studded tires in oregon (Grants Pass: living in, cost, legal)

[fbcobrn]

So in Montana, my studded winter tires are very necessary, esp. on my hill. When I move to Grants Pass , Oregon, will I still want to have these??? I will be living in a flatter area. Will I want them for passes into California?
If not, I'll sell them before moving.

[Larry Caldwell]

Bring them along. You will need them in the passes both north and south. They are legal in Oregon from November 1 to March 31. Some winters you won't need them at all, other winters you will need them to get out of your driveway.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I lived in Crescent City, but would drive up to Grants Pass and down into Redding, even in snow. I didn't even use chains. Just drove slowly with all-weather tires in a rear-wheel drive 93 Nissan pickup. If you're driving on the main roads, they're all plowed.

I did live in the Cascade mountains in WA for a long time, and studded tires got old even up there, dealing with putting them on and off by the deadlines and storing them. I ended up just using chains when necessary and quit using studded tires.

I found this article which I thought you'd find interesting:

https://www.kdrv.com/content/news/De...507976161.html

By the way, enjoy Oregon. I really like Grants Pass. Compared to MT, you're going to feel like you moved to the tropics.

[StealthRabbit]

I would keep them if you plan on keeping the same vehicle for next few yrs. (And need to drive distances in inclement weather)

Western Oregon weather is very elevation dependent.

I have to wear studs due to Ice Storms in Columbia Gorge, I have used them in the southern OR and northern CA passes, and appreciated them driving in coastal freezing fog.

[fbcobrn]

Thanks for the input...ya...I'll bring them with. Plan to keep the Liberty for few more years , hopefully, and I'm too old and decrepit to put my own chains on.

[Larry Caldwell]

I just bought a set of old steel Jeep rims and kept the snow tires mounted. It takes about 15 minutes to get the swapped at any tire outfit. I get tires at Les Schwab, and they will swap mounted tires (or rotate) for free.

[Johnny Z]

Like the others say keep them. Some people want Oregon to outlaw them because of road damage but I think it's worth the cost for public safety. I have a set for both of my vehicles.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by fbcobrn

So in Montana, my studded winter tires are very necessary, esp. on my hill. When I move to Grants Pass , Oregon, will I still want to have these??? I will be living in a flatter area. Will I want them for passes into California?

If your focus is in driving to California, you might want them for the Siskiyou Pass and maybe a couple of places before Redding in a bad winter storm, but the problem with leaving studs on is that they are terrible dry pavement tires (really bad stopping distance), do a lot of road damage and wear quickly. If you were driving to, say, Sacramento, that would be 330 miles one way, for which you could use the studs maybe 15-25 miles max. Once you get south of the pass, CalDOT does a good job of plowing.

If possible, it would be better to time your drive to hit the worst part of the pass at mid-day when the road has been plowed and is clear and leave the studs at home. That sort of goes for real snow tires as well, as they tend to wear quickly.

If you live in the hills around Grants Pass and you already have the studded tires, I'd keep them - on icy and snowy days ODOT/county/city plows or sands the main roads (they don't salt) but the hazard is always getting from where you are to a main road. You won't need them often, but you might need them once or twice a winter.

Like Larry upthread, I had mounted sets of studs and snows for my winter car and if I needed them, just pulled into the garage and swapped the regular all-season. Now that I live in-town, I don't have snows or studs.

[fbcobrn]

Thanks everyone...I'm moving them with me..they are on own rims and Les Scwabs rotates on /off for free.

[Kid Ashbury]

If you already have them, keep them and use them.

To anyone else, you'll be fine 99.9% of the time in the area with non-studded snow tires.