Whats the best solution for a 2009 front wheel drive Camry, that handles the well plowed roads in the NorthEast Catskills fine with its all weather tires but can't handle getting out of the driveway of my own house? We just got a cabin there recently (it's all season but we're only part time there), and I've never had any problem driving in the area before, and when we first saw the place in the Fall, with its 65 foot driveway that angles down around 10 or 15 degrees, the Camry did great driving in and leaving. But now in Winter, the driveway is a thick layer of ice and compressed snow that I can't make my way out of without an hour of digging and chopping and spreading ash and getting a push from a neighbor. I would probably not have an issue with the surface if not for the angle.

Any advice on how to approach this? I've been told everything from get chains to don't get chains, or get a Subaru. But I love my Camry, it handles winter great. There's just this driveway thing

Toss the all weathers and get heavy duty snow tires even though I don't need them literally the rest of the time? Chains or cables for such a specific short time and place? Any wisdom here would be greatly appreciated : )

Thanks!

 

Snow tires are not a substitute for chains. The Subaru may do the job if 4-wheel drive.

With chains there are chains having real chain links, chains made of steel cable and made of plastic, etc. The actual chain link design will provide the most grip.

If the driveway has a firm under surface then cable chains made of cable should be fine. If not firm but such that the tires bury themselves then chain link chains might be better. For most instances cable chains work fine.

Might read the article at the link below:

https://www.autoguide.com/best-tire-chains

Take note of the chain designs that may scratch your rims. Since you will only be using the chains for a short distance features such as self adjusting may be less important.

Get a chain that fits the actual tire size on the car now.

Fit the chains up to your tires at a work friendly location. You don't want to have the first time you put the chains on be at the end of that long cold driveway. Practice putting the chains on and taken them off.

With practice you should be able to put them on in under 15 minutes and take them much faster. The fastest way to put them on may be to use the jack to raise the car tire. Get a board to put under the jack if the ground is soft.

 

Thanks, toyomoto. I ended up being recommended tire traction mats, which no stores stock but there are 200 brands sold for between $50 and $180 a pair. This kind of thing: But the way my mind works is that if I think I can DIY it, I'll try that first, so I used planks of wood and put a few inches of thin house siding at one end for getting under the tire, and then wrapped the most gripping stuff I could find at Lowes, which was thick, uncoated metal cable, around it end to end, for traction. Looks nightmarish but it works so far : ) I haven't needed to get out of being stuck, but I used them to pull the front wheels on top of where I generally have trouble when I leave it overnight, and drove right off them in the morning.

I'll probably spring for a cheaper version of an actual product now that I can wait for shipping (which lately has been unpredictable at best for me). Oddly, this was brought to my attention by friends who have places in the Adirondacks, which is above the Catskills, who both immediately said "Oh, yeah, I've kept them in my truck for years". But when I mentioned them to folks in the Catskills they'd never even heard of them

 

https://autosock.us/