Anyone running chains on 35's?

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nameuser

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I spent several hunts last fall in my sons power Wagon and was impressed. The weather was how shall I say "inclement" and we had all 4 chained up a lot. He had the stock 33's which cleared front and back great.
I will probably be trading in my Tundra for a PW next go around.
If I jump to 35's I am pretty sure the back will be OK, but how about the front?
 

Low_Sky

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I run heavy duty square link chains front and rear on 35x12.50 tires. There will be rubbing on the radius arms and swaybar ends within 1/4 steering wheel turn of full lock.


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olyelr

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Nothing more manly than "chaining up".

The only thing I have ever chained up is my garden tractor for running the snowblower. Chains/studs are illegal to run on the roads here. I would love to get a set for wheeling out in the woods though.
 

Low_Sky

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Nothing more manly than "chaining up".

Nothing saves more time than ditching the chains for studded tires, haha.

I switched to siped and studded Hankook Dynapro MTs and didn’t put the chains on once this winter.


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olyelr

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Nothing saves more time than ditching the chains for studded tires, haha.

I switched to siped and studded Hankook Dynapro MTs and didn’t put the chains on once this winter.


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Yea, on the road I would think that setup would be far superior. But what about out in the deep snow, with ice/frozen ground under it.... chains better?
 
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nameuser

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The siped studded tires would be excellent for the road but by the time I need chains it is deep snow, mud, or both.
 

olyelr

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That brings up another question.... can you air down with chains, or do the tires have to be fully aired up?
 

LouM

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Why would you want to air down when chained up?
No tire with or without studs will equal the same size tire when chained.
That said I do run studded snows in the winter with chains available if needed.
 

olyelr

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Why would you want to air down when chained up?
No tire with or without studs will equal the same size tire when chained.
That said I do run studded snows in the winter with chains available if needed.

Well, airing down does wonders for off road prowess. I wasnt sure if it was the same when chained up.

I would think the tire would need to be aired up to keep them from falling off. But I honestly have no clue, thats why I asked.
 

Low_Sky

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That brings up another question.... can you air down with chains, or do the tires have to be fully aired up?

I’ve never tried it and I wouldn’t do. For me, a good tire aired down has been a better combo than a full tire with a chain on it. My experience on the Hankooks this winter has me thinking about selling the 35s and chains and getting 37s for next winter.


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Well, airing down does wonders for off road prowess. I wasnt sure if it was the same when chained up.

I would think the tire would need to be aired up to keep them from falling off. But I honestly have no clue, thats why I asked.


OK,good point.
When you air down you are doing a couple of things.
One, you are getting a longer foot print on the ground.
Two, you are letting the sidewall flex more which will let them flex around rocks and such.
Third, it will let the center of the tread flex upward which will let the sides of the tire apply more pressure to the ground then the center which is why in soft dirt you will see almost a C shape facing down into the dirt.

One and two wouldn't hurt when you are chained up but number three certainly does as you want as much chain on the ground as possible.
 
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nameuser

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As soon as I am off of the asphalt I am usually airing down.
Benifits have been mentioned plus much better ride.
A few downsides, one of them being loss of ground clearance.
On my Bronco the magic number was 10 PSI, any lower and I needed beadlocks.
 

olyelr

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I’ve never tried it and I wouldn’t do. For me, a good tire aired down has been a better combo than a full tire with a chain on it. My experience on the Hankooks this winter has me thinking about selling the 35s and chains and getting 37s for next winter.


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Damn, you really enjoyed those siped mudders with studs, eh?!
 

Low_Sky

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Damn, you really enjoyed those siped mudders with studs, eh?!

I'm sure there exist terrain conditions where chains would be advantageous, but I drove a whole Alaskan winter (on-road and off-road) and never once felt like I needed them. And that's fully enabled, having them in the back of the truck ready to go, never once wanted to put them on. At this point I don't see much reason not to sell the 35s and chains and put the money toward 37s next winter, which will float better when I air down and let 'er rip.

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Grand Mesa

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Already freezing temperatures at night here. Pulled out from storage the tire chains for the 2016 Power Wagon today. Winter is coming soon.

One thing about running them even with the stock wheels and 285 width tires is in checking the clearance of the parking brake cable bracket. On both my son's 2014 Ram 2500 with 285 75R18 (35") tires and my PW's 285 75R17 (34") tires the cables/chains did not clear it. Had to bend the brackets inward on both Ram trucks. He is running cables on the stock 2500 aluminum wheels, whereas, I have chains on the stock PW aluminum wheels.
 
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