Tire Chains

[stormsails]

I've been chaining up the rear outside duallys of my Fuso with HD V bar chains. I use chains almost every weekend at my local ski spot. The road is super steep gravel with lots of switch backs. Last weekend I had a pretty close call when there was around 6" of snow with ice underneath. I was thinking about running an additional set of cable chains on the front for some extra grip and steering. I read an old thread where some people stated you shouldn't run chains front and back on a Fuso. Anyone have any real experience chaining up front and rear axles on a Fuso.

 

[MTVR]

No.

 

[SkiFreak]

I worked in the ski industry for many years. It was common that the taxis, normally long wheelbase Landrovers, would be fitted with chains front and rear when the conditions were more problematic.
I cannot see how this would be problematic on other 4x4 vehicles, including the Fuso.

The way I see it, you don't engage 4x4 when on bitumen, you only engage 4x4 when the tyres have the ability to slip a little on the road/track surface.
This slippage allows you to turn and go around corners without doing any damage to the drivetrain.

Snow obviously allows slippage, so personally I cannot see how putting chains on the front and rear would cause any issues.
I know that I would not want the front end of my truck to lose traction on a snowy/icy off camber downhill corner, especially if that situation could be avoided/reduced by fitting chains to the front.

 

[Howard70]

Hello Stormsails:

I think the suggestion that chains should not be fitted to the front axle of Fusos may come from the Fuso FG owners manual (at least the USA owners manual). Like SkiFreak, I think that snow provides enough slippage that chains on both axles shouldn't inherently harm anything. I'd guess that whoever wrote the owner's manual felt that there could be clearance problems with chains on the steering axle (something you could check) or they felt that it was likely that some owners would use the chains on both axles with insufficient snow to protect the drivetrain - but those are only guesses!

Howard

 

[MJCake1]

I recall, vaguely, that the clearance issue was with some component near the inside of the wheel.

 

[stormsails]

I don't think clearance is to much of an issue. I'm not sure I would want to put have V bar chains up front as they can do some damage if they get loose.
I've chained up front and rear axles on my last two rigs a f350 with a camper and a 4x4 delica and never had any problems. I wouldn't bother with both axles on the highway but it feels a lot safer to have chains on both axles when your climbing up a snow mountain. I'll try to post some pictures if I end up giving it a try.

 

[Jesse42]

If I recall correctly, the brake lines are very close on the front of my Earthcruiser. It may be different for a stock truck, but I was concerned about space

Jesse

 

[Michelle@EarthCruiser]

We've been testing snow socks and the crew think they're pretty good as well as easy to install and light. We don't have a final verdict yet but so far so good.

 

[LoupGarou]

What air pressures are you running in the tires?

You might try airing down. An aggressive tread pattern will help.

 

[stormsails]

I have new this year duratracs I run them around 55-60 psi. They seem to work ok in the snow.
Not sure about snow socks, the road can be pretty variable with rough gravel deep snow ice. I think they are designed more for highway use, they do look easier to put on though and clearance is less of an issue.

 

[yabanja]

It is due to brake line clearance