RobertGift

We have much 1/2-inch polypropylene rope.
When I reach deeper snow in the mountains, if I tie pre-measured sections of rope through each of the 5 wheel openings and around the tire, would it be an effective traction aide?
I could quickly cut it off with tin snips.

Thank you.

SteveCraig

Too much risk in anyone's book.
Picture this:
Slice a piece of that rope on road debris & an end gets tangled up on a brake hose.
Other end gets under the wheel while the car is moving.

Is the vehicle equipped with AWD ?
AWD & dedicated snow tires are the answer. Some here have also used chains in mountainous areas.
Gotta remember every vehicle has limits.These cars are not a full time 4 X 4.

I don't even know what the clearance is between the inside rim surface & the brake caliper. Might be picking a caliper and a hose out of the snow.

lexusrus

I agree. Don't do it!!!

Even with real snow chains, you are limited to like 20 mph or less to be safe.

Some years ago I had to drive in the mountains of northern CALIFORNIA near the Oregon border. A friend of mine had a Jeep Grand Cherokee 4 wheel drive. He had put chains on all four tires due to very bad snow weather. He got going alright......went too fast and one of the chains on the passenger front tire broke and got caught up on the transmission and brakes. Caused several thousands of damage. That was not the worst of it. He was stranded in the remote high mountains for half the night until someone passed by to pick him up and took him to the next nearest town for help. He got lucky. There were NO CELL SERVICE in that area back then.

RobertGift

Thanks. Was worried about that.
Displeased that there is only an inch clearance from the inside frontire to the strut disk.(whatever that is called).
Here is what we have for the AWD RX350:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Peerless-Auto-Trac-Light-Truck-SUV-Tire-Chains/19853286

A firefighter recommended AutoSock:
http://www.autosock.com/en/

SteveCraig

Have not ever used chains on a vehicle so cannot comment.
Be careful, however, they don't instill too much confidence in your car's abilities.
You can still bury almost any vehicle in a snow bank if you try hard enough.

11bravo

Chains are/were a great invention. If you use actual chains, designed to fit your tires, and use snubbers designed for the chains, you can go through a foot of snow safely, and stop very quickly, but if you use "spider spikes" or the crappy "cable chains", all bets are off.

RobertGift

How long does it take to put the chains on?
We left on dry interstate highway, got into the mountains where it was snowing too fast for DOT to handle. Managed to get through and the other side of the two passes the roadway was dry again.
Coming back up the pass with a stat specimen, vehicles were slipping to a stop and sliding to the right. We were almost stopped by an SUV ahead losing traction.
Fortunately for us, it also slid to the right opening up enough of lane one to pass by. Had I stopped, I probably could not continue. I had managed to grab snow next to the median and was the only one to get to the top of the pass.
We have cat litter to place in the RX350 for other such emergencies.
Would lightweight sawdust work almost as well as cat litter?

Thank you.

11bravo

It depends on whether you have done it before, or not. It is a good idea to do a practice run at home. You will quickly learn it is easiest to drive onto the the first quarter of the chain, then bring the inside chain radius over the top of the tire, and connect the inside link. Then, bring the outside radius over the top, and connect the outside link. Adjust the connection point either inside or outside so that the spread of the chain is balanced, not more to one side than the other. Then, put on the snubber's tightly, and do the other side.

After you do it a few times, it can take as little as 10 minutes. Then, you drive about 1/2 mile and stop and adjust as needed, EVEN IF YOU THINK THEY ARE ON RIGHT...YOU STILL STOP AND ADJUST.

When you take them off, ALWAYS undo the snubbers, then undo the INSIDE connection before doing the outside. If you undo the outside connection first, the chain will fall into the inside, between the hub and wheel, and you will have a mess.

A small tarp, mechanic's gloves and outerwear to protect you if it is snowing hard will all make it more comfortable.

11bravo

Oh....cat litter is far better than sawdust. Sawdust is too light, and shaped like flakes...it slides badly. I know a guy who carries two pieces of rolled up chain-link fencing, about 2' by 6', for when he gets stuck. He wedges it under the tires, and very slowly drives onto it, and out of the "stuck". If you wait until you get stuck, putting on chains is a real beast, if you can even do it at all.

lexusrus

Back years ago when I was up in northern CA mountains driving a rear wheel drive big and heavy 4 door Volvo sedan as that's what I had at the time (before Volvo switched to front wheel drive sedans and all wheel drive SUV's) I did pretty good (for a rear wheel drive car) with this particular brand and type of dedicated snow tires:

BRIDGESTONE BLIZZAK

There are other brands.

I had chains too. I had to use the chains several times. But finally concluded that with the BRIDGESTONE BLIZZAK if I'm still sliding, then maybe I should really just pull over and call it for the day before I get hurt or hurt someone else by crashing into them. You can still get stuck even with the BRIDGESTONE BLIZZAK.

If the temperature all of the sudden warms up to like 65 degrees F, the BRIDGESTONE BLIZZAK snow tires will begin to feel like soft rubber and will wear out very very quick.

Also putting the chains on in freezing temperaturea even with gloves on is no fun. My fingers just get cold, wet and numb.

Another option to consider (I did not get) is to get STUDDED (METAL ) TIRES . Just know that this is illegal in some areas and very noisy (so are chains anyway ). The local ambulances were all 4 wheel drives with studded tires at the time.

ColAngus

Tire chains work and polypropylene rope is nothing like tire chains, but, you know what? They work and I've seen them! Give it a try. You'll be amazed. Make sure you tie em really tight. Use a half-hitch knot.
Kitty litter or sand works and sawdust is nothing like sand, but, you know what? It works and I've seen it! Also give this a try and you'll be amazed.

RobertGift

Thank you, all.

Wish I could afford four wheels on which winter tires are mounted.
With our Expedition, (now gone), I put winter-tired 17-inch F-150 wheels on when the mountains would get snow.
For the long periods of warm, dry roads I put the 18-inch all-season-tired OEM wheels back on.

Wish there were something less heavy than hauling cat litter long distances. I should ask Starbucks for their coffee grounds and let them dry.

vlad_a

Hardcore off-roaders use maxtrax for quick recovery. A lot lighter than kitty-litter.
https://maxtrax.com.au/

RobertGift

Nice! Wish I could secure them around the tires! I am seeking something to continue travel for miles in bad conditions.
Two snow shovels are in the AWD RX350. (In a middle of the night blizzard, we took blood platelets to a hospital in the plains. The interstate was closed but we were permitted to continue.
Dug through a number of snow drifts. State Patrol called for a progress report. Did not know where we were because the milepost signs were coated in snow. (Now I will zero odometer at an exit.)

Can AWD be set to permanent until out of such conditions?

vlad_a

You can press lock button to try to keep rear active as long as possible, but that's about it.
RX is a consumer-grade crossover with no center diff to run both axles at the same time.
You need something a bit more capable to meet your needs.
Subaru Outback would be great. Toyota 4Runner (Limited has AWD) even better. Lexus GX - best. Lexus LX - overkill.