# Tire Chains



## Dinger (Feb 13, 2008)

Good Evening all,

There seems to be some great info shared here.

I have been a lurker here a little in the past, but recently joined as our fleet is growing very rapidly. I am the Equipment Manager (golf) at a private club in SW Colorado, Durango specifically. Our dept. is also responsible for the snow removal for the property, and our fleet is hovering near massive, one day I will post some pics and a bio. 

My question is this: For those of you running tire chains, specifically on 3/4-1T trucks, are you running them on the front or rear? Common sense and old thinking tell me front, which is where we run them currently. That being said, the owners manuals say rear, I suppose because there is just not much to these front ends, (Duramax 4X4). If it was just me in the trucks, I would keep them on the front, but some people just dont get it, and think pedal to the metal, tearing up front end stuff. I am beginning to think the rear may be the ticket, perhaps with the best mud lugged tire I can get for the front.

I would love to here what you think......


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## JCStrasser (Dec 11, 2005)

I have them front AND rear. We have a very steep dip in our road and when it is icy (like after 45 degree rain then freezing on top of snow) I am happy for the traction.

Good luck,
John


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## jkitterman (Jan 28, 2004)

Stay away from a mud tire unless you are in mud. For tires, you stick with true snow tires or 'snowflake in mountain' rated tires. Tire chains belong on the rear only or front and rear.


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## RipT (Dec 6, 2004)

Ditto....
I always chain up the rear whenever I plow (also 4 LO), but chain the front as well in extreme cases. V-bar work better than plain twist links.

Welcome to the forum Dinger.....you guys have had quite a bit this season !! Not over yet, either.


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## Dinger (Feb 13, 2008)

Thanks for the input. We have decided to go ahead and put them to the rear. We absolutely ruined a front end recently...... Not a good situation. CV's, front diff, bracket to the frame etc. etc. It really is hard to explain to people just how strong these new diesels are, and when things hook up, stuff IS going to let go. I think I will also stick to an AT type tire for now.

Thanks RipT. Yes, we have been getting hammered since December it seems. And it never really got warm like it usually does for short times, so nothing has really melted. We can no longer plow over our edges, only to them and then get out the big blowers and throw it off the roads.


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## RipT (Dec 6, 2004)

Same here on the no-melting-between-storms. Not as much snow as last year, but lot more wind/drifting. Thats where a blower really comes in handy. Going to finally put wings on the PolyPlow after 10 years, at least before next year!

Along with chaining up the rear first, figure on 800 - 1000 lbs of ballast in the back of those trucks. 

Good Luck


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## Dinger (Feb 13, 2008)

The 3500 carries a flatbed with a v-box spreader full of gravel, so it has plenty of weight. This truck is amazing. It will and has pulled a bus out of a ditch, also a 10yd dump out of a large drift and up a hill a steep incline out of our emergency exit. We have used it to pull our 5yd dump from where it likes to get stuck. It is truly a beast of a machine. The 2500 is also a nice rig, although a regular bed with a diesel fuel tank, and some sand bags, not much else for weight. I have future plans of bolting on overloads, and doubling the sandbag weight that we carry. 
I am feeling better and better about chaining up the rear. My current thinking is, 75% of our traction is on the front, 25% on the rear, I would guess this to be close. Why chain up the front, and increase that even more, why not try to even out the weak end first. Sometimes you do things the same way for so long you forget why you even do them. I suppose this is why we chained up the front. Time to get out of the box, so to speak!!!


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## Tommy10plows (Jan 1, 2001)

Well, my experience is a little bit different. On my jeeps, I'd chain the front first, then if I have to I'd chain the rears on the really steep drives. My weight ratio is heavier in the front, the front wheels do 80% of the braking, so I find better luck with the fronts chained. Also, on my steep drives, I back up because the weight is on the front of the jeep, the engine, plow are up there, so they should be at the bottom as I back up the hill. I use v-bar reinforced.


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