Ski-Drive with the Roofbox Company

Some Planning is Important

Perhaps needless to say, you need to do much more planning than you’d do for a UK winter journey.  Make sure that your car has been recently serviced and is ready for cold weather, check out the AA or RAC websites to see what equipment and paperwork you need to carry, and do some basic route planning, ideally finding somewhere interesting to stay that will give you a good chance of getting to your resort on the following morning.

The majority of the journey will be on motorways and dual carriageways, but many drivers are understandably nervous about the final leg of the journey, which means driving on snow if you’re lucky and there has been fresh snow fall!  Ideally, you’ll be driving the last leg in daylight.

AutoSock and Snow Chains

If you are using winter tyres then your journey will be much easier in snowy weather, and you may get away without needing to fit AutoSock or snow chains, but these still need to be carried.  Even 4x4s on winter tyres need to fit AutoSock or snowchains where their use is required by law.

There is a new European standard for ‘winter traction devices’, also adopted by Switzerland, which came into force on 1^st December 2020.  If a traction product meets the required standards for safety, quality and performance, it is permitted.  AutoSock, who developed the wheel sock concept, is approved, and most metal and plastic snow chains will also be approved.

AutoSock snow socks are pulled over the vehicle’s driving wheels, are held in place with elastic, and use specially developed textiles to maximise the available friction; they give extraordinary grip on ice and snow.  If you are travelling through Austria please check their requirements carefully, because at the time of writing Austria have not adopted the new EU standard, so AutoSock are not approved.

So, should ski-drivers carry snow chains or AutoSock, or both?  The Roof Box Company’s advice is that there is logic in taking both options, but if you only want to choose oneoption, choose snowchains.  AutoSock (which are distributed in the UK and Ireland by The Roof Box Company) are very easy and obvious to fit, compared to most snowchains, and they work much better than chains on wet snow and in very cold powder snow. They are also cheaper than decent quality snowchains.  On the other hand, being textile, they are very vulnerable to damage if used on rutted, icy roads.  Another reason for having both options is that there may be situations where it makes sense to fit an anti-slip system (AutoSock, for example) to the non-driving wheels – this is especially true for rear wheel drive vehicles where it’s always sensible to make sure that the steering wheels have good grip!

You need to know how to fit snowchains, and you should practise before you leave home.  The first reason is to check that the chains you have ordered actually go around your driving wheels – some cars have different sized front and rear tyres – and that there’s enough space in the wheel arch to fit them.

There are some basic procedures for choosing snow chains.  First of all, identify your driving wheels, noting the tyre size from the tyre wall (not from the handbook!) and also check your handbook to see what it says about using snow chains.  If the instruction is “Don’t use”, this is almost certainly aimed at the traditional diamond pattern chains that are fitted around both sides of the tyre.  Don’t panic – you will have the option of using ‘ladder track chains’.

These are designed so that there is no chain on the inside of the wheel where space is tight.  Next, check whether you can get your forearms into the space between the top of the wheel and the wheel arch.  If you can’t then you should only look for chains which are fitted from the outside of the wheels.  The Roof Box Company stocks a range of ladder track chains which can be fitted in almost all situations – König K-Summit, Polaire GRIP, Polaire Steel GRIP, Spikes-Spider ALPINE Pro, Spikes-Spider SPORT.

Generally, the more expensive chains will be quicker and easier to fit and to remove. AutoSock can be fitted to all vehicles if you can get your forearms inside the wheel arch. You need two hands for fitting AutoSock or snow chains, and if it’s dark you’ll need a torch; a head torch is strongly recommended!

Roof Boxes and Ski and Board Carriers

A roof box will almost certainly make the journey more comfortable, even if you’re not carrying skis or boards, allowing you to spread out the luggage.  You will want a roof box that is strong and secure – The Roof Box Company particularly recommends any that are made by Atera, Hapro, KAMEI, or Thule.

If the car boot is full of luggage, with the AutoSock and snow chains easily accessible, it makes sense to put boards, skis, boots, and helmets into a roof box, or at least to put the ski and boards onto a roof-mounted ski rack.  There are also tow bar mounted ski and board carriers, ideal for shorter journeys, less suitable for longer distance driving if the ski tips are higher than the roof line, because of the adverse effect on fuel economy.

Finally, it’s worth noting that any gear you buy specifically for a ski drive trip is very likely

to be a good investment for use in the UK as well, especially the AutoSock – it’s good to know that you can get going again safely if you start skidding on snow – and perhaps even the snow chains!