Tire Chains (Winters Other Pain!!)

Tire chains, two words that a truck driver hates to hear even worse than bad weather. Never the less around here in Maine in the winter months, it is a common term heard. Although they are a major pain, they are a good thing to have available and a must in the woods. At one time or another. There are going to be times when even studded drive tires won't cut it. This is when the gloves come out and the ice is beat off the chains that has accumulated on them from carrying them on the headboard or on the trailer.
Some use the single chain which works ok on level ground or when it isn't too awful slick. They are lightweight and very simple to put on ,but at times they might not be exactly the right choice. When the road has a heavy crown to it making it so the outside tires having the chains on them aren't touching, they can't get a good bite, because they don't have enough weight to grab the ground. I myself have had employers tell me that was all I needed ! Only to end up being unfamiliar with the truck road I was on. It was before daylight and I did not make it to the top of a hill, I couldn't stop or slowly back down the hill because singles cannot get the bite, and weighing 100,000 plus pounds. I was sliding back gaining speed at a rapid rate only to come to a stop halfway down , jackknifed and screwed in a snowbank or ditch(A common sight in the woods, trucking at one time or another). If your lucky, they have a skidder available, but there are times there aren't any. In that case icepick triple chains would have prevented the whole ordeal!
Ice triple chains seem to transform a helpless truck into an ice digging tank,making it almost unstoppable. In mountain conditions, in the woods they are your best friend. The down fall is they are a lot heavier than singles, but far more effective as far as traction. Control as far as braking and taking off is doubled easily on snow even glare ice. They can be a major pain,but I keep them on the trailer with singles. If I put on chains I generally pull out the triples. To save the hassle of not having, what you needed on in the first place and getting into a mess. Oh well, they are a pain, either kind. In the winter time, drivers will gripe about them,but you don't find many that totally refuse to use them or at least carry them.