Recently came back from the Sierra Nevada where there's always the chance of getting stuck in the snow. Normally I would take my Subaru (and I have SCC Super-Z6 cabless just in case they ask), but it was being repaired so we took my wife's FWD car. I was kind of worried that I might buy some chains but never get a chance to use them or not be able to return them.
We left late afternoon, but the night before there were snow dumps on the main roads to Tahoe and Reno and the road conditions said chain controls were set up. I figured we'd stop at WM to pick up some cables. However, they were ladder type for almost $40, and they had signs there saying all tire chain sales were final. I also checked the road conditions, and the chain conditions were lifted. Someone saw us and asked where we were going and said there was no way we would need them. Beside, I don't particularly like ladder chains and I was hoping to find something like a diagonal-style that would be easier to install myself. So we took a chance and made it to Tahoe without an issue.
Still - I felt more comfortable having chains just in case and ended up going to the AutoZone in South Lake Tahoe and asked what kind of diagonal cables they had for my wife's car's tire size. The only brand they had in stock was Quality Chain, and the ones I ended up getting were Lightning diagonal cables for $60. I figured they would be easier to install than ladder types, and I wouldn't need to pay a chain monkey to install them. They don't have circular keyhole style connectors and coils like the Super-Z6, but nubs fasteners and rollers. I don't know how to describe the fasteners, but some are tube-shaped, while others are more traditional keyhole style. The adjusters are spider-type. I also asked and they said I could return them unused at any AutoZone under their standard return policy. Supermarkets didn't have the kind of chains I wanted, and I wouldn't have been able to return the chains to the independent tire stores or gas stations. Turns out I didn't need them, and I'm sort of debating whether or not to return them.
In the meantime I was at home, got my Subaru back, and got bored enough to try installing my older, unused cables. I bought them years ago and never used them, and it's way too late to return them. It wasn't too bad getting them on. I checked out a video of how to put them on and I think I did it close enough. The hard part was getting them on evenly. The adjusters were the big rubber band type with plastic hooks. Also - it was daytime with clear weather, and I'm thinking it's going to be a bigger pain if there's snow and it's dark and I'm feeling for stuff. I have a headlamp though, so maybe that would help.
So of course I wasn't going to drive with them over my driveway, so I took them off without moving my car. I'm not quite sure how big a PITA it is to remove them after driving on them. The instructions say take off the adjusters, remove all the connectors, lay them flat, and drive over them. Seems easy enough, but I would think there's the potential to drag them in the wheel well.
So it went better than the time I bought some ladder type cables and followed the instructions in my garage. They said to lay them on top and try to connect on the bottom. Everyone else says to lay them flat and drive over them so that there's better access to the cables. Also - anyone ever drive with chains? I've kind of lucked out since I drove my Subaru, but I've seen drivers going 40 on chains and even one that was thrown off of a car. I'm just kind of worried that it's going to destroy my wife's car (I'll probably never get to the point where I need them for my Subaru).
We left late afternoon, but the night before there were snow dumps on the main roads to Tahoe and Reno and the road conditions said chain controls were set up. I figured we'd stop at WM to pick up some cables. However, they were ladder type for almost $40, and they had signs there saying all tire chain sales were final. I also checked the road conditions, and the chain conditions were lifted. Someone saw us and asked where we were going and said there was no way we would need them. Beside, I don't particularly like ladder chains and I was hoping to find something like a diagonal-style that would be easier to install myself. So we took a chance and made it to Tahoe without an issue.
Still - I felt more comfortable having chains just in case and ended up going to the AutoZone in South Lake Tahoe and asked what kind of diagonal cables they had for my wife's car's tire size. The only brand they had in stock was Quality Chain, and the ones I ended up getting were Lightning diagonal cables for $60. I figured they would be easier to install than ladder types, and I wouldn't need to pay a chain monkey to install them. They don't have circular keyhole style connectors and coils like the Super-Z6, but nubs fasteners and rollers. I don't know how to describe the fasteners, but some are tube-shaped, while others are more traditional keyhole style. The adjusters are spider-type. I also asked and they said I could return them unused at any AutoZone under their standard return policy. Supermarkets didn't have the kind of chains I wanted, and I wouldn't have been able to return the chains to the independent tire stores or gas stations. Turns out I didn't need them, and I'm sort of debating whether or not to return them.
In the meantime I was at home, got my Subaru back, and got bored enough to try installing my older, unused cables. I bought them years ago and never used them, and it's way too late to return them. It wasn't too bad getting them on. I checked out a video of how to put them on and I think I did it close enough. The hard part was getting them on evenly. The adjusters were the big rubber band type with plastic hooks. Also - it was daytime with clear weather, and I'm thinking it's going to be a bigger pain if there's snow and it's dark and I'm feeling for stuff. I have a headlamp though, so maybe that would help.
So of course I wasn't going to drive with them over my driveway, so I took them off without moving my car. I'm not quite sure how big a PITA it is to remove them after driving on them. The instructions say take off the adjusters, remove all the connectors, lay them flat, and drive over them. Seems easy enough, but I would think there's the potential to drag them in the wheel well.
So it went better than the time I bought some ladder type cables and followed the instructions in my garage. They said to lay them on top and try to connect on the bottom. Everyone else says to lay them flat and drive over them so that there's better access to the cables. Also - anyone ever drive with chains? I've kind of lucked out since I drove my Subaru, but I've seen drivers going 40 on chains and even one that was thrown off of a car. I'm just kind of worried that it's going to destroy my wife's car (I'll probably never get to the point where I need them for my Subaru).