3 months OTR update—Winters coming

Carry plenty of Beefaroni and water , you'll do fine.
Use your head and patience.

 

When you live in ID and haul potatoes to the Mid-West every week its kinda difficult to avoid WY and NE... Lol. I actually dont mind running in the snow as long as theres not much traffic. I would generally run all night while most everyone else was parked... Even in extremely bad weather. But I'm not a stranger to driving a truck in very poor conditions... I can manage slick and snow just as well as hot dry asphalt... Only ALOT slower.

Its all the other idiots out on the slick and snow that really scare me... Hence why if it was really bad I'd run at night so I could be safely parked while they had thier ditch parties in the daylight.

 

Nothing you can't handle. Winter is just another season and it just requires a little more thinking ... that's all.

 

Know the chain laws in the states your are running through. How many chains you need to have (even if you don't need them).

Get good rain gear. I've started buying Grunden's almost two decades ago, still on my second set in all that time. The coat has neaprene cuffs, so you can reach up without ice water running straight into your armpits. Get good gloves, preferably the kind designed to wear with glove liners. If they get wet, throw them on the dash to dry and get a dry pair.

Know how to chain by practicing a couple of times. GET THEM TIGHT. Move a 100 feet. Re-tighten. Repeat as necessary.

Plan your trips according to the weather as much as possible. Push on or delay as appropriate to avoid the heart of a storm. Getting an extra two hours down the road can sometimes make the difference from waking up and rolling in the morning, or being parked waiting out a storm.

Slow and steady wins the race. There's no prize for "almost made it".

 

I’ve noticed when the temps get real low you start getting better traction on the snow and ice. During the day the sun starts heating the ice up and making it wet and slippery.

 

I'm sensing alot of content for the BT channel this winter...

 

Yeah warm tires will stick to solid ice (just a little) if its been frozen well enough to frost the surface. But once the sun hits it and it gets a thin layer of moisture... All bets are off.

 

Remember the ghost of Christmas past? There’s a reason he was dragging chains.

 

Armchair trucker right here.
I've chained up a few times. My take on Winter operations is carry 2 extra chains & 2 cam keys. Appropriate Winter clothing is vital. When throwing Iron park your truck at a slight angle, trailer out. That way some knucklehead won't kill you. Don't throw your iron in a pile, hang it so it's ready to throw. Life will be much easier. Lay your jewlery over the top of the tires. There is no need to roll around on the ground. Anyway, that's what I picked up from hanging iron 2 to 6 times a day. Listen to these hands, they know how to truck.

 

Keep plenty of 20 below zero windshield washer fluid on the truck. A trick I used was to take off that pesky little nozzle on the end of the washer hose. then you can get some fluid on the window.
Somewhere out west -