Monthly So Cal Off-Road Run

hey everyone didnt want to make a new thread......but in need of some tire chains since im 4x2, any recommendations? i know nothing about this. my tires are 285/70/17, ive searched and there are chains, cables, S class, very different types of chains. just need some regular basic stuff in case i get to big bear over holidays and see snow.....thanks

 

Search: "snow chains" and select "search titles only"
Plenty of useful info will come up.

 

all i have found is people like me asking questions and a few old threads of selling them. would these work? https://www.etrailer.com/Tire-Chains/Titan-Chain/TC3029.html

 

If you're going off road these wont help you out much... I had similar chains for my first car (a ford focus) and they weren't much of a help.

To my knowledge V-bar links are the most effective (but also the most expensive). Maybe someone else can give you better insight on that though...

 

Not going off road, just need something in case roads are snowy and I need them

 

That's what I would get then, no need to go crazy on chains for on-road use. In the event that the snow is real heavy up in Big Bear they will likely make 4WD/AWD mandatory anyhow

 

Had one set of cables (what you've linked) and one set of chains before moving to either all or 4 wheel drive vehicles. Though partially my own fault, the cables didn't last one snowstorm. Got myself stuck in deep slush (compact car) and it was too slippery to get traction, but slushy enough to accumulate in front/behind my tires. Tried rocking myself out. Cables ended up snapping and winding around my axle. Bought chains after getting towed out and my little 4 banger never had issues after that.

Though I may have still gotten stuck with chains, I doubt they would have snapped and made a bad situation worse. If you have the money, go with actual chains. Yeah, they're heavier and weigh more, but they'll last you longer and are more durable.

 

@wheelsup here's a good place to find places that you can take your 2WD off road. @Samus can give you some pointers, she is a newer Tacoma owner that take her truck off road more than most in here and can offer perspective from another 2WD owner

 

Heard that Coxey road is a traffic jam with all the snow right now

 

@oni06 and I ran it yesterday up to Holcomb Valley, it wasn't too bad. I've seen it worse but we started a little early I guess.

We did see a Jeep in front of us that had obviously never driven on snow before, slide sideways right into the side of a Suburban that was trying to pass by lol. Dude was pissed.

That's always my biggest fear up there in the snow...other drivers that don't know what they're doing

 

There were a lot of rigs sliding around because the snow was melting then freezing into ice. But most of them hadn't bothered to air down their tires and we're driving on snow/ice with 40+ psi, dumb move

 

Oh man thats rough. I'd be pissed too lol. How much snow was there on the ground?

 

Good amount, it was snowing in the high desert where the trail started in the morning. Probably a good 2 feet up on the mountain

Pics here

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...al-discussion.551852/page-14000#post-24510352

 

Big bunch of dummies stuck on Gold Mojntain right now

 

jesus... I've done Gold several times but when it's wet or got snow on it, it's a whole different animal. Attempted it twice during snow and never got past the second main obstacle.

Sounds like a clusterfuck, I heard recently they were going to build a gate keeper to Gold mountain to keep more inexperienced people off that trail. Been a lot of people creating bypasses on it the last couple years because it's an easy trail to get onto until a half mile or so in when you hit the first couple obstacles.

The bypasses of course end up destroying areas that aren't part of the trail

 

20 trucks stuck? I would be laughing but it's so sad I just can't. I hope the recovery bill keeps them off trails for a while.

 

I saw someone post on SCOR about it but also heard they are closing the roads going up into Big Bear. So these guys are on their own most likely, unless a recovery crew wants to take the service roads up. But they may close those too.

Was just up there yesterday and it was a little too crowded for my liking, first snow of the year during a crazy year like 2020 has brought an extra level of dumb out of a lot of people.

Luckily for these guys Gold Mtn isnt far from the main part of Big Bear, worst comes to worse it's maybe a 1 mile hike down to the main road and a few miles to the city of Big Bear. It's not they're stranded somewhere remote

 

They likely have a big Bill coming from the sheriffs Dept for a ride out. 7 degrees overnight means they probably don’t want to stay.

 

Wish they had gotten that gatekeeper built, may have prevented this. I honestly hope these guys get out ok but doing a trail like Gold Mtn at night during a snow storm is...well it's just not that smart to say the least.

Kind of curious why they can't just go down it toward the entrance, the entire trail is uphill so going down it isn't hard, but it will F your rig up if you don't have armor

 

thank you, I appreciate it!