Tire chains

[Old n Bold]

I have to head to Eastern Wa for Thanksgiving with our son and his family. I have the OEM tires (which I have found are good enough to keep until they show wear). Given the pretty mile winters we have had of late, I am reluctant to buy a set of winter tires and take a mpg hit for the winter, when I probably only need them on rare occasions. The manual says that chains can be used. Does anyone have any experience with them?

I see 3 alternatives for heading over the pass.
#1 Go ahead and take I-90 and suffer the delay on the other side with the slide problem. Buy a set of chains and throw them in. I-90 is now reported to be bare and dry (which could change on little or no notice).

#2 Give up on the thing and head to Portland then take I84 up the Columbia Gorge to Kenniwick (our destination). Longer but no wait and probably clear this time of year.

#3 Give up and take our 2 wd F150 over. It already has chains. and take it on either #1 or #2.

Ideas?

I would take the Portland route myself, but I'm in Tacoma so it's closer to me. It is suppposed to be dry for the next week or so, so I don't think you will have a snow problem over I-90. I would be concerned about the backup at the slide area. The news reports say it will be really bad around the T-day holiday if there is still only one lane each way.
Go ahead and buy the chains from one of the places that you can get a refund from if they are not used. Unless you want to keep them.
I am curious to find out how the Prius handles in light snow and ice. I commute from Tacoma to Issaquah every weekday. Some winters have been adventuresome with the icy roads. I just got my Prius this summer so I have no winter driving expierience yet.
Good luck!

[Old n Bold]

Checked the mileage difference on I-90 versus going south to Portland and up the river. The difference is a little over 2 hrs and about 150 mi. Hmmmm. Also, the tv news just said to expect lineups going over the pass to be up to 16 hrs over the holiday week. Double hmmmm. Looks like the river route. Think I will check on chains in any event.

Thank for your response. If I use the chains (ever) I will report my impressions on here.

[tumbleweed]

Be sure to check the pass report, sometimes you can get over White Pass this time of year without chains. It's better than gong clear to Portland and up the gorge.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/

Just checked, White Pass is clear, no restrictions.

[Old n Bold]

Thanks. White Pass is a good option. I'll check that before leaving.

KOMO just reported that the wait over Snoqualami will be up to 16 hrs this and Thanksgiving weekend! A couple of years ago we were coming back from Kennewick on the weekend after Thanksgiving and a snow storm hit the pass. The traffic came to a halt. It took us 6 hrs from Cle Elum to North Bend! That year we had an AWD SUV. Don't expect a similar situation this year but the rock slides have really stressed the area.

The route via Portland is 150 miles further than the shortest route over I-90. That's not bad and we won't be in a hurry anyway.

I was just curious if anyone had any experience with chains on a Prius. The manual says they are okay. And even with winter tires and 4wd, they can and sometimes do, require chains on the pass. If we had none, that would require us to turn around.

Also, reading a recent article on winter tires in Consumers Report, they indicated that the down side is that they aren't very good on braking and handling on dry or wet roads but shine on snow and ice. Since we very seldom have had any snow or ice around here, I planned on breaking out our pickup (or stay home and watch tv) if we get a bad snow storm.

[jchu]

I have travelled from Boise to Seattle a bunch in the last year going through both the Blues/Cabbage Hill and Snoqualmie. Cannot comment specifically on OEM tires through Snoqualmie but cannot say that I have had any problems with our Prius despite having the No VSC model (my oversight when we bought).

As far as the slide at mile marker 58 goes, I was through that area on 11/9, returning through there on 11/15 and encountered no significant traffic let alone delays. Obviously that may be different on T-day. The specfic WSDOT link for Snoqualmie up to the minute data and weather report is:

Snoqualmie Pass

Good luck and Good driving

[hdrygas]

Boy lots of folks in snowy areas recommend snow tires. If you take the Prius I would take chains or head south to the gorge. The climb to White pass is worse than Snoqualmie and with more curves. It is your best route but you need to be prepared for the worse. Take care drive safe. Happy Thanksgiving!

[DaveinOlyWA]

it will be a holiday and ALL routes that take you over will be packed, leave EARLY. also, i much prefer the Gorge route. much nicer drive. its long, but look at the gas used to go over Snoqualmie in an F 150 verses the long way in your Prius, i do believe you will still save a ton in a Prius. and with the slide, the drive times may very well be the same

[jrfaris]

Originally posted by Old n Bold@Nov 18 2005, 04:15 PM
I was just curious if anyone had any experience with chains on a Prius. The manual says they are okay. And even with winter tires and 4wd, they can and sometimes do, require chains on the pass. If we had none, that would require us to turn around.

[snapback]157836[/snapback]

When we purchased our Prius, the dealer made a point of getting an agreement that we not use chains. I believe that cable chains were acceptable (which I have from a previous vehicle) but that anything like true chains were not. I understood it is a clearance problem. We have not had to use chains yet on our trips up to Lake Tahoe but I've carried the cable chains a couple of times just in case. I would say it is much easier to have them if you need them than to be stuck and have to backtrack or wait it out. From other posts, the OEM tires do not do well in slippery conditions so it is best to be prepared. We used to live in Seattle and have experienced what snow and ice does to traffic there so if you want to stay mobile, it may be a good idea to invest in something for future use...

[DaveinOlyWA]

around here you dont have a choice, you will not be allowed to pass if you dont have chains and yes they do have people there to make sure you have them