In the truck transportation business, the tie down chains and snow chains are what people use the most, while we will see there are more than just truck chains, there are proof coil chains, high test chains, twisted link chains and more, of course there is towing industry, the tow chains are playing the main role, simply put, these chains are mostly made from steel.
Tie down chains usually refers to grade 70 transport chains , some people call them binder chains, you should know that there are 2 standards for these chains, American Society for Testing and Materials, and NACM. The ASTM standard requires chains to be short link, while NACM are regular link chains. People use short link chains when they need more flexibility, if you need the chains to wrap around a tight corner, you probably need short link ones, regular link chains probably will not fit. The tie down chains are mostly used in transportation, for the purpose of cargo securement, no doubt you can use these chains for some other purposes, such as towing, etc.
Tire chains also called snow chains sometimes, obviously tire chains don’t equal snow chains, people use tire chains on the slippery road, not only when snow covered. We always see tire chains sold in pairs, because you can’t just chain up one tire, and you can replace just one piece of chain at one time. For the obvious reason, all tire chains are made from steel. People choose tire chains based on their vehicle type and tire size, if you have a passenger car you will be looking for car tire chain, and if you drive a 18 wheeler, you’re going to need truck tire chains.
When it comes to hardware chains, there are a lot more than you can imagine, you’re going to see all kinds of chains in this family of product. For instance, machine chains, with twisted link and straight link, and coil chains, twisted or straight links, sash chain , proof coil grade chains, hot dip or electro-galvanized, and those steel chains for decorations, this is a big family. Steel Hardware chains are popular due it’s variety and applications, the general purpose proof coil grade chains are the most popular one, for instance, you can use grade 30 chains with windlass or fence.
As for tow chain , there is only 5/16” in size available, the working load limit is 4,700 LBS, which is good enough for most towing needs, due to standardization of tow trucks, only a few varieties of tow chains are needed, such as 5/16”x6′ and 5/16”x10′, long shank J hook and sports T & J hook, since tow trucks all have same design and set up, you don’t need too many different version of the tow chains, this is actually is good thing.
