School bus question

Our route and driver got a new bus last year. All shiny and nice.

This year, same new bus, but it has something added to it. Took me a few days to realize what.

All the lug nuts are split into pairs with an orange rubber stopper looking thing holding the pairs together between the rim and the lug nut.

What is it and what is it for?

Also, why does the brand new school bus have chains hanging off the rear end?

In reply to RevRico :

Automatic tire chains. 

The others are probably lug locks. 

Those are On-Spot chains. If there's less than 6 inches of snow, the driver pushes a button, the chains swing down and rotate in front of the tires. The tires drive over the sections of chain to get traction.

Firetrucks have them, but if we expect more than six inches of snow, we jack up the rear wheels and install old school tire chains.

Looks like Toyman beat me to it. They also call them Drop Chains.

In reply to Toyman! :

That's awesome!! I figured the old buses had them in lieu of repairs or to just hold things together here in salt land. Now I kinda want them on regular vehicles.

In reply to Toyman! :

I had no idea that was a thing.  My mind is officially blown.

RevRico said:

In reply to Toyman! :

That's awesome!! I figured the old buses had them in lieu of repairs or to just hold things together here in salt land. Now I kinda want them on regular vehicles.

You don't. They are heavy and very noisy when not in use. You also need on-board air.

I first saw the tire chains at a trade show and was blown away. The chains are mounted on a rubber wheel, evenly spaced around the outer diameter. When actuated they tough the inside sidewall of the tire, flinging the chains under the tire. The genius part is that the rotational speed of the chains and wheel are dictated by the road tire. Ingenious invention. 

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

RevRico said:

In reply to Toyman! :

That's awesome!! I figured the old buses had them in lieu of repairs or to just hold things together here in salt land. Now I kinda want them on regular vehicles.

You don't. They are heavy and very noisy when not in use. You also need on-board air.

Our ambulances had them. The engine crew could always hear when the ambulance arrived on scene because it sounded like Santa Claus' sleigh jangling and jingling over every bump in the road. 

Being in Texas, our engines did not have them, and we had to do the old fashioned chains on the infrequent occasion that we got any real snow. I think I chained up my engine twice in 21 years as a driver.

The orange things act as Safety Wire would without drilling holes.

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

RevRico said:

In reply to Toyman! :

That's awesome!! I figured the old buses had them in lieu of repairs or to just hold things together here in salt land. Now I kinda want them on regular vehicles.

You don't. They are heavy and very noisy when not in use. You also need on-board air.

Exactly. We have a few and they're pretty good the three days a year we need them and annoying the rest of the time. 

Up here fuel trucks have chains as well. People need heat.

In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :

They're nice to have on the fire trucks up here. You have them when you need them and when you don't, you don't. You can even switch them on or off in the middle of a hill, and you don't need to stop. 
 

Real chains go on the trucks when we get more than six inches of snow. Then you have to back the inner rear wheels up onto a 6x6 and wrestle with the chains. They need to be just right; loose enough so the cross links can rotate, but tight enough to keep the outer circumference from slapping (and destroying) the wheel arches. And for god's sake, don't forget to safety wire the loose end of the chain, or you'll be writing an incident report and sending your truck off to the body shop (again) in the spring. 
 

The real problem with traditional chains on fire trucks is that they really slow us down on on plowed streets. The main roads are usually plowed, but you need the chains in the neighborhoods. 

Everything about chaining up a firetruck sucks, and I don't think I've ever done it at a reasonable hour.

 BONUS: Both the truck and the floor are usually wet already by the time that you get the call to chain up.

If you ever want firemen to pay attention to the weather reports, just forecast 4-8 inches of snow.

I should take pictures next time. It's a real PITA. 

I heart drop chains. 
 

The tie bars on the lug nuts are not to secure them, they are a visual aid.  During the daily inspection, one of the things most states require is some sort of lug nut check.  Instead of putting fingers or a torque wrench on four dozen lug nuts, they put either the tie bars or the pointy triangles on them.  If one of the lug nuts has moved, you'd see one or more of the triangles no longer pointing at the next lug nut, or one of the tie bars would be broken/distorted.

The chains could be traction "drop chains," but if they're just a few links that drop to the pavement, they're the 2020s version of snake oil grounding straps.  All of our ambulances around here have them, which may have a tiny bit of merit given all the sensitive electronics, but on a school bus I don't see the need.