MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Was wondering....
Given a large number of folks on here (location dependent), fit winter tyres at this time of year, I wondered whether the emergency services did the same thing?
Yup, plus tow ropes, shovels and things are kitted out. We also have the inbuilt snow chains reattached.
We also have the inbuilt snow chains reattached
what are they?
Drac do NAS still have those 4x4 Rams?
what are they?
They drop down from in front of the rear wheels, they hang from a bar rather clever and from what I gather they work well.
Drac do NAS still have those 4x4 Rams?
Nope, there is a few Discoverys in out lying stations and HART have Issuzus but that's about it 4x4 wise.
smart.
*ponders modding the landy...*
Fire engines (my brother in law used to drive them) have snow chains fitted. Nothing more.
Not sure how confident I'd be driving a RWD truck full of water on slippery roads.
I imagine that they have the necessary kit (shovels, sand, winches etc) all year round.
[i]Not sure how confident I'd be driving a RWD truck full of water on slippery roads. [/i]
If this is the case can I ask that for the safety of others that you don't try it in your little car either 🙂
*ponders modding the landy...*
You should ponder selling it if you need to use snow chains on it. 😀
I'm trying to remember the name of them to show you a pic.
Bit like these.
We have chains onboard the fire engine but ive never needed to fit them rear double axle and the weight of the water seems to help it stick to the road
At least on police force I know of runs winter tyres on most of its cars. Snow socks are carried by some Ambos
never seen anything like those chains before. Inspired.
We get our tyres from the local tyre place because we're a long way from HQ, so I just got 4 winter tyres for our unmarked car. Waiting to see if I get told off but I shall simply shrug my shoulders and sorry as always. I don't think we have any other special equipment in it, although there is probably some chocolate buttons and the like in the door pockets. Someone got the marked Defender stuck in mud this week. Yes, you read that right. A Defender. Stuck. In mud. That is special.
Clever aren't they. Some staff say they're great others aren't impressed, I've only been stuck once and that was on solid ice with no chains. We were only stuck for about 30 minutes then got going again, was bit hairy as the 30' drop I ended up being a few feet from might have made a mess of the ambulance.
never seen anything like those chains before. Inspired.
So's the Bear Mountain 'instructional' video on how to fit snow chains if you are wearing a skimpy bikini that links at the end of the video Drac posted! 😀
Down in the south west our ambulance cars run winter tyres all year round. On every vehicle we just carry snow socks and some tubes of grit at this time of year. When it actually snows we just hire 4x4 vehicles.
As for me getting to work in the snow this winter, I'm hoping my fatty will come to the rescue
"You should ponder selling it if you need to use snow chains on it"
Snow chains grip on ice(of the just rained then frozen kind) where rubber just doesnt.
Ive had occasion to use chains on a 4x4 in the past - defenders are far from unstoppable. a good driver can make them go well but they are still technically only 2 wheel drive - its just 1 wheel on each axle that will turn - the wheel without the grip normally - bit of jiggery pokery with the left foot and your brake can get you some traction at times.
MTQG has mil surplus spikes on his land rover.
See those snow chain things Drac, the ambulance folk up here reckon they're shite
Depends who you talk to greatape, some staff say they worked well others say they didn't. They only meant as a rescue aid not a permanent feature like fitted chains.
Snow chains grip on ice(of the just rained then frozen kind) where rubber just doesnt.
I wasn't being serious. Even Stoner spotted that. 🙄
Ah, not a direct replacement for proper chains. That was the impression they and consequently I were under.
it was a direct quote of you - but it was also directed at greatape when his colleagues got the defender stuck in the mud 😀
Id imagine you guys in the ambulance service would not be allowed to fit full on chains to your ambulances for H&S reasons - so the self deployers although not as good as hand fits would be better than the rubber.
it was a direct quote of you - but it was also directed at greatape when his colleagues got the defender stuck in the mud
Mind melt.
Id imagine you guys in the ambulance service would not be allowed to fit full on chains to your ambulances for H&S reasons - so the self deployers although not as good as hand fits would be better than the rubber.
Nah! It's a ball ache to fit and once we got on clear roads and wanted to pick up speed we'd have to stop again to remove them. These provide a compromise.
Sorry trail rat, I missed it. Were you defending him (NPI)? Not that it matters either way, he'll be known as Captain Compass for the rest of his days. Embarrassing for an ex-army chap!
Bucko - Member
Down in the south west our ambulance cars run winter tyres all year round. On every vehicle we just carry snow socks and some tubes of grit at this time of year. When it actually snows we just hire 4x4 vehicles.
On RRVs?? Our focus estates were awful on winters when it got too hot. They would slide and braking was awful. They were fantastic on winter tyres in cold conditions however. Our BMW X1s are less phased by the winters in warmer conditions due to the 4x4 system
I bought the winter tyres and wheels for my car from a bloke who worked at a West Yorkshire Police service depot. He said they now fit winter tyres and had a dramatic fall in the number of accidents they had since they started.
Our BMW X1s are less phased by the winters in warmer conditions due to the 4x4 system
I think it's more they're just awful to drive anyway so you can't notice the difference.
I wasn't defending the X1! I would rather have the Octavia Scout
I'm pretty sure that HART team have still got a couple if those polaris things in the garage somewhere in south Manchester
We run winter tyres on ambulances and cars during winter and they usually stay in until summer.
They also seem to have a habit of making sure the heating doesn't work in time for winter as well!
I bought the winter tyres and wheels for my car from a bloke who worked at a West Yorkshire Police service depot. He said they now fit winter tyres and had a dramatic fall in the number of accidents they had since they started.
This is completely untrue. I've learned from a number of posters on STW that winter tyres don't make any difference at all and all that's needed to defy physics is a bit of driving skill.
"This is completely untrue. I've learned from a number of posters on STW that winter tyres don't make any difference at all and all that's needed to defy physics is a bit of driving skill."
I believe also according to STW logic winter tires make you more likely to have an accident over winter........so police statistics must lie.
Police will lie about anything. Untrustworthy bastards, every single one of them.
I believe also according to STW logic winter tires make you more likely to have an accident over winter
Completely agree. If someone with winter tyres brakes on a stretch of road in adverse conditions, it's likely that they will come to a stop quicker than someone behind them with summer tyres on....therefore they're responsible if that person crashed into the back of them.
Insurers should inflate the premiums of cars with winter tyres to cover this.
Police will lie about anything. Untrustworthy bastards, every single one of them.
You weren't lying about the likely outcome of my rapid overtaking manoeuvre on the A82 a couple of years ago 🙂
*bookmarks thread for greatape's quote*. 😉
Completely agree. If someone with winter tyres brakes on a stretch of road in adverse conditions, it's likely that they will come to a stop quicker than someone behind them with summer tyres on....therefore they're responsible if that person crashed into the back of them.Insurers should inflate the premiums of cars with winter tyres to cover this.
😀 😀
Winter rated tyres all around here. The main pump has snow chains but they're only fitted if is really bad. Have snow socks for the co-responder van but we also have the venerable beast below which can take over from the van in really dodgy weather.
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Great ape
You are a lying cheating , waste of space
Edukator - Troll*bookmarks thread for greatape's quote
*bookmarks thread for evidence of Edukator's deviousness
Great ape
You are a lying cheating , waste of space
Unless floodwater is breaching peoples garage doors, when I'm quite a good use of space. Otherwise I agree.
WMAS have an agreement in place with Land Rover for when the weather (snow) is bad to use their cars
Peterfile - yes, I remember now, a good outcome then!
This is completely untrue. I've learned from a number of posters on STW that winter tyres don't make any difference at all and all that's needed to defy physics is a bit of driving skill.
That summoned a chortle from me.
I do drive with mine as if I haven't got them on though. I reckon that's the safest way to go about it.
Great ape
You are a waste of space, always have been, always will be
I've checked with the wife. She says you're right.
No chains ever fitted to our trucks. We have a bag of rock salt chucked in the pump bay but that's it.
@SproketJockey
A friend now has this one - not one of your old rides is it? There cannot be too many 110/130's fire engines around....
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You could mount those rotating chains outboard and have fun slicing through cyclists spokes.
The wife works for Kia and they all get issued with Snowsocks for winter. Never had to use them as we've had really mild winters the last few years down South. Did change the company car to an AWD Sportage last week just in case the weather is bad this year.
@P20 - Our RRV's are Skoda Scouts. No idea what we've decided to use instead yet as they no longer produce the Scout
Just wondering why the fireys need winter tyres ?
Surely the fires stations have heating ..? And surely it would be more cost effective to throw down some rock salt between the valeting bay and the parking bay ?
Just wondering why the fireys need winter tyres ?
Surely the fires stations have heating ..? And surely it would be more cost effective to throw down some rock salt between the valeting bay and the parking bay ?
Bucko, the scouts are back in production. Hopefully you don't end up with the X1
@SproketJockeyA friend now has this one - not one of your old rides is it? There cannot be too many 110/130's fire engines around....
That's an old picture, station isn't there now. That Landrover is just a Landrover, used to pull the boat. We have one at Harrogate as well, god awful thing.
We used to have snow chains that you had to manually fit. They were replaced last year with snow socks.
Used the snow chains a few times and they worked well but made one hell of a noise. It's not fun driving the proper appliances without them and easy to get stuck, as I have twice. 😳
Surely the fires stations have heating ..? And surely it would be more cost effective to throw down some rock salt between the valeting bay and the parking bay ?
You're going to have to do better then that.
[quote=matt_outandabout ]@SproketJockey
A friend now has this one - not one of your old rides is it? There cannot be too many 110/130's fire engines around....
That not a Fire engine its a landy with fire livery for pulling a boat.
[i]"MTQG has mil surplus spikes on his land rover"[/i]
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I'm surprised more people don't use them. They're not as good as chains, I've got a set of them as well, but chains frighten me at more than 10mph as I sit there thinking about how thin the aluminium floor panel is on a Land Rover and what would happen if one of the front chains broke and flew off it's tyre.
Studs don't start flying off until about 60mph and just rattle a bit as they hit the underside of the floor. They probably rattle off following cars bonnets and windscreens as well, but I'm long gone by then.
We have nothing. Zilch.
Still what's the worst that could happen...
matt_outandabout - Member
@SproketJockeyA friend now has this one - not one of your old rides is it? There cannot be too many 110/130's fire engines around....
As far as I know ours is the only one in DSFRS. All the other 4x4s here are Rangers or Hi Luxes. It's been around the houses a bit. Was originally the specialist rescue vehicle for North Devon. I'd struggle to call it a fire engine but it does have a water tank and foam / fogging unit in the back.