KRB

How do the Duratracs wear can you tell yet? What kind of miles did you get from the ATs?

james1

Thanks folks; this is exactly the info I was looking for. Pewag is an Austrian manufacturer which claims roots to a forging plant in year 1479. The current catalog is available on the Web with a quick Google search. Note that the Pewag catalog also includes a brand called "Glacier" which is a Chinese subsidiary.

Per telephone conversation with a salesperson, the Pewag branded chains are made of an alloy steel which wears much better than the carbon steel in the Glacier products. It seems that all catalog numbers containing an "E" are manufactured in Europe, while the catalog numbers containing an "H" are manufactured in China.

Also note that V-bar is a chain link style rather than a brand -- designed to help the chain bite into ice.

Thanks again.

KATOOM

A few years ago I was looking for chains since I was planning a trip up over a potentially snowy/icy mountain pass towing a TT. Because most passenger car/truck chains aren't built to withstand the stress of towing, I ordered some specific for that reason. A square link across the tread in a straight ladder pattern.

I also ordered some diamond pattern cables for one of the trailer axles. Turns out I never needed them but in saying that, I did use the chains when I was up in the mountain snow while towing a flatbed trailer loaded with a whole lot of wood. Chains did a fantastic job and only ran them on the rear axle too.

Since I have these chains already I probably wont ever bother getting anything else, but I have to say that given how much easier and simpler some of the quick cables can be to put on and take off, I think I'd rather have a set of those if I didn't have a trailer behind me.

james1

I think the issue with cables is they are simply too lightweight. Duck Soup noted above that his cables wore out so quickly he had to return them for a refund. The salesperson with whom I spoke at Pewag confirmed that cables are not a high quality solution.

Pewag has a new product called "Snox Pro" that looks to be even easier to mount than cables. They are not cheap, but they are alloy steel chains so they should perform and wear much better than cables. The one downside is these Snox units are made of relatively small grade chain, so they are for use on snow and ice on paved roads only -- and not for mud or off-road use. But for tossing behind the seat of a truck to use in an emergency, they seem perfect.