In Canadian winter conditions it is inevitable that most truck drivers will have to put on tire chains at some point in their working career.
Here are some videos about how to put tire chains on tractor trailers.
This video was produced by Tire Chains R’ Us, an American tire chain retailer.
This video was done by an independent trucker who also does videos on a variety of topics related to the trucking industry. Unfortunately, the camera operator on this video misses quite a bit.
The video above mentions “triples” which go over both duals. Here is a video produced by the B.C. Ministry of Transportation about installing “triple” tire chains. Note that this video shows the truck being moved forward to access the inner tire chains hooks. In real winter roadside conditions a driver may not have that option.
The video above mentions “triple” chains. The following video does not show how to put chains on a tractor but it does show what “triples” look like. [Note: poor audio]
This video was produced by an American trucking company and shows the basic steps in putting on chains with cam locks.
This video from another American trucking company shows a different method of putting tire chains on a tractor: stretching out the chains behind the tire and then backing up over the chains. We don’t do it this way and we don’t know any truckers who do it this way. Frankly, in Canadian winter conditions, a driver may not have the option of backing up over their tire chains as shown in this video. We prefer, and recommend, the method shown in the videos above, which allows the chain to be put on the tire without moving the vehicle.
This is another video by an American truck driver. Although the video doesn’t show it, his method involved moving the truck forward before hooking up the chain on the inner side of the tire. When chaining up on the side of the road in winter conditions a driver may not have that option. Apart from that, the video has some useful tips.
This video shows tire chains being installed on a garbage truck. Unlike the first videos above, this video shows the vehicle being backed to get access to the hooks on the inner side of the tire. When chaining up on the side of the road in winter conditions a driver may not have that option. Apart from that, the video has some useful tips.