I’m a little confused about what the regulations require for tire chains on a 4x4.
Utah Snow Tire and Chain Requirements.
Does this mean that I only need one set of chains for my 4x4 Toyota 4Runner?
I seem to recall that my buddy who has a condo in Mammoth said that he was required to carry chains for all 4 tires. He also has a 4 wheel drive 4Runner, but it’s over 20 years newer and brutishly larger and more powerful, not that makes any difference. It also pisses me off that he gets better gas mileage!
Well, it says “mounted snow tires,” not “chains.” So I’d say there is no exception for 4WD without snow tires. However, the law does not specify which or how many tires to chain, and more informative states only require one pair. California, for example, requires two on 4WD, but strongly recommends all four (which means your buddy in Mammoth was wrong, unless Mammoth has its own regs on the matter).
Chaining up all four on a 4x4 is usually something you do for backcountry roads with zero winter maintenance. I doubt they make you do it for a public highway.
Also, often the state definition of traction/winter/snow tire aren’t always in line with the tire industry’s. In this statute, it says “snow tire” but also M/S which would include most all season AT truck tires. Unless you’ve installed some weirdo highway tread tires, I’d bet that the tires on your 4Runners exempt you from the chain requirement, at least as the law is written. It could just be a poorly written statute though.
Also, speaking of which, it would seem that so long as you have steel-link chains instead of elastic-link ones, you needn’t actually put them on your wheels. You can just carry them in the vehicle as a talisman against the poor road conditions, apparently!
Thanks, chances are there won’rt be any snow, and I’m not planning on doing any gnarley offroading. I’ll bring the one set of chains I have as “insurance” against the actual need to use them!