Tire Chains

[jeroldharter]

I will have a brief trip to Yosemite in November. I have read that I should use/have tire chains at that time of year. I don't have chains, have never used them, and will be driving a rental SUV.

What do I need to know? Thanks.

[Juergen Sattler]

Can't you just rent them for the car rental company?

[SocalAstro]

I will have a brief trip to Yosemite in November. I have read that I should use/have tire chains at that time of year. I don't have chains, have never used them, and will be driving a rental SUV.

What do I need to know? Thanks.

Hope this will be of help:

http://www.rubicon-trail.com/jeep101/chains.html

-Leon

[E. von Hoegh]

I will have a brief trip to Yosemite in November. I have read that I should use/have tire chains at that time of year. I don't have chains, have never used them, and will be driving a rental SUV.

What do I need to know? Thanks.

Practice putting them on about 5 times before you NEED to put them on. Use them on front and rear axles. Don't go over about 20mph with them on.

[Drew Wiley]

Yosemite Valley is fairly low altitude, so it's quite rare that you'd need chains in Nov.
Once in awhile in late Dec thru Feb perhaps. Tioga Pass is the only high entrance, and
is usually closed anyway at the beginning of Nov. Sometimes the long road between
the south entrance past Wawona and the Glacier Pt turnoff is snowed up for a few
days, but I wouldn't worry too much about going in from Mariposa and El Portal, though
that approach is temporarily closed at the moment due to a forest fire. You can call ahead for road conditions. More likely, in Nov you're going to get some nice fall color
in and around the Valley.

[Darin Boville]

Practice putting them on about 5 times before you NEED to put them on. Use them on front and rear axles. Don't go over about 20mph with them on.

No kidding about the practice. You'll be glad you did. Also, chains come in two basic types--actual chain material and a slim version that looks like it is made of super-thick picture hanging wire. The latter is used for cars, especially those that have little clearance between fender and tire.

They make a fair amount of noise so don;t worry about that unless you hear a repeated banging sound--probably a loose bit hitting your car body. Stop and fix.

Don't buy anywhere near the pass or you'll pay $$$. The Wal-Mart and similar stores near the mountains all carry an extensive selection of chains.

Finally, as you approach a pass there will be a pull-over area for you to put them on. There will/might also be guys offering to put your chains on for you for $$$. Seems like it was $20, if I recall. Sometimes, especially in freezing, wet weather that might be well worth it.

--Darin

[Preston]

"There will/might also be guys offering to put your chains on for you for $$$. Seems like it was $20, if I recall. Sometimes, especially in freezing, wet weather that might be well worth it."

This is a good idea. On state highways, chain installers are required to be licensed by (I believe) the CA Highway Patrol and must carry liability insurance. Be sure to check for this.

The car rental agency should be able to tell you which type of chain to use; either 'real' chains or cables. Make sure they are tight after installing them. On cars with ABS, a loose chain can damage the sensor(s)--not good. (Don't ask me how I know this. :-) )

October/November is the time when California's weather is making the transition to winter patterns, so conditions in the mountains can change rapidly. I've seen snow on the valley floor as early as late October. The key is to be prepared.

Have fun!

--P

[Scott Knowles]

I agree to ask the rental company for them. And read the vehicle owner's manual on the use of AWD/4WD to know when to use each mode of driving. Some vehicles, like mine, with axle/transfer locks describe the road conditions and driving modes w/wo chains, and express caution when to use full lock and when to use chains. I agree it's unlikely you'll need them but check NPS rules on carrying them.

[Scott Walker]

I only ever use chains when I want to get an extra 10 miles into the bush before I get the truck so badly stuck that I have to walk out.:o

[Brian C. Miller]

If the rental vehicle comes with quality snow tires, like Michelin Alpin studless or normal studded, then you won't have a problem. However, I doubt that a rental agency would have seasonal tires mounted on a vehicle.

The cheap cable-type chains break easily, and then proceed to whack the vehicle with the loose cable or else break off entirely from the tire. I use Laclede chains (http://www.lacledechain.com/), and I'm happy with them.

[dsphotog]

If it's 4wd you shouldn't need chains.

[Curt Palm]

the park service personel at the entrance gate will ask if you have chains, I've always had them (and as of yet had to put them on in Yosemite) so I don't know what happens if you say you don't have any.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

I would see if you can rent them and then find a u tube video. Someone must have posted one? I was in Yosemite in April and needed chains the whole time I was there. That was the storm that wiped out power in the valley and they got 6 feet on the valley floor! Now that was a trip to remember! So in the Sierra you can get snow anytime.

[William Whitaker]

This may be helpful:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/trucks/ops-guide/chains.html

[Darin Boville]

Finally, as you approach a pass there will be a pull-over area for you to put them on. There will/might also be guys offering to put your chains on for you for $$$. Seems like it was $20, if I recall. Sometimes, especially in freezing, wet weather that might be well worth it.

I forgot to mention. If you are in the car with your wife, and especially if you are in the car with daughters, you'll be obligated to say a smiling, no-big-deal "no thanks" to the guys on the highway offering to help. You'll laugh a little self assured laugh, just for appearances' sake. Then you'l have to get out in the freezing, blowing rain and do it yourself. Once outside the car you'll be thinking you made a huge mistake, you should had just sucked down your pride and paid the guy. But you're rolling now.

One of two scenarios now follow:

Scenario #1: Hand frozen stiff, your body shaking involuntarily as hypothermia threatens, the knees of your pants soaked through, cold and wet all over, you crawl back defeated and symbolically castrated into the car after calling over one of the guys on the road to do it. It takes him two minutes after your thirty minute time in frozen hell.

Scenario #2: You're out and back in so quick your wife thinks your forgot a tool. "Nope, I'm done. They're on." You say it as casually as possible. "No biggie." Then drive off past all those pathetic drivers sitting in their cars or, god forbid, struggling in the freezing rain. You wife and daughters are impressed.

I've experienced both scenarios first-hand. I enjoyed #2 much more than the other.

--Darin

[dsphotog]

Just be sure to put the chains on the drive axle...... In the parking lot at Tunnel View, we witnessed a rear wheel drive compact suv that had the front wheels chained, spinning the rear tires & sliding sideways on the ice, until he spun out into a snowbank blocking the driveway.

[Jerry Bodine]

If it's 4wd you shouldn't need chains.

Not always so. If you encounter ice or hardpacked snow from other vehicles, even 4WD may not provide sufficient control. Studded tires are some help if speed can be kept low. BUT if evasive maneuvers are needed, you're SOL. Chains are the only way to get the "bite" needed for traction under such conditions. Otherwise you're relying solely on friction that may not be available.

Case in point: Years ago I encountered glare ice while in my '69 Land Rover in 4WD w/o REAL chains on, going very slowly. I did a full 360 on a gentle downgrade before getting control and stopping on an almost level spot. Decided to put chains on, hoisted with the axle jack, the vehicle slid and fell off the jack (fortunately while all wheels were still on). Not sure wheel blocks (didn't have any) would have helped. Finally figured out a way to get the chains on all four wheels (for steering as well as go/stop), then it was like summer driving.

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

Are there Les Schwab stores in California? If so, you can buy a set of chains there, keep them for the entire season (or less), and if you don't use them, you can return them for a full refund (be sure to keep your receipt).

Although snow in the valley would be rare in November, there is the possibility you may need to chain up if entering the park from the northwest on Highway 120/Big Oak Flat road as the elevation gets up over 6000 feet. I had to chain up one time in March coming in this way.

Highway 140, through El Portal, is much less likely to require chains.

Kerry

[Drew Wiley]

A couple of points to remember. If chain control is in effect on any of these various
Sierra highway, you have to pull over and use them. 4WD or studded tires aren't
acceptable substitues. Good idea to also take a plastic mat or plastic garbage bag
to rest your knees on. Those chain tunouts are very sloppy and muddy. Our wet season out here is primarily in the Spring. Generally Autumn snows are quite light in
the elevations encountered in the Merced canyon going into Yosemite Valley. The
odds of needing chains in the Fall are fairly rare. But weather has indeed been peculiar in the last two years out here and unusually wet. Another important point. Always carry sleeping bags and extra food and water when traveling in the Sierra. A problem
with the car or a landslide or any kind of road closure could means spending a dangerously cold time stuck somewhere. On some Sierra highways they demand blankets or a sleeping bag as well as chains at the checkpoints. Just common sense.