3 months OTR update—Winters coming

YOU can drive in winter conditions. My rule in my first winter was to never be faster than any other truck. Like driving in heavy rain apply fuel & brakes gently. In really icy or slippery conditionsvdrive like you have no brakes. Use the gas pedal to accelerate only to a speed that you can coast to a stop.

 

Ran single compartment tankers all through northeast mountains last winter. West Virginia and Maryland were the worst. No chains cause running super singles. Always kept enough jugs of water warm to fill up my cheapo 1gal pump up sprayer to clean the dried salt spray off my windshield.....lotsa rags and windex too. Unless it was mountains all drive cycle, I'd run mostly at night to minimize any run-ins with black ice during the day and have a slightly better chance at finding a parking spot before 2-3pm.

 

Order a week worth of MREs and just stick them under your bed just in case.

If you do chain, get some of those elastic gloves to wear, then put on your thicker gloves. Your hands will get wet fast and it's hard to chain if you can't feel your fingers. Keep your hands dry. When you are finished, dry your gloves on the defroster.

A small squirt of dish soap is great for removing road treatment off your windshield.

 

Stay within your comfort level. Don't try to copy what you see other drivers doing. Once you reach a point where it is no longer safe to drive...find a safe place to park and contact dispatch, and advise them that "it is not safe to drive, I am parked at wherever" Do not let the dispatcher try and dictate to you otherwise. It is your license and life, that load can be rescheduled for another day.