The rental price for a full-size vs an SUV quite substantial (SUV costsmore than 3 times of a full-size Chevy Impala-type car). We will be going to South Lake Tahoe in late January, for 3 days. My husband has some experience driving in the snow. Will we be ok? Are there chain-required road stretches between the airport and SLT? We will be going to Heavenly. Thanks!

if there is chain control over spooner summit, u will have to stop to fit chains. chain control restrictions can change daily so there is really no way of knowing right now.

check with ur rental company to ensure that they supply chains in this event otherwise you're going to have to go to the trouble of buying chains for a car u do not even own & will likely only use once.

*** DO NOT LISTEN to the answer from ''t_the_om.''. he has no idea what he is talking about. this has nothing to do with how one drives. if chain control is in place over the pass u MUST have chains on or u will not be allowed on the road.

alasdair

Check the weather right before ur trip. If it is going to snow, you'd better have chains. If chains r required, u will have to go through a checkpoint. Chains should be a little less than $40 & u can pay people at the checkpoints to put them on (about $20). Alternatively, u can rent a four wheel drive & not worry about it (chains r not required on 4wheel drive cars).

Of course the weather can change in an instant, so the weather reports r not always accurate (surprised by that?).

You will probably have to stop & put on chains once u get near the summit. But do not worry, there is always chain guys out there working the road. Depending on the price difference, it may be very well worth it to just have one of them chain up ur car on the way up the mountain. Especially if you're talking over $100 bucks in difference between the rentals.

Also, how much r u planning on actually driving? If you're staying down in South Lake in a centrally located area, & r only planning on skiing Heavenly, then do not even get a car. Just take one of the shuttles. The area around Heavenly & the casinos has gotten packed over the past few years with all the restaurants & shopping u could want. And its all in walking distance. AND Heavenly has a gondola that goes right down to the street near the casinos & other hotels.

LOL chains?!? haha l live in Canada & l have never even seen anyone use chains.sorry but its really not that big of a deal, u could drive a two wheel drive car easily in the winter as long as u r careful & do not go off the road in which case u would def need a tow. A front wheel drive car is much better in the snow & ice than say a 2 wheel rear drive pickup truck which could still be done(prob the worst possible vehicle for winter) & l have driven on some pretty bad roads with a 2 wheel drive truck. Renting the SUV might be worth it though if it snow alot when u get there since it will be a lot more fun to drive in the snow than a little car.chains, thats too funny :)