First time ski drive to France

A snowHead

Newbie to this site. Impressed by the forum, its what I hoped I would have found on the SCGB site. Anyhow. Should I buy snow chains here in UK or in a garage/hypermarket on my way through France? Or hire in the UK? Any informed opinion gratefully received.

A snowHead

sprogski, welcome, buy in France, any hypermarket near to the Alps will have a selection, try Geant in Albertville.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I just bought some brand new chains on EBay. Has cost me £21 including P&P. One thing to make sure of is that you get the correct size of chains for your tyre size.

I was keen to buy in this country so I could practice putting them on. Hopefully, that will cut down on aggrevation should the conditions be bad enough to need chains.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

sproggski, welcome to snowHeads

The answer to your question depends on a number of things - m00958 is right, get chains for your size of tyre. So if you want to buy, how long do you expect to keep your current tyre size? Some sizes are difficult to find (eg Sharan 1.9 TDI) so David@traxvax may be right in a general sense but you could be caught out if you have an unusual size.

You could try posting in Buy and Sell to see if someone (eg me) has surplus chains in your size wink

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

sproggski, you say you've checked the SCGB site? There're currently 3 ads for snowchains for sale there in the Marketplace (although they're asking a bit more than m00958 got his for - no idea whether the prices they are asking are good or not). They have been up there for a while though, so may have gone already....or alternatively the sellers may be amenable to haggling.

fsa

I would definitely get them in the UK. You can practice putting them on before you go (the last thing you need is to be deciphering the instuction leaflet in the middle of the night, in howling gale).

You can also spend some time chosing the type of chains you want (cheap or expensive) and ensure you have the correct size.

Whether you buy or rent depends on how often you think you will drive to the Alps in that car and how long you expect to keep the car.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I certainly have used them, on a trip when others went off the road, and the police started checking each car. Also when it would have been very foolish not to. Bought them at a French garage (though I understand fsa's case) en-route to the Alps. Two of us made sure we were well practiced at putting them on, before we drove away from the side of the forecourt. Didn't need them that trip. Needed them big time the next time we took the car.

After all it is free

With the current exchange rate, are they still significantly cheaper in France? If they are, and you don't have an unusual wheel size, then why not buy in France - it's really not that complicated to put a set of chains on. Make sure you take a torch and spare batteries (one of those hands-free ones you put on your head is ideal) and a pair of old gloves (they can get pretty dirty/oily). And that chains/accessories are not buried under all your luggage!

Whether you'll need them or not depends a little where you're going - high, or low. And when... from mid-March on it's considerably less likely.

guys, what is an unusual tyre size?

obviously nova boy racers need not answer the questions

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

I had to order mine - there were none available locally - for the long version of the Renault Espace (bigger tyres than the standard Espace). Wouldn't have thought there would be any problem for most saloons, just for some people carriers and 4 x 4s.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

sproggski,
What is your car? Our Skoda Octavia would only take Spikes Spider due to low wheelarch clearance, so we rented from a UK company - about £30 for the week. You won't buy those on the radside, and fitting chains would have mashed our wheelarch liners. It pays to research what will fit before you set off.

Has anyone any experience of the tyre "sock" advertised in the ski mags? It looks rather counterintuitive covering the treads to increase grip Puzzled

snow reports

Cheeky suggestion: buy the correct chains for your car in Halfords (pre order if necessary to get ones that fit). Leave them sealed in the box and return them for a full refund if (as is quite likely) you don't use them.

Hire in the UK - see www.snowchains.co.uk. They will mail to you, but it's cheaper to collect from their warehouse which is less than 10 minutes drive from the motorway junction of M20/M26 in Kent, in Borough Green. So if you are driving to Folkstone/Dover, can easily pick up and drop off en route.

Unless you know you are going to have the same car and use the chains for several years, I'd advise renting. (I've got a previous set of chains which I bought but only used once as no two cars seem to require the same chain size).

For peace of mind, don't count on buying in the Alps - hypermarkets may be out of stock of the size you want - when it snows heavily, it may be like trying to buy a fan in a heatwave in this country. And I've heard a number of stories of people being charged vast amounts by small garages who know you've got no option to pay whatever price they name

You know it makes sense.

Julian T, I don't agree. If you pass any large town in France you'll find retail centres which have hypermarkets and tyre places. There's also the French version on Halfords Feu Vert which is very good. It is a good idea to stop somewhere near the alps though - clearly you'd have less luck in Reims than in Albertville. Most things are considerably cheaper in France - rip off Britain is alive and well.

Fitting chains shouldn't really be a problem. I've never even had them - still don't, but then I just don't use the car if it's snowing!!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

I bought my chains in france, they even stock them in the hypermarkets in Calais and I've never paid more than £30 for a set. They are a proper diamond pattern with ice grips on the links and self tensioning which are normally easy to fit.

Always a good idea to do a practice fit on dry ground before you get to the alps because:

-Trying to do it in the dark with cold, wet hands first time is not always easy
-You look less of a d**k if you know what you are doing
-You'll spend less time in the layby and more time looking at others having arguements about which is the left and right one Laughing

It's definately a good idea to have an old pair of gloves to hand, especially for getting them off and something to kneel down on.

Cheers,

David

A snowHead

I'm off to Mottaret at the end of March. What are the chances of my needing chains, or is it just a matter of being willing to take a risk and not get chains? And is there a legal requirement to carry them?

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

AdrianV, : (i) Unlikely to need them, but it's still a possibility. (ii) I don't think it's a legal requirement to carry them, but if road conditions are bad the gendarmes can stop you from travelling if you haven't got them on, to avoid you getting stuck and fouling up the traffic for everyone else.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Julian T, thanks for that. I will start to hunt around for a bargain based on the advice given in he thread then! When we were in Mottaret the week leading up to Easter 2004 we had a couple of hefty dumps of snow, and although the roads were cleared fairly efficiently I wouldn't want to be prevented from getting into the resort at the beginning of this years ski break (I don't mind being stuck up there once I'm in - I'm sure I could find something to do!)

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Piece of mind is the name of the game. For the newbie, blow the expense, I would buy here, and practice putting them before I departed. There is is nothing worse than faffing around in the wet and the cold trying to put the goddamned things on the wheels of the car with the instructions in one hand and frostbitten fingers on the other.

As for driving to the Alps, for me it is the preferred method of travel - sling everything in the car and off you go -no more check-ins at 4.00am, horrific delays, and endless transfers.

You'll need to Register first of course.

A company called "Roofbox" sell them by mail order in UK. I had three sets from them for different cars in the past. The last one for a 7 seater Shogun cost £99 and is a proper robust set.

Roofbox has a complete catalogue of chain relating the the tyre size. That is the most accurate way of determining the size of a chain. If the chain comes loose it can do a hell of damage to the car so do choose a correct chain.

My advise for driving to Alpes is have a good set of tyres with plenty of tread. If it is possible get a set of tyres biased to snow surface with zig zag micro gooves which trap snow to increase traction. Remember it is an average of some 2000 to 2500 miles trip and have the tyre condition evaluated at the end of the trip, not before you set off.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

So I listened and I read. Thanks to you all. Despite a few pages of items, the only Ebay chains that seem to fit cannot be auctioned in time for me to get them before I go next Thursday (I know I left it a bit late!). Debated whether to try Skinutter's hypermarket solution but matey from Cooks Motor spares came up trumps! £30 plus £8 postage. Phoned 3pm yesterday and they arrived 8.45 this morning Cool

They probably aren't up to RUd and Weissenfels standards but they seem competent and, anyway, I desperately hope not to need them.

Now all I have to do is survive 5 more days at work and a day in the car with my kids before a week of bliss in French France.

After all it is free

sproggski, I have used Cooks Motor spares on ebay before as well...........brilliant service, and can supply anything (almost)!! If you need anything from roof bars, cycle carriers to storage boxes search for them on ebay and if they don't have exactly what you want, drop them an e-mail.

sproggski, Another thing to consider, if you have fitted wider wheels to your car, is to check the clearance between the inside of the tyre and the suspension strut and wheelarch on full lock. You may find there isn't enough to use chains without them chafing. I wouldn't use chains on a 206 with the 205/45/x16 wheel option for instance.

Help!!

First time ski drive to France

snowHeads Forum Index >>> The Piste