I read the old posts regarding towing a trailer in the winter, and have another question or 4 for y'all, if you please. I plan to tow a 30' 5er toy hauler, tandem axle trailer behind my 2005 Dodge 3500 4x4 manual trans truck from Montana to Cal in mid January by way of I-90 to I-15 south (crazy, probably, but I'd like to go prepared). I read that I need to chain all 4 wheels on my truck if at all, and chain up the trailer too, since it has brakes. I have Michelin LTX AS tires on the truck, trailer tires on the 5er. I have a prodigy for a trailer brake controller, and an exhaust brake on the truck.

1. Would I chain up both axles on the trailer, since all 4 wheels have brakes? Potentially this would mean chaining up 8 tires.
2. If I buy studded snow tires for the truck, can I avoid chains?
3. Would I put chains on top of studded tires?
4. Would a good combination be studded tires on the truck and 4 chains on the trailer?
Thanks for any advice you may have, this website has been very good to me.

 

Fiver On Ice coming to an icy pass near you..

It can be fun towing a trailer on ice, to answer your questions..

Studded tires are great on ice when the snow gets deeper your can and will want to chain up over the studs..

Trailer tires, you only need a light set of chains as their only purpose is to aid in braking to keep the trailer from jackknifing which it can do in no time at all, Make sure the trailer brakes are adjusted properly as one brake dragging can set off a chain of events (See jackknife comment)..

Watch the weather maps and try not to drive the back county passes at night as budget cutbacks are cutting back on snow removal..

Here is a link to a tire chain catalog to give you some ideas I like the spider tighteners pg 17/88

https://www.chainquest.com/userfiles...%20catalog.pdf

 

My opinion is that studded tires work good on ice, they are lousy on wet pavement to the point of being dangerous, they make next to no difference in snow. In the winter I run Michelin X ice radials on all my vehicles EXCEPT my truck because Michelin don't make an Ice radial in that size. I run Michelin LTX MS all year round, they are great on everything except ICE and even on ice they are OK. I have never had to use chains on my truck with the Michelin LTX MS tires even after leaving the road and going through ditches the tires still chew their way through.

However if you need to move a heavy load like your trailer in deep snow you will need chains. Before I retired we even chained the aircraft push out tractors when heavy snow was falling, what a difference. The chains act like a paddle wheel and kind of "paddle" their way through the snow. I realize some mountain passes require chains at certain times so inexpensive ones would do as you wouldn't need them most of the time.

In the past I've tried studs, snow tires, ice tires, and chains. If they made a Michelin ice radial for our trucks I would use it in the winter and keep the chains for when they are required or for really deep snow.

 

I agree with that completely. IMHO studs are only good in a very narrow set of circumstances. I wouldn't have them because of how poorly they work in the rain, not to mention the untold damage they do to highways. When you get to the point you need to use chains NOTHING else will work and chains have their limitations too. And I don't mean cables either when it gets to that point. JMHO and experience from driving fire trucks and class 8 semis.

 

Would you want to "turn up" the brake controller in snowy or icy conditions? It would seem to me that if the truck brakes harder than the trailer, you would create a jackknife scenario...assuming enough traction to effectively brake. Turning up the controller should force the trailer to drag everything straight again.

I agree with the comments on chains and how much traction improves, but there comes a point where common sense has to kick in. Maybe (if the conditions are serious enough) it's time to stop for the night and give the plows a chance to catch up. A good friend once explained to me that he wouldn't want people standing around his coffin saying, "Jeez, I thought he was smarter than that..."

Remember, there are old bush pilots, and there are bold bush pilots...but there are no old, bold bush pilots!

 

I have traveled that route many times. Some of the trips where with 4x2 dually trucks and trailers. Studs are not needed and some states ban them.
Do not crank up the trailer brakes...if any adjustment is made...they should be turned down or the trailer will take control of where you will be going when the brakes lock up. Having chains on board is a good idea. However, if the need arises, you might be better off to get off the road. Its rarely more then a day to 'camp-out' while the roads get cleared.

Keep it simple and slower if the roads are messy. You will do fine...just plan that everything has to be responded to s l o w e r and less aggressively then normal roads. If you get in a situation that makes you or passengers nervous, find an exit and chill for awhile.

Scotty

 

I think Scotty has the right idea. Time it if you can to not deal with the snow storms.

I-15 through Utah had some tough conditions yesterday, I wouldn't have wanted to be pulling a trailer. But it is better today and and should be fine by tomorrow, meaning virtually dry roads.

 

Thanks everyone for your replies. I will allow 7 days for a 2 day trip, thus I'll have the option of chillin', rather than rushin'. I just want to have all options available. SO... I have 3 sets of chains (2 for the truck and one for the trailer), I had my Michelin LTX A/S tires siped at Les Schwab, and I plan to turn the Prodigy controller down a hair so it doesn't lock up the trailer breaks, but keep the boost on the higher side to have a quick response and avoid the jacknife. Then we pray for good weather or snow plows. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

 

i don't think there are too many areas on I15 in Utah that you'd need chains...i don't know about Idaho

 

Here, when chains are required, you have to have at least one drive tire chained per side on the tow vehicle, and at least one chain on each side of the trailer. If only one pair, they are to be on the rear most braking axle.

The chains with the X pattern would work well for the trailer (the real chains, not the cable type). Les Schwab that did your siping can hook you up, and they used to have a deal where they would buy them back if you don't use them.

Set your brake controller so the truck and trailer brake evenly, take your time and go slow and feed any input (steering, braking, acceleration) in gradually.

Best advice I think is to stop if conditions are really bad and wait until it has been plowed and sanded.

I'd also avoid using the jake unless traction conditions are good and/or you are in 4x4. In 2wd it only applies braking to the truck's rear axle, and you don't want the rear axle sliding as the trailer will push it sideways in a hurry.

 

You also want to turn down that stupid Prodigy on the initial contact braking it does. It hits the brakes not even knowing how hard you want to stop. You don't need that trailer locking up.

Bob

 

You will want to watch I-15 North and South of Beaver, Utah. I have seen semi trucks jack knife and block the road there. When traveling in winter I watch the temperatures very carefully. Watch the tires on other vehicles. If its cold and still blowing the tires will be coming up with white snow stuck to them and you can increase your speed. When the tires are coming up black and wet, and the temps are warmer, reduce your speed because its getting slick.

 

From my own observarions and experience, I would chain the truck's drive axle and the rear-most axle on the trailer... but like others have said, if conditions get nasty, get off the road.

On a trip from NV to MT (Helena) back in Nov 2005, we witnessed MANY RVs off the road on I-84 near Pocotello. A couple of bit 5ers had flipped and were destroyed. I was towing a small enclosed snowmobile trailer at the time, and (like an idiot) couldn't reach my chains, or I would have chained up. Instead, we found that 20-25 mph was about the fastest safe speed until the sun came out and warmed up the road.

Heck, the night before, we stopped in Jackpot, NV for the night, because the snow was blowing so bad we couldn't see more than bout 50' in front of us. That was a very interesting trip!

Rob

 

When towing in slippery conditions, I tend to turn the brake controller way down and operate the trailer brakes manually as I see fit. That way, if the trailer starts to get squirrelly during a braking event, I can release its brakes instantly if necessary.