The first tire chain patent was issued in 1904 to Harold D. Weed and his invention required a little more work then we are used to.  The tire was partially deflated and the chain was then placed and hooked around the tire and then the tire was re inflated.  The chained tires were to be used in mud but where quickly found to work very well on ice and in snow.
 
There are many reasons to chain and for us it is often a matter of safety or getting out of a bad spot.  We just recently were in a bad ice storm in Fort Worth, TX.  A very slight hill was causing severe problems for trucks and we waited patiently as the drivers paid a fee to be pulled up one incline to get stuck at the next incline.  We saw one driver get out and chain his drives and up the hill he went.  When it was our turn we also went up the hill no problem by deploying our chains.  Who would guess chains would save the day and us money in Fort Worth, TX?
 
Once as a rookie I came off of the interstate after running for several hundred miles and as I pulled into a truck stop and the parking area was covered with ice.  I stopped, set the breaks, and took a short nap.  The warm tires melted through the ice and we were stuck.  In order to get out of the ruts the warm tires caused, we had to get out the chains to give our tires something to grip.  The chains enabled us to get unstuck and continue on to our pickup.
 
After many years of manually chaining we finally have Onspot Automatic Chains and now we chain even more!  When we pull onto a customer’s property and it is an icy sheet we deploy the chains, when we pull into a rest area that has not been plowed we deploy our chains and we have traction.  With the chains deployed we have the traction needed to keep from sliding off of the beaten path or possible into a solid object not meant to be slid into.
 


There are times when chains make our life easier and we can continue on in a safe manner to our destination and there are times when our deployed chains let us maneuver to a safe parking spot.  Each storm and situation is different and we have our chains as one of our tools to make an informed decision.  Do we chain or not chain? We give a resounding YES we chain....
 

Comments (10)

Linda Caffee

Bob and Linda started their driver careers after their children left home for college in 2000. Bob started as a driver for a large motor carrier with Linda as a rider. They decided to enter the Expedite industry as team drivers in 2005 and purchased their first Freightliner. Both, Bob and Linda have had their Class A licenses since the early 80's starting out driving in the oil field and hauling grain as fill in drivers where Bob worked as a diesel mechanic. Linda worked at the local country courthouse in data processing.

Read These Next...

LIVE Smart

Will we skip fall?

September 04, 2014

TRUCK Smart

Wind

April 02, 2017

TRUCK Smart

Adverse Weather Extension

December 15, 2016

 
 

That is going to take all the fun out of it.

April 01, 2016 19:03:13 PM

Here is a link to the web site and how to contact Onspot

http://onspot.com

September 07, 2014 7:30:11 AM

where do you get these chains?

September 06, 2014 18:58:31 PM

Molly was amazed at the engineering that went into something of this nature and was surprised more people don't go this route. She loves the fact that this would mean not having to lug heavy sets of iron on and off the tires!

December 23, 2013 22:02:07 PM

Michael - I believe that the driver of this truck will find the Onspots to be a great benefit and a useful tool. They sure give us peace of mind when we arrive at a customer that has a solid sheet of ice for a dock area. Keep us posted on how these work our for you.

December 15, 2013 12:57:02 PM

Gully ordered its first OnSpot Automatic chain sets to put on a new FLD glider that has been built for its tank operation. For the tank gliders Gully is using pusher air lift dead axle. The thought of the On Spot to assist getting in and out of customer locations to prevent spin out with the single drive pusher. On its tanks Gully is going to air lift dead axle on both tractors and trailers since the tanks are dedicated and return empty. Gully currently has one air lift tag and one air lift pusher on a dedicated van operation that runs empty back as well. There is a fuel economy to running the dead axle lifted instead of rolling on the ground.

December 15, 2013 12:34:40 PM

Yes that is the one rookie mistake everyone who runs the snow belt has experianced.

December 15, 2013 10:51:45 AM

Great blog. I appreciate the pictures so I can figure out what they're like.

December 13, 2013 17:45:40 PM

Believe me you only will make that mistake once and I me telling other drivers will help them not to make it.

December 13, 2013 5:13:51 AM

I caught myself laughing at the rookie mistake-probably every trucker has made. What a cool invention.

December 13, 2013 4:51:38 AM