Tire chain tips and knowledge

So I bought my first snow chains that will actually see use today. I say it that way because I bought a set from Les Schwab a few years ago but returned them cause I never used them.

This time I went with Les Schwab again, because they had them in stock and I need them tomorrow for a hunting trip. I bought two sets of their heavier duty chains. They’re considered a commercial use product so they aren’t eligible for the return if I don’t use them. Not a big deal to me.

Why did I buy two sets? First, I want a backup pair. If I’m somewhere and I need chains, I don’t want to be fucked if they break. Secondly, I wanted to see if they’d clear in the front. I know Toyota recommends using them only on the rear. But I do a lot of shit with my truck that Toyota would advise against.

My truck has the OME 2 or 2.5 inch lift with Dakar rear springs and total chaos UCAs. I always have a fiberglass canopy on, and the truck has an ARB bull bar with winch, bolt on sliders, two skid plates (the third is waiting to be bolted on once I get the exhaust reroute done), and I am currently running Cooper ST Maxx in 255/80/17 on stock 4Runner wheels with -10mm offset. I pretty much always have a hi-lift, 5 gallons of gas, bags of recovery gear, and some other shit in the truck.

The rear chains of course fit fine:


I went ahead and test fit the fronts, just to see. What I found was that at full turn, sitting in a parking lot, they hit the body mount. I’ve been able to avoid the cab mount chop this far with my setup, but may consider it if I end up doing a shit ton of snow wheeling. It’s more likely that I’ll get a set of traction cables with better clearance for the front if I feel like I need something on all four. Anyway, front pic:


They always tell you to put the chains on as tightly as you can. Well, I got them on so tight on the front that I couldn’t get the last cam turned. When I tried, the tool that comes with them broke. It’s just braised together, it appears, which is dumb.


So there I was at a local high school parking lot with chains on my front tires, a broken tool, and no tools in my truck. I thought about walking home, or saying fuck it and driving them home. Then I remembered the factory tire tool. The angled end of it will fit in the curved slots on the cams that lock them in place. I wouldn’t want to use this trick all the time, because it damages the edges of the curved slots, but it’s a good trick to know and you get a LOT more torque using this over the shitty tool.


That got the chains off and got me home. I figured I need a heavier duty tool, as I assume the tool in the second set is just as shitty. (I had only taken one set to do the test fit, figuring I can sell the second set if I get through the whole winter and never need them, if you’re wondering why I didn’t just use the tool from the second set to remove the chains.) I checked a local parts store and they didn’t have any heavy duty cam tools. Amazon had one but I need this thing tomorrow. So I ground down the end of a cheap 3/8 inch extension. That’ll give me a lot more torque to tighten them, and will be easier to use with gloves when it’s cold as a well-digger’s ass.




It also fits the hole in the cam better than the shitty tool.