I know nothing about tire chains.

wirenut

Adventurer
My work truck is an '03 F-350. It has open diffs front and rear and is worthless in any conditions other than pavement. I'm trying to get to to a steep, muddy job site and it won't get there. My boss won't spring for lockers but he said he would buy some tire chains. I thought chains were for snow and ice. Do they make any difference in mud?
I know nothing about chains. What kind and type do I need? Can you recommend a brand or supplier?
The truck has 265/75R16 tires on it.
Thanks,
 

chromisdesigns

Adventurer
Oh, man...yeah, the chains will help a lot in mud, but you will want to murder your boss the first time you have to take them off after running them up and down a mudhill! Unless you are planning to leave your truck at the bottom of the hill for the whole job, that doesn't sound like a solution I would want any part of!

Chain up/chain down every time you need to visit the site? In the mud? I don't think so!
 

Keitha

Observer
Check out tirechain.com
Great site if you need them. I bought a few sets from him (small 1 man operation, but he knows all there is about tire chains) with great customer service. Owner will answer the phone.
I agree with the above post. Taking muddy chains off will suck!
 

madmax718

Explorer
I'd try airing down first before I'd try chains. Putting on and taking off chains are a !@#! in the ***. I use them in winter, and will only use them if I expect a whole section of road way to be unplowed. Unbearable!

If you have a heavy work truck like the f350 with tools, the tires are probably aired up past 65. Much easier to air up than it is to chain up.
 

Outback

Explorer
RUD, PEWAG ect ect. Make sure you know what your doing before putting them on. READ THE DIRECTIONS. After you have them on "correctly" run them for a few yards and stop. Re-tighten them. Make sure you by extra rubbers and do be afraid to use them. BY EXTRA! You will need them. I purchase the fancy 5 sided rubber bungie that's designed for chains. They work great. You can find those at truck stops but usually during the winter time. Just make sure you really have the chains on good. Check them when you can and make sure there on tight.If not they will roll off sideways and destroy your brake lines. Then you will not have traction or the ability to stop..... Until you hit a tree or go off a cliff. Chains on tires in mud turns even the baldest tires into a set of paddles. DO NOT BY FROM KMART, WALMART or any from any "MART" for your chains. Get only high quality. RUD or PEWAG will be about as good as you can get. Also you want a DIAMOND Pattern chain. Not a Ladder pattern. I hope this helps.
 
Properly ajusted chains should need no rubber to keep on. Your best bet is to have someone that knows how to install show you. I ran chains several winters on plow trucks and thought I knew what I was doing (I was wrong) till last winter. I had bought a new to me 2011 f250 with the stock tires (nightmare plowing) so needed to get chains front and rear. Anyway was having problems breaking chains and finaly decided to head back to the store and the guy showed me proper way to install and they were great no more breaking. In previous years I was able to get away with inproper install because I only needed briefly and didn't have the power going to the wheels that this beast has. With the cams and proper install there should be no need for any extra help holding them on. Having said all that I would make him buy proper tires not street tires a good at or mt because putting on and taking chains off gets old fast especially in mud.
RUD, PEWAG ect ect. Make sure you know what your doing before putting them on. READ THE DIRECTIONS. After you have them on "correctly" run them for a few yards and stop. Re-tighten them. Make sure you by extra rubbers and do be afraid to use them. BY EXTRA! You will need them. I purchase the fancy 5 sided rubber bungie that's designed for chains. They work great. You can find those at truck stops but usually during the winter time. Just make sure you really have the chains on good. Check them when you can and make sure there on tight.If not they will roll off sideways and destroy your brake lines. Then you will not have traction or the ability to stop..... Until you hit a tree or go off a cliff. Chains on tires in mud turns even the baldest tires into a set of paddles. DO NOT BY FROM KMART, WALMART or any from any "MART" for your chains. Get only high quality. RUD or PEWAG will be about as good as you can get. Also you want a DIAMOND Pattern chain. Not a Ladder pattern. I hope this helps.
 

wirenut

Adventurer
Thanks guys, I'll check out RUD and PEWAG.
I certainly don't look forward to putting chains on and off but I guess I'll get lots of practice.
I think I can get a good lesson in installation from my Dad. He drives an 18 wheeler and delivers feed to farms. He's always having to put chains on the truck in the winter to get into the farm lanes back in the mountains.
The tires on this truck are Michelin LTX MS. I hope to replace them with something much more aggressive when they wear out. Hopefully, eventually, I can talk the boss into some lockers or something for this truck.
 

Black Dog

Makin' Beer.
What line of work are you in that you need to go to somewhere like that so regularly? You might think about trying to talk the boss into an Argo or something.
 

IdaSHO

IDACAMPER
Doesnt sound out of the ordinary at all for new construction.

Owners dont want to put in a legit road or driveway to get the residence until the home is done. Otherwise it gets destroyed by big trucks coming in and out the the job.


I work retail building supply, and for 10+ years I was a CDL delivery driver. I routinely had to chain up just to get into jobs. Even when there wasnt snow on the ground.


Ill tell you something else.... you have never REALLY lived until you have to chain up just to get across a muddy cow pasture. Only to find that when you are making love to the tires to get the chains off, that you are covered in cow manure.



Fun times....
 

wirenut

Adventurer
I install solar electrical systems. A lot of jobs are in nice residential neighborhoods but we do a lot of off grid cabins and homes too. I often find myself trying to get my 9,000 pound work truck up mountain roads in the snow to service one of these off grid installation. The job that's currently giving us problems has a lot to do with our local rainfall. We're around 150% of normal rain for the year so far. To get to where the solar array goes I have to drive thru a field, cross a stream, then drive up a steep muddy road thru the woods.
 

bnettles

New member
I know a lot of people get the Grip 4x4 snow chains. It goes on and off easy and a lot of people use them in the mud - tirechaindealer.com/grip
 

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