Need winter advice !!!

A cager hits a semi, but they then sue the trucking company.
That is messed up.

 

If you can’t/won’t drive in snow/ice/winter conditions, then you should probably turn in your cdl and go drive for uber.

Freight has to get to where it needs to go. I’ve driven the Rockies and I-80 through Wyoming thousand’s of times in ground blizzards, snow storms, on black ice, white outs, sleet, and freezing fog with 70 mph winds with twin screws and single screws.

I won’t run when it’s freezing rain. I obviously dont run if the highway is closed.

CDOT and WYDOT plows do a good job of keeping minimal snow and ice on the roads. It’s not always fun or pretty, but I avoid running in packs with others, I’ll pull off a ramp and let others go on by and then get back on just to stay by myself. More often than not it’s about 40-90 miles of crap and the rest of your route is fine.

 

This right here is great advice regardless the weather conditions, I've been running 80 from SLC to Cheyenne a lot the last 12 months, the packs of slow trucks get down right scary, not only because they get packed together and the two at the front don't have the combined IQ of a turnip to sort themselves out, but then they get the impatient four wheelers mixed in with the pack, and that makes it even worse.

I drive an 81 mph truck, I know I can get away from the packs, but sometimes I can't, and if I can't speed up and get away from them, I'll slow way down and wait till they sort themselves out or take a 15 minute break and let them sort themselves out, then get back on and get away from them.

 

that verdict was over turned on appeal IIRC, but Werner still paid out a substantial sum

 

We would have to close 5 months per year if we didn't drive on ice, or in storms.

Buy some chains, use them.

 

ive chained up next to garbage trucks and mixer trucks, dont listen to anybody who says you shouldnt chain up. they are full of ####. thousands of us do it day in and day out because its part of the job for 6+ months out of the year in some areas of the country...

you always want to brake in a straight line.... try to cut ur speed before u get around a curve, and coast thru the curve... leave yourself room to speed up, because thats how you pull out of a jacknife is to speed up. nothing wrong with using the jake but i will use a combination of jakes and service break because the jake only gives you braking power to the drive axles... if u jake to hard around a corner it will put u into a slide... light pressure on the service brake, and low/medium setting on jakes, combined with the right gear to maintain speed down a hill is the way to do it in my opinion... not really sure what the mountains are like out in the northeast... but some of us has run the northern rockies and we do just fine throwing chains everyday... take it slow and easy and use your head...

a great way to get a feel for how the truck is going to handle is go find a big empty , snowy/icey parking lot and cruise around the parking lot at 5-10 mph and then stomp on the brake pedal and feel what it feels like to go into a slide..try it again and then this time try to pull out of it and correct it.. you can feel that feeling of breaking traction even at low speeds like this, its a helpful excersize.... its important to understand what that feels like before it happens, because you will be prepared if it happens on the road somewhere and know how to pull out of it without panicking

 

Slow inputs on the wheel, no sudden movements. If loaded light no stage 3 Jake, these new trucks with autos have extremely strong Jake's. Go slow and test the Jake's and see if you break traction. Down hill be slowed before entering a corner and gently accelerate through the corner. You don't want the wagon pushing you through the corner, good way to jackknife.

Don't be the fool going 20mph when everyone else is doing 40-45 you become a Hazzard then, just park it til you get some more experience

 

In an empty flat 2 lane go about 20mph on snow and gently pull on the trolley valve and see how the trailer reacts. It's gonna come over on you. You want to gently accelerate out of it. That's how I taught myself how the whole truck and trailer reacts was on an empty 2 lane my 1st winter driving

 

Almost any time I'm driving and conditions become crappy I'll slow down and test traction with brakes and or acceleration. When on an empty hwy of course

 

Just park it if there’s a lot of snow on the road. A solid layer will make anything other than flat roads a pipe dream. And I drive through snow a lot. If the road is flatish you’re good to go but don’t come to a complete stop. Unless you brought some salt LOL. You’ll know if its still safe because you’ll see other trucks. NEVER stop on a section that looks melted when it’s super cold out. That’s ice and you just lost all traction.

edit: if you chose to drive through snow its not really a problem unless you stop or there is a grade. You need to look out for ice like a hawk.