 Poster: A snowHead
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... and its very snowy, is it safe to leave the snowchains on or can they be pilfered easily (or does the weight of the car make it too much trouble for would-be thieves)?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Impossible to remove chains from a stationary car without jacking it up. Unlikely to happen for a set of 30 euro chains.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I agree. Leave them on. They are hard enough to remove when you do have control of the vehicle!
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sproggski, Seems a good idea, we had some real hassle getting the car out without chains a couple of weeks ago. Just make sure that you dont park it in an area marked 'arret minute tolere' as your car may get towed like Spikyhedgehogs car did 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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It didn't have chains on though.
I still maintain it was George's fault.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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sproggski, why would you want to leave chains on? In most places it's unlikely that you'll need them a week later?
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sproggski, I think you're staying in Le Saint Bernard? Parking for that building is much more limited than either Chantel or Roselend, so I'd recommend you try to get a space in the underground car park. Easier all round, providing the price isn't extortionate.
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Can someone enlighten me, can snow chains cause flat tyres just by being on the vehicle (not driving it though) when the snow melts? We have only left them on the vehicle for a whole week twice, once cos we were driving a lot, living up a track, and it was very snowy all week, and once cos we thought we would be driving it (and it was very snowy), then didn't. On the day before departure all the snow melted, and then we came out to discover a flat tyre the next morning (we were obviously going to remove the chains before driving it). Several cars in the row had the same problem, and one poor chap had two flats on both the chain wheels. Not what you need at 6am up a mountain in -8 degrees with a plane to catch.
We obviously wouldn't drive it in chains with no snow, but we hadn't realised that one night standing on them would do this.
Won't let it happen again!
D
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Deliaskis, no chains don't cause flats! I suspect that someone must have gone around puncturing the tyres. Nice guy 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Steilhang wrote: |
| Deliaskis, no chains don't cause flats! I suspect that someone must have gone around puncturing the tyres. Nice guy |
That's what I think as well. I've never heard of chains causing flat tyres if left on for a week.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Ah well, that's good to know (and kind of bad too, as you say, nice guy!), I did feel monumentally stupid asking as TBH I expected you all to say 'well durr... of course they do you clot', so still feel monumentally stupid, but not for leaving the chains on.
Just glad we weren't the ones with two flats!
D
PS [random aside] our boat trailer gets two flats when left to stand for 4 days with no chains! Glad my car doesn't. [/random aside]
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Not a problem in the alps. I've left them on the car for a week or so when parked at high elevation (top car park of mountain).
Just take the wheels off and store then in a safe place if parking in Liverpool though.
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You know it makes sense.
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Have never heard of chains making tires go flat and cannot imagine how it could happen. Have regularly left chains on when parking for a week - easier to remove the chains at the end, if not needed, compared to digging out the car to get chains on.
(PS: That said, don't try to drive a buried car out, hoping the chains will give you enough traction - you will almost certainly snap the chains.)
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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The biggest risks after leaving a car in freezing conditions for a week with snow chains on or not are still a knackered battery, frozen coolant (and possibly split engine block) or jammed handbrake. Worth being especially careful if you travel from warmer climes like Britain where maybe cars aren't prepared for such low temperatures.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I wouldn't leave them on for that sort of time and I don't like the idea of any pressure points on decent tyres. Also, the chains could be frozen so I'd bed the car in in parking space and deal with it when the time comes to move it. If I was going to use the car within that time, I would then think about leaving them on depending how the roads where.
Chains aren't that big a hassle
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hi rob@rar, no we are retailing it at Chantel 1. Didn't bother with the underground car park last year and seemed fine. But the car has quite low profile tyres and it struggled even getting up there last year. Unfortunately, wide wheels make the snowchains a fair bit more expensive than Ebay.
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make sure you shut all the windows before leaving the car You would not believe how much snow will fit in a Panda
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ski, ROTFLMAO
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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sproggski, leave em on they'll be fine. but pop out and run your engine once or twice during the week to keep it from icing up (at least that's what I do, dunno if it really helps but it makes me feel better) 
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sproggski, the final section of the road (from the main part of 1800 up to Chantel) is often much snowier because it doesn't get so much traffic and early in the season is often shady for much of the day. Most of my trips I hire a car from Geneva so the winter tyres make a huge difference in traction for that final part of the road - almost never have to put chains on.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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AxsMan, Wouldn't that just be likely to flatten the battery unless you run it for long enough for the altenator to recharge it?
I hadn't thought about taking chains off. When you put them on (depending on type) you can put them on a stationary car without moving it. I guess to take them off you must have to undo them and then drive the car off them and stop and collect them.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Megamum wrote: |
| I guess to take them off you must have to undo them and then drive the car off them and stop and collect them. |
Yes. I find it easier to take chains off than put them on, but it's still a pig of a job that I hate with a passion. Thank god for winter tyres reducing the number of times I have to use the cursed things.
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Megamum, Well I usually run it for about 15 mins, dunno if that's enough but it's never gone flat yet
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Deliaski. Chains don't cause tyres to go flat but xenophobic locals do. This wasn't in Chamonix a few years ago was it? There was a phase of tyre slashing. many brits I know avoided problems by putting "Ecosse" stickers in their back windows. it appears that Scots do not buy second homes nor beat France at sport (the two roots of the problem apparently)! Apparently, US citizens have also found travelling more pleasurable to display a Canadian flag somewhere prominent.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| 22 dropout wrote: |
| Deliaski. it appears that Scots do not buy second homes nor beat France at sport (the two roots of the problem apparently)! |
I think you'll find they do recently!
I would doubt its just that - theres a lot more history between France & England than a few games of footy!!
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I think you'll find they do recently!
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Touche. So that at least explains why they've stopped picking on the English more recently! 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Probably worth taking the chains off... I had chains nicked from my car a few years ago one snowy night from a car park in a very small village with a steep snowy road leading out of it...
Nice jack marks in the snow on either side. Neighbour was having a party that night...Never did track the b*stards down...
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| AxsMan wrote: |
| Megamum, Well I usually run it for about 15 mins, dunno if that's enough but it's never gone flat yet |
For only one week, it's not neccesary to run them. And yes, Megamum's warning is important. You need to actually push the gas pedal down a bit to make the battery charge. Idling doesn't, however long. I think your 're-starting routine' didn't get you into trouble because you didn't start too many times!
I lived in California and skiing in Tahoe for a couple years, I can sympathise with you Brit's driving your warm weather car to the Alps. Aside from non-winter tires, garage in San Francisco would put in the car motor oil that are optimize for 100F summer driving, which has thicker consistancy and make the car harder to start and warm up. Windshield washer would freeze because there's no anti-freeze mixed in, a standard practice in snow country. Those were the difference I found. So, when I had oil changes, I asked specifically a particular grade of motor oils. And each Decembre, I also had to go 'hunting' for winterized windshield washer fluid, which wasn't always available in a warm area! Tyres? That's what chains are for, PITA it may be. 
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Sun 13-01-08 5:36; edited 1 time in total
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| HellesAngel wrote: |
| The biggest risks after leaving a car in freezing conditions for a week with snow chains on or not are still a knackered battery, frozen coolant (and possibly split engine block) or jammed handbrake. Worth being especially careful if you travel from warmer climes like Britain where maybe cars aren't prepared for such low temperatures. |
That's true. Last year I had a hire car in Canada that failed with electrical problems that I imagine were due to the intense cold (I'd lazily parked the car outside our front door instead of in the underground car park). I didn't discover the problem until my son broke his arm and I tried to take him into hospital. We ultimately needed a replacement car, and, if we hadn't discovered the problem until the morning we were due to leave, we'd have had horrific problems with flights, etc.
If you're parking your car outside, I'd strongly recommend starting it every few days and taking it for a 10-15 minute drive to make sure that nothing's gone seriously wrong with it.
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You know it makes sense.
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