Red Lake to Winnipeg this week

Discussion in 'Canadian Truckers Forum' started by end of the road, Jan 18, 2011.

  1. end of the road

    end of the road Heavy Load Member

    868
    540
    Jul 4, 2010
    Northern Canada
    0
    What a week. Saw 6 trucks in the ditch and the number of 4 wheelers was countless. Had one spin out truing to pass me on the number one near Falcon Lake.

    Thursday night had the truck sideways twice going through West Hawk. Was it ever slick. Like that all the way into Winnipeg.

    The perimeter was sheet of glass all day Friday

    Saturday was not much better and Sunday it snowed some more. It was the dry cold snow that results in a big cloud of dusty snow every where you drive. I wonder if that guy who followed me from Kenora to Richer ended up with a plugged air filter. The drive from Red Lake to the Trans Canada I drove with the work lights on so if anybody was behind me they could see me. The tail lights were constantly getting packed with snow.

    Traveling in and around Winnipeg it took forever to get going, you needed to accelerate so gently as to not spin out.

    Today the temperatures dropped and the winds picked up to 50km/h from the north creating some more interesting driving.

    I don't understand why Manitoban's can't use salt on their roads.
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. trucker_101

    trucker_101 Heavy Load Member

    941
    639
    Apr 23, 2010
    Alberta
    0
    I haul super B's of fuel & last week I was doing the Grande Cache run,Same roads plus big hills,I even had to chain up a few times.:biggrin_25512::biggrin_25512:
     
  4. G-Dog

    G-Dog Bobtail Member

    25
    7
    Jan 18, 2011
    BC
    0
    Salt is absolutely useless when the temp is below about minus 7.
    It would actually create worse conditions, slightly melting the surface snow on the road creating a salty brine that would constantly freeze/thaw.
    At least, that's what my buddy that drives a salt truck told me anyway.
    :)
     
  5. end of the road

    end of the road Heavy Load Member

    868
    540
    Jul 4, 2010
    Northern Canada
    0
    Doesn't seem to have that problem in Ontario. There is a magic line called the border and when you cross it, the roads go from wet or dry to pure ICE. Mantitoban's can keep telling themselves that but the number of ditched vehicles there compared to across the north of Ontario should tell you what works better.

    No chains here. Not allowed them as far as I know either.

    The weight of the super B's are nice at times too. Mine empty are still pretty heavy. I gross at 31,000kg empty. 33,500 when packed in snow :-0
     
  6. universal10

    universal10 Light Load Member

    85
    32
    Dec 5, 2009
    winnipeg
    0
    i live in mantitoba and yup...the roads here this past weekend were HORRIBLE
     
  7. TheHealthyDriver

    TheHealthyDriver Heavy Load Member

    837
    274
    Jul 11, 2010
    Stony Mountain, MB
    0

    Ontario doesn't use salt below a certain temp. Then it's a chemical mixture that's dropped. Can't remember the name of it. The cost of the chemical is a little too rich for our poor Manitoba. Better to just learn how to drive slower in Manitoba. :biggrin_25525:
     
  8. mgfg

    mgfg Road Train Member

    1,753
    626
    Mar 29, 2010
    0
    I realize Manitoba isn't blessed with an over abundance of rock but surely there is some Canadian shield that could be crushed and used. Oregon uses very little chemical/salt and their roads are more than acceptable.
     
  9. TheHealthyDriver

    TheHealthyDriver Heavy Load Member

    837
    274
    Jul 11, 2010
    Stony Mountain, MB
    0
    Oregon has federal funding for their Interstates.
     
  10. canuck in da truck

    canuck in da truck Road Train Member

    4,352
    2,601
    Aug 6, 2010
    western pa
    0
    that chemical spray that ontario uses is nasty--i think it is a calcium chloride slurry
    i am sure you can hear that etching into rims as you drive--and it is miserable crap to keep off the wind shield
    some states were trying --i think it was a beet juice mixture--kinda dark reddish/brown stuff messy but i think it was supposed to limit the corrosion as well
    some parts of ontario get kinda lazy as well--seems when you get near kap it gets a bit less maintained
     
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2011
  11. end of the road

    end of the road Heavy Load Member

    868
    540
    Jul 4, 2010
    Northern Canada
    0
    I have yet to see the spray put on the road in Ontario. I do see the salt being scattered.

    My trip is 320 km in Ontario and 160 km in Manitoba. The roads in Ontario have curves and grades and combinations of both. #1 highway does not where I travel.

    Don't see vehicles in the ditch in Ontario but the minute you cross that border there is ice on the roads and countless records of vehicles hitting the ditch.

    I do slow down on the ice, but many others don't.
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.