Tension sources and stabilizers with modified roll on method for mounting tire chains

A method of mounting a link construction, ladder pattern, vehicle tire chain, comprising a pivot lever style outer face closure device, the method comprising the steps of

• a. draping said chain over the tire, leaving the last cross chain, on one end of the chain, which will be the short end, at roughly a forty five degree angle down from the wheel center point, right or left, and
• b. aligning manually all cross chains, which are at, or higher than, the center point of the wheel, to their natural operating positions on the tread, and placing a temporary elastic strap to maintain alignment, and
• c. using suitable temporary connecting means to connect the short, leading end of the draped chain and the longer, trailing end of the chain, and
• d. driving the wheel about a quarter to a half of a revolution toward the short, leading end of the chain, and
• e. fastening the rear face side chain into a loop on the tire, at a preselected loop length, to suit the desired fit of chain to tire, and
• f. removing said temporary connecting means from the short and long ends of the chain, and
• g. temporarily fastening the open face closure device to form a loop on the tire, at a chain tension suitable for manually adjusting the alignment of remaining cross chains, as required, into their natural operating positions, and performing said adjustment, and
• h. re-hooking said outer face closure device into a manually available chain tension, and
• i. attaching one or more non-elastic stabilizer chains, at the center of selected segments of the outer face side chain, substantially at the center of the outer face of the chain, and at substantially right angles to the tension source elastic straps, and selecting lengths for the fully attached stabilizer chains which will deflect the attachment points of the stabilizer chain radially inward, from a straight line of the segment, a distance judgmentally appropriate to the angle of deflection of the side chain from a straight line, and
• j. attaching one or more tension source elastic straps into the outer face side chain segment containing the closure device, and fastening the opposite ends of said elastic straps at points diametrically opposite said closure device, into side chain links which are attachment points for a cross chain, to the side chain, at a preselected tension level of the elastic strap, and
• k. beginning initial operation, which, in the judgment of the operator, based on chain tension and the planned trip, will either be proceeding on the planned trip, or driving a few yards to a re-hooking to a suitable chain tension.