Tire chains on front tires

Hi,
The taco manual prohibits installing tire chains on the front tires. Has anyone run chains on their front tires?

On my front wheel drive corolla, I run chains on the front tires, and things work fine. Sure, if one breaks, it can chew up a bunch of stuff.

Thanks!

David

 

Take a peek behind the tire. The steering knuckle is about a half inch from the wheel. No matter how tight you get the chains, they will hit it and maybe even the UCA?

Our old Dodge Stratus was the same way. I tried out a set of cable chains just for grins. I didn't go 10ft before removing them.

 

I'll check it out, thanks!

 

No problem.

 

Chains should be installed on the main drive wheels. Found that out the hard way last year when we got snow here in Washington. Rear end just kept swinging out and banged the curve. Luckily no damage.

 

OP this ^^^ is the reason why you put your chains on the front of your Corolla, because it was a FWD vehicle. Your truck is RWD, the chains go back there. If your truck is 4x2, there's no logic in even trying to put chains in the front. Even with 4wd you're risking too much damage putting chains up front. I've seen people do it before but it's usually on Jeeps or other 4x4s with straight axles up front and not independent front suspension.

 

They make those things called Tire Snow Socks, don't know if those would help.

 

These don't require clearance on the inside of the tire. Might still have issues with outer diameter and suspension parts and/or fenders/cab mount.
http://www.spikes-spiders.com/comparison

 

Yep, tonered is dead right on this one. No room on the inside of the front tire for chains that come even half way down the sidewall.

Seems to be room for something that doesn't come much past the tread, but man you'd wanna be doubledog sure it won't move around.

David

 

If you're installing just one set, then that is correct it's safest to put them on the rear so you don't fishtail. You really should install on all four with 4WD, though. Only using the rear really compromises steering and braking.

Since going to 235/85R16 I can fit chains on my front but haven't had to use them in anger so far, so I've only test run. Ran 4 chains many times on the old truck. Talk about unstoppable.

It also looks like on a stock tire you'd rip the ABS wire off with chains in front, too.

 

Is this thread even for real???

G.

 

I have a ton of experience driving on snow/ice and I NEVER use chains just 4hi and I've always been fine, dare I say its even FUN

But last January I was up in mammoth when they got 20 FEET of snow in under 3 weeks!! It was absolutely insane, we woke up on a Monday morning and the lifts were going to be open but the roads were a fucking mess. No one could even get to the lodge, we had parked the Tacoma on a ramp and ended up putting CABLES on all four wheels. Put 5 people in the truck and another 4 people in the bed and forged through the craziest amount of snow I've ever been in. We made it AND we had the entire mountain to ourselves for about 3 hours until the roads got cleared and more people made it up.

The cables were a tight fit up front but they worked on my 2017 TRD offroad, just made sure to not take any tight turns just in case. I still don't recommend it you should be fine with just rear chains if you really want chains. But I can confirm in an extreme situation at least one brand of cables worked up front for a 10 miles round trip drive.

 

Chains are useful for more than just snow.

We have taken stock trucks (ford f350s) through some crazy trails hunting by chaining up all 4 tires.

 

Ever wonder why all those two or more story cabins in the Sierra have doors leading outside to no porch on the upper floors? An experienced mountain resident also knows to not knock off all the snow from their vehicle's roof, hood and windshield until after they pull out of the driveway into the street- the extra weight helps with getting out and lessens the shoveling!
As for cables, they are only half as good as chains on ice. I tried them once and got better traction with bare tires. I read a CHP test facility report that also stated cables were only half as effective as single lug chains in their testing.

Sounds like you had fun though, how did you like driving those roads surrounded by vertical snow walls after the blowers go through? Sort of like a luge ride, hu? It is fun driving on snow when you own the road- I commuted across a mountain every day and knew all the icy turns ahead that always seemed to have white knuckled skiers driving by sideways in the opposite direction on their way home in the afternoons , so I'd always take the turns wide and wave as we passed each other it happened several times after each storm!

Another time, a couple friends drove up for the weekend in their Toyota pickup and rolled it on the ice. The windshield blew out but they landed back on the wheels and drove on home wearing their ski googles in lieu of the windshield, my friend said he used the hood as a leg rest too. A cop was unkind about it all though and gave them a fix-it ticket.

Yup, miss the snow, it was fun but I'm done with it now.

 

Wait why don't we just ask 2 Chainz?

 

Terrible. Great way to destroy the track. Trail destruction is the fastest way to have them closed. This right here is why so many are under threat.

 

most people hunt on private land where they are owners or have owner permission to be there. its pretty rare that people hunt on publicly accessible wheeling spots.

 

I would disagree. It's absolutely crowded here in CO during hunting season. Most people park and take ATVs and side by sides in. Unfortunately, a lot of people are now road hunting. If the roads get tore up too much, they are closed.

 

These are actually forest service roads that get really slippery when wet, how is running chains on street tires any worse than running super swampers or running side by sides down these trails. Give me a fucking break. We aren't doing full throttle assaults and tearing up the road either, if anything having chains makes the process less destructive because we get through staying on the trail, not sliding around, not tearing the place up.

 

I understand where you are coming from, but I take offense to your assumption that we are carelessly tearing up the forest.