Snow Traction on 21 GMC Yukon

[Bob Berkey]

I live in Oregon and need chains (or an alternative) when driving in certain areas. Reading the manual it looks like chains are prohibited on the Yukon. I'm looking into Auto Socks. Anyone have any recommendations on chains/cables or alternatives? Anyone have experience with Auto Socks?

 

[wsteele]

I have not owned a set of chains, or any other traction aid for over 30 years. We had a cabin in Lake Tahoe and traversed Donner, Echo and Kit Carson pass many times each season, many of those times in blinding snow storms.

During those years we owned either a 4WD Suburban or Yukon, always shod with appropriate tires and never couldn’t get through.

I will take your word for it that you need chains, but honestly, in either of those two vehicles cited, anywhere I would need chains on top of 4WD with the correct tires, I probably am not going.

 

[adventurenali92]

I have not owned a set of chains, or any other traction aid for over 30 years. We had a cabin in Lake Tahoe and traversed Donner, Echo and Kit Carson pass many times each season, many of those times in blinding snow storms.

During those years we owned either a 4WD Suburban or Yukon, always shod with appropriate tires and never couldn’t get through.

I will take your word for it that you need chains, but honestly, in either of those two vehicles cited, anywhere I would need chains on top of 4WD with the correct tires, I probably am not going.

It is state law in Oregon as well as California that it’s required to carry tire chains in the vehicle during the winter months while traveling in the mountains and snow areas. While I agree that the right tires and 4WD on these rigs will get you just about anywhere….. still chains are necessary to have in the vehicle. I personally don’t follow those rules. Lol. At least not with my Yukon. The chains I had for my previous vehicle don’t fit the tires on my Denali. On the rare occasion they ask if they’re win the vehicle I always just say oh yeah they’re in the back….

To the OP… I don’t remember which brand of trie cables I bought way back when, but they were a somewhat in expensive option compared to chains. Most auto parts stores carry them. Just buy yourself the right size for your tires and throw them in the back. And don’t ever worry about opening them. Lol. But a good set of mud and snow rated tires would be a good idea especially if you’re rolling on the factory Bridgestone duelers. Those are garbage!

 

[wsteele]

It is state law in Oregon as well as California that it’s required to carry tire chains in the vehicle during the winter months while traveling in the mountains and snow areas. While I agree that the right tires and 4WD on these rigs will get you just about anywhere….. still chains are necessary to have in the vehicle. I personally don’t follow those rules. Lol. At least not with my Yukon. The chains I had for my previous vehicle don’t fit the tires on my Denali. On the rare occasion they ask if they’re win the vehicle I always just say oh yeah they’re in the back….

To the OP… I don’t remember which brand of trie cables I bought way back when, but they were a somewhat in expensive option compared to chains. Most auto parts stores carry them. Just buy yourself the right size for your tires and throw them in the back. And don’t ever worry about opening them. Lol. But a good set of mud and snow rated tires would be a good idea especially if you’re rolling on the factory Bridgestone duelers. Those are garbage!

Is that a recent law in CA? I ask because I never had a chain control person ask to see my chains in my 30 years or so driving over those summits, which is good as from the time I got our first suburban, I never had them in the truck. They would glance down at the tires and waive me through, countless times, literally. I had heard of road conditions where chains on 4WD vehicles were required, but I never had them stop me for not having chained up. If they were passing anyone, we always got passed through and traction was never a problem for the Suburban or Yukon in 4WD.

 

[NYisles1]

Looks like the Oregon law allows tires with the Mountain/Snowflake emblem to be used instead of chains. Lots of good tire choices with those ratings now. I drove Cooper Discover At3 4s year round for over 100k miles (2 sets) on my '16 Suburban - great in the snow (but East coast snow). I'm sure chains would offer better traction but if you're simply thinking about compliance with the Oregon law tires like that look like they work.

Oregon chain law

 

[Steebu]

As a fellow Oregonian I was originally surprised a bit by the law when I first moved there, but after talking to folks at the ski resorts and stuff the law is really there as a reminder to the weekend numbskulls who are like, “Hey honey, let’s load up the kids in the Honda Odyssey with four nearly bald all-season tires and head to Mount Hood! Don’t worry, I’ll drive slowly!”

As noted, you really just need to carry chains (e.g., have them in your car) or have traction tires with the snowflake emblem. The only exception is if the roads are exceptionally bad - I think Oregon DoT calls them “conditional road closures” and you may be required to chain up no matter what.

 

[JohnnyFamous]

I think this is meant to be an option, Snow tires first and if not you need to carry chains. This is typical for many Canadian highways, most though dropped the chains and just made snow tires mandatory at certain times of the year.

 

[Bob Berkey]

Thank you all for the replies. I moved out here from upstate NY about 5 years ago and ended up buying a set cables to throw in the back of my previous SUV to be compliant. I figured if I'm going to spend the money and buy something for our new Yukon to remain compliant ideally it would be something that will function well if I end up needing them. I don't want to spend too much given I likely won't ever put them on.

It looks like the all-seasons that came from the factory are the Continental CrossContact LX20 with EcoPlus technology. I don't see a snowflake anywhere on them unfortunately. Anyone have experience with these in snow? They seem to get mixed reviews online.

Given the GMC manual recommends against chains, I'll likely stick with a set of cables or this Auto Sock just to be compliant.

 

[adventurenali92]

I think this is meant to be an option, Snow tires first and if not you need to carry chains. This is typical for many Canadian highways, most though dropped the chains and just made snow tires mandatory at certain times of the year.

Nope it isn’t optional. It is actually law here in California that tire chains are to be carried even in 4WD vehicles. Not sure about Oregon but I think it’s the same.

 

[adventurenali92]

Is that a recent law in CA? I ask because I never had a chain control person ask to see my chains in my 30 years or so driving over those summits, which is good as from the time I got our first suburban, I never had them in the truck. They would glance down at the tires and waive me through, countless times, literally. I had heard of road conditions where chains on 4WD vehicles were required, but I never had them stop me for not having chained up. If they were passing anyone, we always got passed through and traction was never a problem for the Suburban or Yukon in 4WD.

Yeah I believe it went into effect in 2016 her win California. I’ve never read any issues with my 4WD vehicles or my AWD Denali either. There have been a handful of times in the last few years where we got enough snow here in big bear where they wanted everyone chained up regardless of drivetrain. I never did and didn’t have issues but I made sure to steer clear of any sheriffs deputies or CHP officers so as to not get pulled over and told to chain up. Lol.

 

[R32driver]

It looks like the all-seasons that came from the factory are the Continental CrossContact LX20 with EcoPlus technology. I don't see a snowflake anywhere on them unfortunately. Anyone have experience with these in snow? They seem to get mixed reviews online.

Those tires came on our '21 as well and I could not get rid of them fast enough. Based on their terrible characteristics driving in rain (our yukon would get tossed all over the place going through any amount of standing water on the road) I would be really concerned about these in the snow. Funny thing is reviews online actually rate them quite well for wet traction but that was not the case for us.

Replaced them at 6K miles with Nitto Ridge Grapplers and could not be happier. First day we had them we encountered heavy rains on the highway and the yukon ripped through standing water like it was not even there. Completely different experience than the crosscontacts. Now we've had snow and ice on the roads for a week and these tires refuse to break loose unless you really try. I've been overly impressed with their performance so far. Online reviews will tell you these tires are not great in rain or snow but it seems you can find positive and negative reviews about anything these days so I don't buy into all the online hype.

 

[wsteele]

Yeah I believe it went into effect in 2016 her win California. I’ve never read any issues with my 4WD vehicles or my AWD Denali either. There have been a handful of times in the last few years where we got enough snow here in big bear where they wanted everyone chained up regardless of drivetrain. I never did and didn’t have issues but I made sure to steer clear of any sheriffs deputies or CHP officers so as to not get pulled over and told to chain up. Lol.

Definitely after we left, but it does sound like CA.

In my time driving the Sierra passes (probably 90% Donner), there were basically three road conditions. Open no controls, Chains required (excepting light duty 4WD cars and trucks with at least M+S tires) or Road Closed. I knew they had more possible "conditions status" than that, such as when you had 4WD but chains required, but I never saw it. If conditions were bad enough that 4WD with at least M+S tires were not being allowed to pass, they closed the road. I think that experience might have been driven as much by CalTrans policy with major interstates as when things got bad up there major multi-semi pile ups could happen quickly.

I remember a few times coming from the Bay Area up Hwy 80, with the highway closed just past Auburn (normally where they setup chain control during winter storms). We took Hwy 49 up through Grass Valley, through Sierra City and onto to Highway 89, Highway 89 down to Tahoe. Highway 80 might be closed for a day or more, but 49 to 89 always seemed open to 4WD with M+S tires.

 

[wsteele]

Thank you all for the replies. I moved out here from upstate NY about 5 years ago and ended up buying a set cables to throw in the back of my previous SUV to be compliant. I figured if I'm going to spend the money and buy something for our new Yukon to remain compliant ideally it would be something that will function well if I end up needing them. I don't want to spend too much given I likely won't ever put them on.

It looks like the all-seasons that came from the factory are the Continental CrossContact LX20 with EcoPlus technology. I don't see a snowflake anywhere on them unfortunately. Anyone have experience with these in snow? They seem to get mixed reviews online.

Given the GMC manual recommends against chains, I'll likely stick with a set of cables or this Auto Sock just to be compliant.

If you do decide to upgrade to twin peak (severe snow service) rated tires, I would tell you to look into a tire that has the severe snow service symbol but also is an all season/touring category, versus most of the tires with that rating with serious A/T type tread patterns.

I have Goodyear Duratracs on my Sierra AT4 and while they have a very aggressive tread pattern and are solid as a rock on snow and ice, they are pretty loud for normal highway driving. Something with a more subdued tread pattern (but lots of siping), will give you more of an all season road noise level, but will work great on the really slippery stuff.

 

[Stbentoak]

There is kinda no 1 way around this to be totally effective.
Not the easiest, but the most effective solution is Blizzaks on winter rims (excellent in ALL winter conditions including quiet on smooth dry roads) and Michelin Defenders in all other seasons. You won’t be lacking in any on road situation with that combo…..

 

[GreenTahoe2004]

I have not owned a set of chains, or any other traction aid for over 30 years. We had a cabin in Lake Tahoe and traversed Donner, Echo and Kit Carson pass many times each season, many of those times in blinding snow storms.

During those years we owned either a 4WD Suburban or Yukon, always shod with appropriate tires and never couldn’t get through.

I will take your word for it that you need chains, but honestly, in either of those two vehicles cited, anywhere I would need chains on top of 4WD with the correct tires, I probably am not going.

In certain regions out West (ironically near Lake TAHOE is one of them) , the vehicle operator is supposed to have chains in chain control area. For California , the CALTRANS QuickMap is a good resource for finding out if a road is in a chain control area

According tomCALTRANS:
Four wheel/all wheel drive vehicles must carry traction devices in chain control areas).