Basic chain set for emergency use

Two types of drivers:
1) have used chains and hate them. Will do anything to avoid them.
2) have never used chains.

We used to chain up the crummy in winter to get around - it kept us working and on the road in the bush but they were such a pain.
I would never dream of taking my Tacoma near them.

If I close my eye I can still hear them, brapbrapbrapbrapbrapBRAPBRAPBRAPBRAPBRAP
as they tear off everything and anything they touch...

 

I will avoid putting chains on at all costs (and rarely do), but sometimes depending on where you live, you don’t have a choice. They have chain check stops in my area a lot, and everyone, 2wds and 4wds are required to carry chains whenever it’s snowing or even in the forecast. Usually 4x4s don’t have to put them on, but once in a while they’ll declare “R3” conditions and make 4x4s put them on too, or you get turned around. Then again, our road maps around here look like a bowl of spaghetti with 1000s of feet in elevation changes and a ton of city morons thinking they can actually drive in the snow without crashing or getting stuck.

 

That one rule in CA gets held up as proof chains are great.. I'd argue it's people not willing to buy the right tires for the situation and trying to find the easy way out.
Also maybe that rule worked in 1960s when you could stick you head under the fender of your beetle and buckle on your chains. Today you're lucky if you have the clearance for an autosock..

 

I didn’t want the drive-on style of chains either so I bought this set from Amazon for $100-CDN.
I chose them because the individual chains can be installed one at a time after I get stuck.

 

Yep, in Calif R2 conditions 4WDs w snow tires are ok without chains but R3 conditions require ALL vehicles to have chains installed…but they’ll usually always close the roads during R3 conditions anyway. Been driving through Tahoe for over 20 yrs and I’ve never driven during R3. I always carry cable style chains during the winter but have never ever had to put them on.

 

https://www.etrailer.com/chains-201..._Chains-co-Drape_Over_Tire_~_Make_Connections

Got my set here. I bought spare links and rubber hook connectors for backup. Luckily never put myself in a situation needing them.

 

Thanks everyone for the chain recommendations. Not looking to swap out tires at this point for 10-20 hours of driving a year that I'd be getting an increased benefit from what I have, but thank you for the recommendations.