We're making a cross country journey late this fall and will ultimately need to clear a few passes along our route. Being late in the season (end of October) I am going to assume we may encounter snow. Here's the thing - we have an SUV, but here's the other thing - it sucks in any sort of deep snow. It's a 2014 Trailhawk Cherokee and despite it's 4,012 4WD settings, and locking this and that, it still got completely stuck in a parking lot with a foot or so of snow because it was wet, heavy snow that basically packed itself into the deep treads of the tires that the truck came with.
To be safe, I was thinking about chains but I haven't even seen chains used since the 1980's on my mom's Buick Electra wagon, and even then they opted for studded rears instead.
Where's a good place to buy these? Are certain types better than others? I see some are more like cables instead of actual chain. I'm hoping we won't need them, but better to be safe than a frozen dinner for a bear family.
It sounds to me like your tires suck if a Cherokee is getting stuck in a foot of snow, regardless of what kind of snow. No reason any 4WD should get stuck in any kind of snow that is not high-centering it, frankly. Get a set of tires that are "snowflake on the mountain" rated (many all-terrains are). OEM tires tend to be terrible at everything anyhow.
Sorry, I know nothing about chains/cables.....
You can order them from any auto parts store. Just need your tire size for fitment. Be aware they have a limited speed of about 20 mph. Never run them on pavement, they will fail quickly.
Advance Auto
Chains are more for ice than snow. I wouldn't expect much of a benefit in wet snow and a foot of wet, heavy snow will stop most vehicles.
petegossett wrote:
In reply to irish44j:
General Grabber AT-2 
Some Grabber AT2 are rated for snow, some are not. Look on the tire itself and see if you see the snowflake on the mountain logo. It actually makes a substantial difference. Lots of tires that are good for off-roading are actually lousy in snow....
Ex: The BFG A/T KO that I had on the Cherokee were dreadful in snow. As were the stock Dunlop AT2s that came on our 4Runner (they were even worse, if that's possible). Meanwhile, the snow-rated Bridgestone Dueller Revo2's we had on the 4Runner (and Sequoia) are awesome in the same depth/type of snow. It's all about the rubber compounds and the siping.
Tires>chains, You can probably get $100-$150 out of the take offs. As mentioned the various all season all terrain tires with the RMA snowflake/mountain stamp are all great. Firestone Destination LE2 comes to mind as well, doesn't have the stamp, but they do pretty good in winter and come in a lot of P metric sizes (rides better than a LT), and are very affordable.
Just get some cables. They are cheap and simple. You can also haul ass on them if you want. If the cables won't get you there it's time to get a hotel.
http://www.tirechain.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwvo6wBRCG3Zv92ZSLlIYBEiQA5PLVAqmtdFNDDm_5n7ICngn9YfhkLDMAB9hczyGAjnzNxGIaAiD28P8HAQ
This is where I buy mine. I have a set of four for 33x12.50 tires and a set of four for 31x10.50 tires. They make my trucks unstoppable. I can stop in snow up to the base of the headlights and get it going again without spinning the tires or slipping the clutch
