Winter Driving ?

I know nothing about chains other than using them for short distances to get up hills but as far as the first part of your question, I've had different weights on all my axles on slick roads which is generally out of my control.

I ran P&D for a couple years in north central Pa with a single axle tractor and 53' trailer way up in the woods. After my first few bad weather days I quickly learned to intentionally overload my drives (20,000 on a single) because I would much rather have a trailer slide than a tractor kick out from under me going down a grade. Same logic now applies for me running a set - if my back box starts going it's an easy fix, if the truck goes I'm in the sticks.




This was a picture I took with my phone last December nearing the top of a long steep grade. That is all ice pellets and freezing rain. I knew it would be snotty that day so I loaded a 12,000 lbs delivery (my only one with any weight) of powdered metal bags in the first 8' of my trailer to get weight on the drives. Descending the other side of that hill I was engaging the ABS on the trailer but my single axle truck held the road. With today's ABS technology I would prefer the weight on the drives. Pulling a set now, if my drives are not substantially heavier than my trailer I would never make it up that hill without getting stuck.

 

Hmmm, I guess that makes sense. Ive only driven on a few slick road so far and my tandem/drive weight was almost the same and so far, no issues.

 

A tandem drive will do better than a single but I always thought the same general logic applied. I pulled a spread axle before I started here and nothing was worse on snotty roads than 38 on the trailer and 30 on the drives. If you're even with tandems you probably OK but if your under gross you want the weight on the drives. Much easier to correct a trailer skid than a tractor skid - with the ABS on newer trailers they will stay behind you.

 

Yeah, that sounds like good advice... Usually I like to keep more weight on the tractor since the drives are the only axles contolled by the jake and the cruise. Thanks for your input....

 

You'll get a feel for it. Do whatever makes you the most comfortable. You'll be fine.

 

Look at the pamphlet and then throw it in the trash. Unless conditions are really really bad you'll be fine using singles on your outer drives. Typically your rear axle is your primary drive axle, so put the chains on that axle, I noticed your in Colo., under Colo.'s new chain law, technically when the chain law is in effect you need to have all 4 outers chained up. I have yet to see them enforce this, in 12 yrs running the mtn's I've only chained up all 4 outers maybe 6 times. I normally chain up only my front outers and then get on down the road. One thing that cannot be stressed enough is to learn your truck, learn how it handles, drives, etc., and learn it's "language" between your "butt dyno" and the truck.

 

Just FYI do not use your jake and or your cruise in slippery conditions

 

About the jake...... I was goin over Happy Jack in Wyoming last week after that big storm they got and the roads where icy all they way between Cheyenne and Larimie. Not sure if I was sposed to, but I used the jake on its lowest setting along with riding the brake as little as possible while goin down the west side only because even at 20 miles an hour, I couldnt seem to hold the truck back without it. If I remember right, I was all the way down in 4th or 5th and it wouldnt hold back. So, I locked in the power divider(which was locked in way before that), set the jake to its lowest setting and drove it that way all the down. I didnt have any issues, other than the pucker-factor was pretty high.

LOL, nice..... I still have that booklest floatin around here somewhere....

I dont mind usin the doubles but the reason I asked is do they have to be on the fron drive? How is Wyomings chain requirements? Is California the only state that requires doubles?

 

You engaged the power divider while rolling?

 

Yeah, why? They taught us in school that you could at speeds under like forty miles and hour. They just said not to do it I'd your wheels were spinning.