Pewag Chains
Like a good first aid kit or a winch, we hope we never need chains, but we know better. In snow, packed ice or mud, chains are often mandatory, even with our aggressive Michelin XZL tires. From experience, we know that chains on the rear wheels are often enough to move forward, but in very icy conditions, we also need to steer. Pewag nickel manganese square link mud and snow chains are the strongest in the world. Their history of forging goes back to 1479 and in 1912, they produced the first snow chain wordwide.
The ladder style of our chains is a tested true design. While most people think a set of chains is just something you buy in a bag at the gas station when the chain controls go up, in fact, there are hundreds of options. Our big 40.7-inch XZLs needed a non-standard size. The Pewag assembly plant in Rockland, California can make custom chains for any application. After taking careful measurements, Mike Marks custom built chains specifically for our needs. In the unlikely possibility that a chain should break, we also carry repair links and a compact pair of chain repair pliers. Back home, we did a test fit of both front and rear sets of chains, better done in the warmth of our garage than on the side of the road in a blizzard.
Learning that your chains don’t fit on the side of the road in a blizzard is not the best time. Always pre-fit at home before you need them.
Pewag chains come in dozens of styles and sizes from the factory in Austria. At the Pewag facility in Rockland, California they are cut and assembled for each application.
Mike Marks used a special hydraulic ram to cut chain links to the desired length.
A hydraulic press makes closing the cross chain hooks much easier than using chain repair pliers.
Our slightly lighter front wheel drive chains (5.6 mm compared to the 7mm rears) were pre-fit in the warmth of our garage.
Pewag’s new Multi-Arm chain tighteners are an easy way to keep chains snug on the tire.
We carry a compact pair of chain repair pliers and a few repair links just in case the unlikely happens.
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