Quick temporary snow traction?

[Boostedbus]

I’m looking for opinions and advice from some of you northerners that had been there done that on tire chains and alternatives. I’m mainly looking to carry some sort of traction in a bag solution for a just in case situation. My main concern is deep snow and not as much with ice. With my old F150 I have a set of chains for all 4 wheels that I carry in the truck during the winter months.That along with an Eaton locker in the front and Traction Lock in the rear differential, makes it almost unstoppable in any conditions. I also have Michelin LTX Defenders on the F150 which do a great job on there own. My Expedition EL has the original Hankook 275/55 R20 tires with 30,000 miles. According to the owner’s manual I cannot/should not run chains on this size tire/ wheel combo. I mainly wanna be able to affix something to my tires/wheels to get me approximately 1 mile up to my WV cabin and 1 mile back out to the main roads .The private roads and my driveway are gravel and don’t get plowed down to the surface. I’ve looked at snow socks and the zip and grip alternatives and want experienced opinions on each. Does the zip on type through the rim leave scuffs and marks on the rims? Does the slip on sock types go in deep 10” and up snow? Again I mainly want a quick solution to get me out to the plowed hardtop roads in case I wake up one morning at my cabin and there’s a surprise foot of snow and I didn’t drive the F150 that weekend. The one part of my driveway is a 13 percent grade.

 

[Boostedbus]

Bump

 

[jeff kushner]

That's one heck of a driveway BB!!

Come-along...winch. It fits in a bag and will be worth it's weight in gold when it comes time to take it out!

I also keep a king size comforter in the back. Laid flat in front of the truck over whatever is in the way will be short work once you slip it into 4 Lo and let off the brake.

jeff

 

[Boostedbus]

I have a hitch mounted 12k lb winch on the front of my off-road Jeep that I could use along with my 25 ft triple A cables to power it, but that means I’ve already put it in the ditch. I don’t have a hitch mount on the front of the Expedition. My other option would be to run the Jeep out and back to the main hardtop roads a couple of times to try to beat a path for the Bus. I still would feel better if I had a little traction aid. If it’s packed and icy I’ll sprinkle some dry cement mix on icy spots if I have to, but that’s just a back up plan. My number one goal is to keep the Expedition out of the ditches and trees.
jeff[/QUOTE]

 

[CallMeIshmael]

Boostedbus - I have a very similar situation at our cabin in Colorado. The road to the house is steep and windy. It’s about a mile from the base of the hill to my house and 500’ to 1000’ of elevation change. When I was out there over the winter, I was slipping all over the place in deep wet snow. I was running stock 275/55/R20 Michelin radials.

The best solution I found was putting chains on the front tires. I put them on when I hit the gravel road and take them off when I get back. It made all the difference particularly braking and steering on the downhill.

I used Laclede Alpine Sport chains. They have a tightening/adjuster built in and worked great. I bought them at O’Reilly.

I have a neighbor that carries a tub of zeolite in his truck that he buys from Grainger. He breaks it out if he starts to slip.

 

[no MORE_MPG]

Hi Boostedbus,
I totally hear you about staying out of the ditch. For that I can't do better than CallMelshmael. I'll say that even cable chains on my Nissan Leaf will get me through anything that I can drive over (4 -5"), they make a huge difference!

You mentioned your winch, but not having a front mount. For that, I'll share my solution. I purchased two 18" receiver tubes on Amazon, drilled some holes, welded 3 nuts on a backer plate and bolted it in place of the tow hooks/loops (my used Expy didn't have anything there). I used grade 8 nuts and bolts, though I'm not sure that's required. I'd like to get them powder-coated, though haven't done that yet.

My winch isn't for pulling myself up a tree or anything, just a little help in the sand maybe. I mounted it on a 2" extension. It's small and light, fits under the seat in the second row nicely. The wires are short. I hold them together with a nylon bolt, fender washers, a spacer and wing-nut and tuck them in the bumper cover slot.

 

[Boostedbus]

Boostedbus - I have a very similar situation at our cabin in Colorado. The road to the house is steep and windy. It’s about a mile from the base of the hill to my house and 500’ to 1000’ of elevation change. When I was out there over the winter, I was slipping all over the place in deep wet snow. I was running stock 275/55/R20 Michelin radials.

The best solution I found was putting chains on the front tires. I put them on when I hit the gravel road and take them off when I get back. It made all the difference particularly braking and steering on the downhill.

I used Laclede Alpine Sport chains. They have a tightening/adjuster built in and worked great. I bought them at O’Reilly.

I have a neighbor that carries a tub of zeolite in his truck that he buys from Grainger. He breaks it out if he starts to slip.

View attachment 40358

View attachment 40359

Nice! Ok the owner’s manual says you can run chains on 17”-18” wheels and only on the rear? I guess there could be clearance issues with certain chains on 20” and on the front. Thanks for your experienced information.

 

[Boostedbus]

Hi Boostedbus,
I totally hear you about staying out of the ditch. For that I can't do better than CallMelshmael. I'll say that even cable chains on my Nissan Leaf will get me through anything that I can drive over (4 -5"), they make a huge difference!

You mentioned your winch, but not having a front mount. For that, I'll share my solution. I purchased two 18" receiver tubes on Amazon, drilled some holes, welded 3 nuts on a backer plate and bolted it in place of the tow hooks/loops (my used Expy didn't have anything there). I used grade 8 nuts and bolts, though I'm not sure that's required. I'd like to get them powder-coated, though haven't done that yet.

My winch isn't for pulling myself up a tree or anything, just a little help in the sand maybe. I mounted it on a 2" extension. It's small and light, fits under the seat in the second row nicely. The wires are short. I hold them together with a nylon bolt, fender washers, a spacer and wing-nut and tuck them in the bumper cover slot.

That a great idea! Thanks for sharing. I just welded a steel lintel and a half inch plate steel as more reinforcements on my stock Jeep bumper before I welded on the 2” receiver. But that just my off road woods machine so looks don’t matter and I really didn’t wanna put a big aftermarket winch bumper on my Expedition either. Besides it wouldn’t fit in my garage if I did.

 

[CallMeIshmael]

the owner’s manual says you can run chains on 17”-18” wheels and only on the rear?

Ha. I didn’t even think to look at the owner’s manual. Just to clarify, my Expedition is 4WD. I put the chains on the front because my biggest challenge was steering on the road up and braking on the way down. I never tried them on the rear because they worked so well on the front. Of course, if you have 2WD, the rear is the way to go. I didn’t see anything in the way the chains fit that would cause damage to the wheel, suspension, etc.

 

[1970Maverick]

cat litter

 

[Boostedbus]

cat litter

Yeah I know that works good as well, but I’d need a lot of bags to spread to even just get out of my driveway. My problem is I have a several hill climbs to overcome before I can get to the main road. That’s why putting chains on in the first place seems the best option now that I have been told they will fit without rubbing and damaging something. Cat litter is good to help get unstuck/un****** in my situation, but trying to avoid that from happening in the first place. Thanks for everyone’s responses and experiences.

 

[Boostedbus]

Ha. I didn’t even think to look at the owner’s manual. Just to clarify, my Expedition is 4WD. I put the chains on the front because my biggest challenge was steering on the road up and braking on the way down. I never tried them on the rear because they worked so well on the front. Of course, if you have 2WD, the rear is the way to go. I didn’t see anything in the way the chains fit that would cause damage to the wheel, suspension, etc.

Yeah I’m not a big “you better check the manual” kind of guy either. In an old thread I saw someone else state that it was in the manual in about the 20” wheels not recommended with chains. So I checked for myself and it’s written in there. I’m glad you haven’t had any issues so now I’m gonna get the same set you have. Thanks again! I’ll probably put them on the front also ...... definitely makes sense to be able to pull your steering wheels in the direction you point them, and also with superior traction on the front for down hill braking.

 

[Boostedbus]

Well after towing 516 miles, and being on the road for 10hrs, I decided to go for broke on the last tenth of a mile. I didn’t make it, but also didn’t break it. The stock Hankook tires with 31,000 miles (now) are a joke compared to the Michelin LTX Defenders that I have on my pickup. I actually towed a 27 ft camper up my cabin driveway in deeper snow than this snow and made it all the way. I have not bought the chains yet, but probably still would have tried without them first. I put it in 4 low which kept me from building momentum. I probably would’ve gotten farther in 4 high but also more f@&$@d as far as trying to back it down around the curve without washing into the drainage ditch on the left side. My F 150 couldn’t make it in 4 low either. I had to get a running start hammer down to barely make it .... but it did. I was able to get it un f$&@$d after I unloaded my new toy and unhooked the trailer and pulled it out of the way with my ATV. I decided to park down the bottom and just shuttle with the new used Can Am Maverick. Now that Beast shot up that hill like a missile! All is good I keep it out of the ditch. The driveway is graded so that the rain water drains to the ditch so it makes it tricky with the truck wanting to wash that way when spinning/buffing.

 

[ChiefsFanInMD]

all these fellow Marylanders in this thread. Be glad you don't have the Pirelli Scorpions...they SUCK in the snow. I am going to be looking for new tires as well in about 15k (have 35k on them) , so any and all opinions on tires/traction are welcome. Sorry to thread-jack

 

[Boostedbus]

all these fellow Marylanders in this thread. Be glad you don't have the Pirelli Scorpions...they SUCK in the snow. I am going to be looking for new tires as well in about 15k (have 35k on them) , so any and all opinions on tires/traction are welcome. Sorry to thread-jack

Yeah I’d like to know how the Michelin LTX Defenders do in the 20” Expedition tire size. I already know that they are awesome in 31”x 10.5”x 15” size on my old 150. I’m gonna probably run these Hankooks until next fall. I put 1,210 total miles on this trip and averaged 13 mpg towing at around 80-85 mph. Not too bad. The Hankooks have always rode nice and aren’t really wearing bad, but I would like better slick road traction.