winter driving, little nervous

I can do you one better.. I'm from L.A. originally and I've never driven in snow or ice, EVER. Even in my 4 wheeler. Oh sure I've been up to the mountains where it DID snow with lots of white stuff on the ground. And streets were wet, but there was no snow or ice on the pavement. So yeah.. I'm a bit nervous starting out with my trainer this next week right when winter is starting. I do feel pretty good about my abilities. I would even say that I am confident without being ####y. I'm sure I'll be alright.. just hoping for a good experienced trainer. So same as you.. with my school training fresh. Remembering my following distance rules/guideline, seconds per length of vehicle during adverse conditions, brake early, slow down... So I can use all the tips I can get. Perhaps there's no better time to start.

 

Oh boy! aren't you going to have fun lol.
I had to throw chains on my 5th week as a solo driver but I grew up in the PAC NW so I've dealt with snow in 4 wheelers many times,still the first time with 18 wheels was a bit scary.
All the info above is good,I'd just add that if you have a big hill to go down (In my case it was cabbage hill! yikes!) start real slow at the top,better too slow than too fast,pretty hard to undo too fast once you are going down lol.

 

It's a hella lot easier to speed up than it is to slow down,if ya catch my drift.

 

Stay out of the packs you see a lot of truck and/or traffic bunched up stay away from it. I would normally adjust my speed to stay far behind it or to get on by. Thats why you see them chain reaction 6 and 7 trucks in the ditch. Lower RPM running at the verge of lugging you truck makes it less likely to break traction you wont have the torque to spin or drag to slide. Safety stay aware of you surrounding and changing weather conditions and at anytime you feel it is unsafe no matter what others or you company say park it. Black Ice will be you worse nightmare try to limit you night driving and believe it or not rumble strips can be you friend at times just have to know when. Snow fresh unpacked is better than packed I prefer slush over packed snow. Reaction time fast is good on dry roads on slick slow is better find you self sliding or heading on to the shoulder dont snatch the wheel be slow and gentle same goes for the brakes find yourself in trouble dont lock the brakes down stab them or should I say pump them. Defrost I rarely use and when I do its on AC mode I use rainX on the inside to limit my windows from fogging. You use heat on the windshield it melts the snow run down hit the wipers and freeze back up thats why you will always see drivers on the side of the highway banging their wipers against the windshield or riding down the road with their arm out the window trying to grab the wiper arm. Trailer Brakes when you stop for the night avoid setting them but if you do I know one gut that carries a propane torch heard of spraying them with WD40 or some other grease before setting but most just use the hammer on them

 

As a lifetime snow driver all I can add to the great advice and tips given is this. Take your time. Impatience is your number one enemy. If you are under time pressures you have to psyche yourself into not allowing this to bother you. Your task is to get where you are going safely. Period. Impatience puts people in the ditch and in the morgue.

 

You drove in PA in a 4 wheeler. That's a plus. Beside what's been said, everyone has to learn from the beginning. Remember you have about 50,000 lbs behind you and allow extra space and time. An empty trailer has even less traction.

There's a few old trailers out there still. Never mix a non-ABS trailer with an ABS tractor on snow. The same with a trailer ABS warning light. If you have a warning light, the trailer ABS system is disabled. There's nothing like braking hard with a trailer locking up behind you. That's a jack knife in the works. Make sure your ABS is in working order.

Always, drive within your OWN comfort zone. Each person is different and you'll improve in time. You start losing traction and your underware starts drawing up, it's time to park. Don't feel you have to do something just because someone else did. Don't let a dispatcher push you. The one thing you can do with no recourse in the winter, is to shut that truck down if you feel it's unsafe.

 

Thet are predicting a nasty Chicago winter,
The worst part of your travels MIGHT be going thru Indiana just under Lake Michigan It always gets bad there w/ lake effect snow, But theres plenty of truck stops in the area.

Good luck
http://news.yahoo.com/accuweather-fo...bouchon=602,il

 

Another thing I might add is the worst time is the beginning of a storm. Things get bad, pull in a rest area and wait for the snow plows and salt if the roads haven't been treated yet. Then usually you can get back at it.

Snow is an adverse condition and you can extend that logbook two hours if you have to pull over and wait for the roads to be cleared.

Except for PA, I-80 is pretty straight easy driving. Like slim shady said, you get near the great lakes, you get alot of lake effect snow. Especially IN and up near Erie, PA.

 

Don't expect the roads to be cleared in states such as Oklahoma and Texas, even on turnpikes anytime soon. When it get's bad enough the road crews stay home and won't come back out often until a few days later when nature has mostly already cleared the roads. I've cussed the OK turnpike crews far too many times for allowing the roads to become treacherous and un-maintainable.

 

Flamed? Nah, I'm pretty sure you've nailed this topic. I believe you saved the rest of us some typing!

Amen, EZ Money! I've never understood these guys who will run 25 mph in the right lane because it's a sheet of ice, when the left lane will be snow-covered but otherwise good to go.

A couple disagreements here, Plum Crazy.

At lower rpm you are more likely to break loose as you are near the torque peak of the engine. If you're having trouble getting traction, you are better off dropping a gear and using lighter throttle. The main issue is that because the engine is near peak torque, when the tires do break loose they will accelerate faster than if you were higher up the rpm curve where torque is lower. The end result is that at a higher rpm you can maintain a slight slippage, whereas near torque peak the tires tend to keep accelerating to the point of complete traction loss.

As far as slush goes, thin slush isn't bad, but deep, heavy slush is far worse than packed snow. That heavy slush will hydroplane you much sooner than deep water because of it's increase viscosity. Packed, unglazed snow is the best thing to drive on for control, with unpacked fresh close behind. You'll burn a lot more fuel in the unpacked, though.