Snow chains

Razor wrote:Many thanks for the responses - having not driven to a ski resort before it's good to get advice from those who have. We did find out that our vehicle could not have snow chains anyway, so we are looking at possibly purchasing 'socks' instead! This time tomorrow we'll be 4 hours into the trip.... yippeee! 'Look out LP, we're a comin'!'

I doubt the police will let you pass with "socks" really, all the tests say they're totally useless. There's a number of low profile chains around that can fit problematic cars but you've probably left it too late now anyway. I doubt it's going to snow tomorrow so you should be fine and if it does as you leave you may just need to be patient.

It can be a quandry. Socks may be OK, but in many ways, even if they work as advertised, they just substitute for winter tyres. Beyond a certain point you still need chains, even if you have socks/winter tyres. Problem is that while very thin-profile chains theoretically fit low-profile wheels, you hardly want to risk damaging your suspension/steering testing them out. Unfortunately, you may have to take the risk - if you have time in the UK, then you can probably minimise the risk by going to a specialist and getting the thinnest and lightest chains, and trying them out before you go. If you're rear-wheel-drive it may be fine, as there's no steering to mess up.

Auto Socks are not normally recognised by French Police as an alternative to chains.

Just a note of caution to anyone driving out in the week or so, it's not snowed for a while so chains aren't needed unless your accommodation is well off the beaten track. But, even though it's been fairly cold it's more than warm enough to melt snow near the road and the water's running off onto the road and re-freezing making it pretty treacherous on these mountain roads pretty much all day.

Here in Switzerland we don't use salt on the (non main) roads so ice is common, don't be fooled by the locals tearing around :D We all use winter tires with improved grip and handling on ice, even so, my traction control was engaging on a few bends just driving up the valley.

Hi,

Jumping onto this thread, we will be renting a car from Geneva Airport to drive to Les Meuires on 1st March.

Could anyone advise of prices (and/or website) to rent/purchase chains rather than renting from the car rental company?

Many thanks.

tonymc wrote:Hi,

Jumping onto this thread, we will be renting a car from Geneva Airport to drive to Les Meuires on 1st March.

Could anyone advise of prices (and/or website) to rent/purchase chains rather than renting from the car rental company?

Many thanks.

I'm not sure that's going to work out, you don't know the size of the tires/wheels which you need to buy chains. One option is to buy some from a supermarket on the way, people suggest that they do this although I'm surprised that they're apparently always able to find stock of the size they want so easily.

We are driving to Samoens on 1st March
I understand Samoens village itself is low altitude
Is it an easy drive ?
Will I need snow-chains ?

The webpage that lists Geneva Airport car hire is

http://www.gva.ch/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-72/

I recommend you get a basic cost using Budget, as they are the most 'honest' in terms of including everything in the quote. Snow chains are usually about 6-8CHF/Day extra. As mentioned, they allocate the specific car when you arrive, so buying ahead isn't an option. Anyway, is it worth the saving when a week's chain hire is only £30-£40?

Sometimes, it's also worth looking at www.sixt.ch rather than .com as they ocassionally have offers on the .ch site that aren't on the .com They also sometimes have minivans at quite competitive rates. But it varies.