I've been thinking about picking up a set of chains for the 4Runner. The owner's manual indicates that chains should be used ONLY on the rear wheels.

I have always thought that running chains on all four wheels of a 4x4 was the best way to go. Would running chains on the front wheels of an '06 4Runner cause damage?

Any thoughts as to why Toyota suggests using chains only on the rear wheels?

Don't know. I've run chains on all 4 wheels on a couple of my trucks through the years.

Here is a previous thread about "chains" for 4Gens:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showth...ighlight=chain

I bought these cable "chains":
http://www.drivingcomfort.com/index.cfm?fa=p&pid=1046

I have installed them in my driveway just for practice but haven't had a chance to use them. They install easily.

Put them only in the rear. There is not enough clearance between the tire and steering mechanics in the front.

How about some of these?

http://www.onspot.com/

I have some for sale never used. I bought two sets thinking the same thing you did the day i bought my car, but realized I wll never see snow

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showth...&threadid=9287

I have 3rd Gen T4R (1998) and I bought chains for the rear. My manual also says only put chains on the rear. I have never had a reason to put chains on before moving to Colorado.

2 Important things I can share with you here:
1) I put chains on the rear in a muddy mountain area and the tracktion was great with the chains but I had little / to no steering due to the mud in the front tires, which nearly caused me to go off a cliff.

2) I came accross a guy with a Toyota Tacoma (lifted & big off road tires) when I was off roading in the same very muddy area and I asked him about putting chains on the front. He said his manual said not to but he did it anyway and it ripped out his front break lines.

I suspect that this is due to as you tighten the chains on the inside of the tires, you will have extra links dangling freely. With my chains it was 5 extra links on the inside & outside dangling and spinning arround. I had the clearance for it not to cause damange in the rear but I can see how on the front the extra links after the chains are tightened on the inside could hit & wipe out the break lines.

One possible solution is removal of he extra chain links. Figure out how many extra links you have on the inside once the chains are tight and then cut off with bolt cutters or a hack saw. I see two potential downsides of this. 1 is that if you get bigger tires, the chains may not fit on them. 2 is that if you have a lot of snow / mud on the tires you may not be able to get them tight when you put them on, you may have to drive a 10 yards or so and then re-tighten them. If you cut of the extra links, in this situation, you may not get them on at all.

I have seen guys with chains on he front of their non-toyota trucks and what they do is use a few of those really strong rubber bungey cords on the outside to keep the chains really tight there so they are less likely to slip or shift more to the inside. I am going to try this next time in the rear as well as use a chain link you can buy at any hardware store that on one side is threaded so you can open it up, attach it to the end of the loose chain links after tightening and secure to another link so I dont have any extrsa links flopping arround. Then the threaded side of the chain link can be closed and retightened. After I try this on the rear, if it works reliably I may try it on the front.

I hope this helps. . .

Never see snow huh? Nice avatar . I see snow here in Utah every year. Never needed chains myself, but I've helped people install them when they were stuck. and never have seen them on the front.

If you only have one pair of chains, it's better to put them on the front of a 4x4 since the weight of the engine is up there and you'll get the most traction that way. However, putting them on the front of a 4runner depends on your tire size and the backspacing of your wheels. You may not have enough clearance between your upper contol arms (A-arms) and the tire to put chains on the front. If not, just put them on the rear. In 10 years of owning my 4runner and living in a snowy climate, I've never had to chain up even during the worst storms. That said, if you put chains on the rear, you'll still get through just about anything.

Also, I say stay away from cables. They are junk and I see them break all the time. Get yourself some real chains with icebreakers on them and you should never get stuck.

Those are the kind of chains I bought and I agree with you about cables. Everyone I have talked to has said the same thing you did. :-)

I have been snowmobiling for 15 years and never had to chain up my 4Runner but I know you are not supposed to chain up the front due to lack of clearance. I have 285,75,16 on and bought a set of QUICK FIT CHAINS from Les schwabb which fit the front and have clearance. Thay are a small link chain in a diamond formation, no pulling foward to install them. Still, I would only put them on the rear if needed.

I have a set and use them on the rear. I have only used them on deep snowy trails. They are awesome. One downside is that others without chains can't go where I can with chains and so trips are cut short. Another is, at some point you will have a set fall off. Sometimes to the inside and sometimes off the outside. Sometimes you wont realize it. The key is, get them tight, drive a little and re-tighten if needed.

As mentioned, clearance with the upper control arm can be an issue.

Also when they fall off, they can tear out the brake line and ABS line.

I have seen/wheeled with a guy that ran chains on all four on his Taco. It can be done.

I remember a few years back, I friend of mine wanted to see if chains really worked that well, so we run up to a local trail, me without chains tried to break trail, I did have some newer MT tires, he with ATs, I went, then he put on his chains, and didnt go any further, when we was done playing, he did say it was not worth the time and hassle of putting them on, and IIRC he sold them on craigslist lol
I personally never bought a set, never even tried them, after seeing the time and hassle of putting them on/off and he not going any further than me lol
Some people swear by them, Im not convinced

Chains will increase traction, there's no doubt about that. They will dig down deeper in the snow than tires alone will. On the road, that's usually good because they'll dig down to the pavement and then you'll get traction. Off road though, they will dig through the snow to the dirt or mud and then usually they'll continue digging until you are high centered. In many instances, it's a lot better to float on top of the snow as best as possible and not dig through it.

It's the same idea of skinny vs. wide tires in snow. They both can be better than the other in certain circumstances. But if you're not sure if chains "work", go up to the mountains in a 2wd after a fresh snow storm and see how far you'll get without them.

The only reason they cannot be used on the front tires is the break line issue. Even if you have extra links on the inside and you cut or chain them you will still always run the risk of breaking a link on a chain and having it wack around inside your wheel well cutting any lines it comes in contact with. I work for the department of trans here in Portland, OR and this has happened repeatedly to people that chain up all 4's.

I can only think of one instance when I would chain up the fronts and thats when you are traversing down a hill and you can't control the direction of your travel but you can stop the vehicle. I once almost drove straight into a parked car due to this and we stopped, put chains on the front, and it gave us enough resistance in the direction of slide, and enough traction in the direction that we had the wheels turned to get us out. After that you'll want to take the chains off the fronts because break lines are important.

I have used chains on many rigs over the years. One of my favorite hunting areas, requires chains, when the hunting is best. So, yes, you risk damage with chains. Both body damage, and brake line, as well as (If IFS equipped) CV boot damage. The trick is properly, well adjusted chains, and then the added benefit of double chain adjusters. I like the rubber ones myself, but there are others. NEVER, I repeat NEVER EVER put them only on the front. The vehicle becomes uncontrollable on ANY down hill, or sloped terrain. Every time you try to apply the brakes, the front will have perfect traction, the rear will have NO TRACTION and immediately swap ends, uncontrollably. Ultimately it will be totally unable to control a downhill decent.
I have plenty of experience with chains, and I expect, no matter how careful, that occasionally I will do damage. Just part of the bargain when you need chains.