Now I understand why some Tundra owners get lifts on their trucks - long

I never put it in four low in the snow whether stuck or not. The key is to rock it and once you get the momentum...its pedal to the metal. take off the traction controls. You want high speed sinning going on. When your momentum stops...put it in reverse and then blast back forward.

 

Not expensive, <$100, but I’m not sure about running them on only 2 tires. Why not do all 4?

 

Lots of chain options, probably $50-$100+. Cable chains are cheaper and better on highway. Real chains (chain link) are way better traction but slower speed rated and more money. Noisy and rough, so more for off road really deep snow.

Yes you can run on rear only. Definitely keep speed down regardless.

 

I think the one time I used chains on a 4X4 I put them on the front. That was on the '77 GMC with full time 4WD. I had street tires on it then. They were soon replaced by a set of BFG's and I was a happy camper after that. That truck was unstoppable except when crappy ethanol fuel came out.

 

Well the only thing that is keeping me from running them on all four is my tires. They’re sorta big and they rub at full lock, and I wouldn’t want chains rubbing on my frame because knowing me, I would forget I had chains on and turn sharp.

 

Lots of debate on chains front, rear or both. Obviously all 4 is best. But on front you are more prone to damage due to clearance. One pair on either end is better than nothing!

 

Okay, I guess I was asking because I thought it could damage my 4x4 system from the slightly different diameter tires front and rear by run i g chains on the back only. Yes I would Definetly keep speed down for sure.

 

A lot of difference between this snow here in SW WA (especially this storm) and the stuff I grew up with in N. Idaho and W. Montana. I got stuck this morning too...but I really half expected to. Yesterday morning I could get out no problem in 14” of the stuff (it never got above 28* and was dry and soft - pushed right through it). This morning, less than 6” of the slurpee slush pack-in-your-treads ice bullshit that it turned into and I slid right off the side of our private road sideways. Got my chains on, dropped into 4LO, and pulled right out. Decided it wasn’t worth going into the office when my daughter’s boyfriend came home saying they hadn’t plowed anything in town at all and nothing was open. So I turned around and bombed right back to the house with the chains on without further issue.

It’s about having something that can actually make traction in this crap...and short of tank treads, chains, or some gnarly-ass mud tires, you just aren’t going to make good contact with something you can push off of no matter the truck. This shit is nasty, and that’s a lesson I learned when I moved here 25 years ago.

My daughter’s boyfriend has a lifted AWD 1998 Subaru Legacy wagon with 30” pizza cutter tires...that’s the only reason he made it out this morning. He also paid $500 for the car and did all the rest of the work himself, so if he ends up flipped over somewhere, he’s fine with it.

 

I had no clearance issues on the GMC. No rusted fender jokes please. I had very little rust in that truck.

 

Well. Maybe. But the concentration required in heavy snow (+ and increased noise using chains) would probably remind you.

Now you have me wondering why you’re putting up with clearance issues. If you’re rubbing the cab mount, try increasing caster to move your wheels/ tires forward. If your rubbing the fender, get fiberglass.

 

Technically doesn't change diameter cause it's not constant. But if you have chains on you're in snow which will allow slip. Like turning on pavement in 4wd, you can feel it. Can't feel it in snow.

 

Never had to do it, but my ideal setup would be cable chains in front and heavy duty link chains in the rear. Right now I just have the link chains.

Lot of folks won't have clearance issues. But I'd hate to tear up front end with chain rub or one coming loose, full lock rub, etc.

Anyone buying chains, don't forget the rubber tensioners!

 

I only rub on the frame, and the upper control arm. I think it needs an alignment more than anything, but even with a fresh alignment it rubs on the frame. You are probably right about the likelihood of me not forgetting.

but you may be suprised! Ha! Either way can’t hurt to have both front and rear I guess.

that makes sense. Obviously going slow helps for sure. I may end up getting one set(for two tires) instead of two sets (for four tires).

 

As some people are probably finding out about now, if snow storm comes might be hard to find shovels, snow blowers, and you guessed it chains. So I always buy a set of chains any time I get a new vehicle. They stay in the vehicle all winter. Never know when you'll need them! Cheap insurance.

Also recommend you practice installing them occasionally. So you're not trying to do it for the first time stuck in a ditch!

 

I live at 1600 feet and have seen it all in the 22+ years I've been in this place. It was still below freezing this morning when I tried. The snow was still fluffy. I kept my last truck outside and turned around ready to drive down the driveway. I keep the Tundra garaged. It's still too nice to leave it outside to get abused by the winter weather like the rest of the trucks I've owned.

 

And don’t forget to check/retighten them a couple times in the first mile or so. Throwing a chain will fuck things up pretty quick.
Can’t say I agree with chains being for 2WD only. I’ve always kept a set for when shit doesn’t go how I planned. A set of lightweight chains (like Les Schwab carries) may only be good for a few uses, but it’s cheap insurance. And a lot more compact than recovery boards (though I would agree those have a place as well).

Snow blowers don’t do much against this concrete we get here. It just packs up the chute. We have a hard time even getting it plowed...

 

Good point about checking them. That's why I'm hesitant to put them on front unless I really needed to. I also use the HD link style chains. So those could really mess up a fender in a hurry. Or even suspension for that matter. So good pair of tensioners and slow and steady.

 

Yes it does drive comfortably on the freeways. I don't understand when owners say their seats are terrible. They're comfy enough for me.

 

I'll have to ask my neighbor across the road what he has. He's always had no problems with his. He's been a snowbird the last two winters so I'll have to wait until he gets back. Maybe he'll sell me his?

 

Nice. We’re just a little lower elevation than you and in a weird spot under Bald Mtn (View area). We seem to usually get double what pretty much anywhere else in the county gets (except out near Larch), but it’s always wet and impossible to push or blow. Neighbors with 4WD tractors with chains and extra weight just sit and spin trying to move it. One neighbor had a bobcat and about five years ago finally just said “eff this” and sold to move to Arizona (not that I miss him, but that’s a different story).

the only success is usually shit tons of weight in the bed (or a heavy truck to start), 4WD, and chains. Until the rain finally gets the tire tracks back down to bare gravel again.

 

There's a lot of types of snow, and lots of ideas of what's best (like pizza cutters vs fatties), but it's hard to have a single setup that'll work every time. I'm not surprised you could get stuck in a foot of snow, most vehicles (even trucks, and dont forget a lift doesn't increase your axles ground clearance which is like an anchor under you) only have a few inches of clearance. A tacoma wouldn't be much better in the ground clearance department, if at all. And sure, there's the argument the Tundra weighs a lot, but as far as traction is concerned that is entirely dependent on air pressure and tire tread. A tire at 2psi is 2psi on the ground regardless if your truck weighs 10k or 3k. Tire chains can do awesome, but they're a bitch to setup and going fast is nearly impossible. Airing down is cheap and easy, but you need to be aware of how to do and how to drive it. Bigger tires, different tires, 4Hi, 4Lo, lockers, etc. Lots of ways to skin the cat. I wouldn't be disconcerted you had issues in your driveway, some snow just sucks and better to get stuck in the driveway than down the road. If you got cold fluffy snow you could drive through 3ft of it without blinking an eye. I think getting chains or some other snow device isn't a bad idea, but if this is the first time you've had issues in snow I would call it a freak storm and not sweat it too much.

This was my old 4Runner on 35s at the beginning/bottom of a trail. Fluffy snow you can plow through all day, if it's thick shit you'd have to drop air pressure a lot to climb on top otherwise it builds up and packs in and you're stopped regardless how much gear and how big of a lift or tires you have. I wouldn't count the Tundra out yet, lots of tricks you can pull and if everyone else is getting stuck I don't think it's a truck issue per se

 

there’s no way i could get chains on the front and my caster is as far forward as i can go. wait. is that my LT gateway?

seriously though, if it’s bad enough for me to need chains and i’m not off-road, i shouldn’t be driving around anyway.

 

I had no problems here in western wa with 9-10” of snow or breaking through snowplow berms (our snow was powder first then turned wet nasty). But, I did back into my driveway. Used only 4hi no problems. Just have a level lift on my DCLB and stock tires.

I have lots of experience driving various vehicles in the snow - especially north Idaho and Spokane. Chains on the rear of a 2wd vehicle will get you a lot of places. I bet the manual for the tundra says to keep it in 2wd with chains on the rear only to keep from damaging drivetrain.

This is the first time I’ve used my Tundra in any measurable amount of snow, and the first 4wd vehicle I have owned - so nice!

 

You don’t need a new truck. You need a snowblower.

 

Let me know, Sean, if you want me to help explain this required upgrade to Mrs.slaven.

 

I spend a lot of time driving in Cascade Concrete in NW Washington and find that I rarely have to chain, and then it's only been three times. Once when hauling a dead gen 3 4Runner off Umptanum Ridge in 6" of concrete, another in 10" of snow on the same ridge going up Baby Head Hill, and, sadly, the other just after sliding backwards down a trail and providing my future daughter in law with an excuse to order a new front bumper for her 4Runner from Demello. Chains go on the rear for sure when off-road if you're not doing all four, and there's no substitute for meaty commercial-grade link chains. With 3" lift on 35x12.5 BFG KO2s I don't have enough front clearance to put a set up there anyway, but haven't needed them. I'm fully armored underneath including the pumpkin and so have compromised a bit of clearance for keeping all of the vital fluids where they're supposed to be.

Airing down, if you know how and have the gear, most importantly a way of airing back up, makes a huge difference, but not as much of one as making smart decisions. Know what kind of snow you're dealing with and plan travel accordingly. Turning off traction control, stability control and A-Trac can help too, again if you know what you're doing, and several times I've had to pump the brakes to override the ABS to maintain steering control on slick descents.

Go out and play with your truck next time you have some snow to do it in to get a feel for how everything works, so next time you need to know what to do you'll already have it down.

 

If your thinking about getting chains, start with reading your owners manual. For the Gen 2 and assume it would be the same for Gen 3, the owner's manual says chains are only to be used on the back.

I got a set for the drive from OK to AK as a just in case we hit snow or ice on any mountains in Northern Canada. I have had to use them once since living up here and arguably I should have put new tires on that fall. I got stuck pulling my snowmobile trailer, put the chains on the rear, truck in 4Lo and was able to go forward or backwards where ever I wanted with the trailer still hitched.

 

OP I’ve lived in snow in California for like 15 years and I’ve gone through a few different 4x4’s. I would have to say that SUV’s do better in the snow. I’ve had a 92 k5 blazer on 33’s that went through anything that got on the roads and it had a posi locker in the rear differential. A 4Runner with 33’s that was just about as good with no locking differential and then eventually it had 38 inch tires and pretty much nothing stopped it. My tundra has 33’s and a 3 inch leveling kit and as far as clearance that’s all you would need for my elevation at 2400ft. I dropped the tire pressure to 40psi with Toyo At extremes and put 5 bags of tube sand in the bed that I take out during summer. As long as I have it in 4x4 and be careful I have all the clearance I need in 1 or more feet of snow. It will be put to the test this winter though because we moved and have a long steep driveway that will probably see 2 feet. Our driveway Im going to make sure to blow off before a storm and throw down some rock salt lol. Also with my lift and tire combo airing down more is always an option. With my 4Runner I’d air down to 8psi with no issues and didn’t have beadlocked rims either.

 

paging @Mountun Goat ..Tundra beast with the plow up front.