Snow Chains on 3rd gen...anyone found a way?

I air down. I am running wrangler duratracs in a 255 75r 17. Went up in the mountains a couple weeks ago and started at 18psi. Ran til I couldn't get traction then dropped to 9psi. It was like putting snow shoes on my truck. I easily doubled the contact path. Done wheeling aired back up and drove home.

 

Thanks ... Interesting ... But if you look at the example posted by the nice person who was so helpful, those are some pretty thick old school chains.

I wonder if I go with a low profile chain (such as the Konigs) if I will be totally fine. It would seem so.

 

I used chains on my 1980 honda civic. I used chains on my 1996 toyota corolla. Both of which were used to get Christmas trees off of forest service roads in the Cascades.

I bought chains for my 2013 Highlander and 2019 Tacoma to meet the "must carry chains" mandate in Mt Rainier national park (and other places). They have never been installed or needed. Even on forest service roads for winter camping.

 

I have run chains in big bear twice the last two years. Have wildpeak at3ws. First time was mandated. 2nd time was my choice due to ice forming late at night. The thing in SoCal is it doesn’t stay cold enough to keep as snow. So icy roads are common on mountain roads even the same day as the snow storm. Then traffic happens and your stopped or not able to keep momentum and change direction with some throttle during a slide.

So chains really proved useful (even on the rear) because at a stop or a slow downhill pace I could keep traction on the ice.

 

This thread is full of great advice. Thank you all for sharing.

Part of my more organic marketing strategy for my business is to offer free recovery for people who get stuck on the roads during our snow storms. Sometimes I have a hard time getting traction while recovering people with just my wildpeaks, which is kind of embarrassing! I'll rock a set of V-Bar chains in the rear to help combat this issue.

 

Thanks for your insight. Did you even read my post?

Toyota is notoriously conservative when it comes to what they’ll “officially” allow you to do with the truck.

Many warrantee claims have been denied because there was evidence of “off roading”. Similar reasons why the truck is programmed to only allow the rear locker in 4lo, and not 4hi or 2wd.

I posted that info for those that wanted to actually see why chains on the front isn’t necessarily a good idea in stock form. If you comprehended my post you would have read the bit where I said I didn’t drive the truck with those chains on the front, nor do I plan on it.

 

Nope I didn't.

Edit, I thought you were talking about a different post you made. I did read your 1 post I quoted. It wasn't clear from the post that you knew that Toyota says to put on rear. Just that the front wasn't going to work.

 

I read your post and really appreciated it. Just so you know. Thanks for taking the time to put those on and providing a great visual that showed how tight the space would be with those particular ... what I would call "old school" chains.

Right now there is no need for me to have chains ... we simply don't have enough snow here in lower New York to justify them. However, when I head north (if they ever open the border again and drive far into Northern Quebec) I will spring for a set of the newer, low profile Konigs or something like that. Easy to get on and easy to get off and they offer a ton of traction. I am really kind of debating whether I get studded tires or the chains. I am sort of on the fence about that one.

 

Just got back from breaking in a trail to our shooting spot. Constant uphill. 16-20" of snow with the bottom 8" being packed frozen junk.

These heavy Vbar chains ran great! Would crawl through most everything except the steepest and crunchiest where I had to ramrod my way through a few feet at a time. Ill be looking for some "lightweight" Class S euro style chains for the front. They only require around a 1/2" clearance along the sidewall. Id imagine ATRAC would work wonderfully with the front chained up.

For anyone interested, Im running OV 2.0 with non catted dump tubes. Stock Pro exhaust otherwise.

On another note...I seriously need to get a traction bar fabbed up (Budbuilt) Friggin axle wrap is horrendous.

I ditched the fiance to grab this video. Steepest section with pretty heavy snow. Only the top few inches is light and fluffy. Following is my buddy in my old 3rd gen 4Runner with Cooper M&S tires. (no chains). Once the trail was broken it was good to go.

The clanking sound is a single loose chain link from the running end. Zero potential for damage with it flopping around.

 

Did you have any weight in the back of your truck, @CdnSldr? Looks fun.

 

Random gear but well under 200lbs.

 

Love the video. Thank you for sharing it? What Province?

I sure hope they open the border this winter. I need that drive so bad !



Side note. Would be curious to see the same drive with a couple of hundred sandbags in the bag ... just out of curiosity ... also what tires do you have? I will probably end up getting a set of those Konig snow chains and go low profile all around.

Thanks again ... loved seeing that ...

 

NW Ontario.

Tires are Nokian Hakka R3 SUV stock size. My buddy seemed to do better with his cooper M&S tires on the 3rd gen 4runner, but that’s probably just because those have a blockier tread and the 4r has a couple extra inches of ground clearance.

 

Awesome. I had those Hakka tires on my BMW. Thing ran like a tank in the snow. Great tires. Still handled that road like a champ.

That whole video made me jealous ... exactly the kind of trail that I need right now !

 

And ... in case anyone needs further proof on why chains are really important ... I submit the story of the Four Stuck Toyota Tundras. Just glad everyone made it out okay and no one was hurt in this story ...

Link:

https://www.thedrive.com/news/38409...causes-four-tundra-pileup-and-strands-a-fifth

 

Perhaps a more important lesson on simple common sense...ie 1 truck on an obstacle at a time. Would have only "lost" one truck instead of 4.

But yes, chains would have also saved their bacon. Common sense is much cheaper though. Although much rarer hah

 

Anecdotal input:

I've run chains on all 4 stock tires on two separate occasions in seattle due to hills, ice, and 5+ inches of snow turning to slush. There were no observable clearance issues or noises and if you stay below 35 I couldn't imagine the chains changing shape enough to hit anything. Maybe at full stop which I never got to. YMMV

 

Get a set of studded Duratrac's. That would be my choice over chains.

 

I agree with you 100 % ... But that story was too good to pass up. Glad everyone is safe, of course. But, OMG.