be careful, they won't get you out of everything, and if you spin your tires with the chains down you can rip them off.

 

[lapeer20m]

i've used them on an ambulance before.

They are one of those products that seem good in theory, but aren't really that great in practice.

you have to be moving for them to work. They don't work if you wait until you are stuck to engage them.....come to think of it, they dont work too good when they do work!

you're better off with real tire chains. Sure real tire chains are a pita to put on, and every time you need them there is 3 feet of snow and it's cold out...but you can't beet the performance of real tire chains.

conventional buses tend to do really well in the snow. Where are you planning to drive your bus?

 

[McPuccio]

i've used them on an ambulance before.

They are one of those products that seem good in theory, but aren't really that great in practice.

you have to be moving for them to work. They don't work if you wait until you are stuck to engage them.....come to think of it, they dont work too good when they do work!

you're better off with real tire chains. Sure real tire chains are a pita to put on, and every time you need them there is 3 feet of snow and it's cold out...but you can't beet the performance of real tire chains.

conventional buses tend to do really well in the snow. Where are you planning to drive your bus?

My wife and I are going to be driving our bus from East Texas to Oregon starting the second half of march. We're thinking about going the Arizona-California route.

Should we have chains? How many?

 

[mmoore6856]

never use chains to get into trouble shut down as i drive a truck i see people trying to put chains on next to some of the stupidest truck drivers that blast past them at 65 mph just get off and park and live to tell about it

 

[golfersmurf57]

Automatic? You mean they jump out in the snow and attach on their own? Ill take a dozen sets for sale on eBay.

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[Twigg-SKO]

Automatic? You mean they jump out in the snow and attach on their own? Ill take a dozen sets for sale on eBay.

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No, they are a series of short chains fixed to a rubber wheel that swings down and is driven by the tire. They spin, spreading the chains under the tire as you drive.

I understand they can be very effective and are deployed by a switch in the cab.

 

[CaptSquid]

The only time I hung iron was in a parking lot in OKC. Fool idjit dispatcher had me drop a fully loaded trailer on level ground so an Owner/Operator could run the load the rest of the way to Arkansas. Me? I had to take his empty trailer to the drop lot and pick up a loaded trailer to take elsewhere. Darn snow was slicker than snot on a brass door knob.

 

[Stu & Filo. T]

No, they are a series of short chains fixed to a rubber wheel that swings down and is driven by the tire. They spin, spreading the chains under the tire as you drive.

I understand they
can be very effective and are deployed by a switch in the cab.

I talked with a driver who had them on her school bus & she told me they were ok in just a couple inches of snow but much more & they were almost useless

 

[Twigg-SKO]

I talked with a driver who had them on her school bus & she told me they were ok in just a couple inches of snow but much more & they were almost useless

Talk to ten people and you are likely to get 10 different opinions.

 

[BlackJohn]

Talk to ten people and you are likely to get 10 different opinions.

Opinion #11

To be used only on uphill grades or icy surfaces. Snow doesn't bother buses too much around here, it's a mix of flats and rolling hills.
Now braking is another matter, chains aren't any help there.

John

 

[golfersmurf57]

Cool that would be handy if we got snow in SC more than once a year. We just wait it out.

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