was driving over vail pass lastnight empty.

if it is ice ..... maybe stopping or going really slow makes sense
you want all the tires going the same speed .... so no braking with just the jakes .... no fast anything like the others said
and with ice .... why not find the non-ice, like the shoulder?

 

If you feel you can go, good luck. The main worry is that other guy "flying " by you. You can't control his vehicle. He loses it, crashes into you, your rig is trashed, you can't haul, and you make no money.
Maybe waiting til daylight might have been a better idea.
Just sayin.

 

I don't have nearly the exp like you all have.I would imagine one thing that could get you in a bind is getting scared and nervous.I find driving goes so much smoother if just relax and go with the flo.

 

People flying by is a good thing. They get farther away from you faster.

 

If equipped, lock in your power divider/inter-axle lock. We drive in winter conditions (ice, snow pack, wind, blizzards) 24/7 5-6 months of the year. I don't park due to winter conditions and VERY rarely chain up on highways... not bragging, it's just that I operate under different conditions. You will notice a considerable traction/control difference locked up vs. not.

NOTE: You can lock/unlock the power divider/inter-axle at any speed so long as you're not spinning. Even running on dry pavement won't kill it. We run days, weeks, even months long locked up. If I am driving down the highway unlocked and have any concern I make sure I am not spinning due to either power on or power off and flip the switch. This also means you have to be paying attention to the road ahead, especially grades and surface condition because if you wait until you NEED that extra traction... it's too late..

This is different from the drive axle differential locks. Those are for very poor conditions and low speeds (speed varies according to manufacturer/truck, but usually up to anywhere from 25-40 mph). Also be aware that the differential locks will create a "push" condition that under certain conditions will over-power your steering and push the truck straight ahead, regardless of how the tires are turned... generally a low-speed, tight turn concern.

No chains...




The dark stuff is ice, not pavement.

 

Who told you you could drive safely on ice?

 

Isn't that usually the case...? Plans have to be flexible.

You don't know any better? Using the jake suggests to me you're hesitant to go "slow enough", which isn't unusual. Some people go too fast because they yield to perceived "peer pressure"; Everyone else is going so fast they'll be mad at (or "run over") me if I'm going slow.

I'm reminded of the story of the ship captain I don't remember exactly. A crew member pointed out the ship could cut time by sailing through a narrow strait and considering the captain's exceptional experience and sea-faring skills he didn't understand why they didn't go that way. The captain said, "They pay me to use my judgment to avoid circumstances that might require using my exceptional sea-faring skills".

But it doesn't matter how good a driver someone might be, the worst driver can take them out, effortlessly, and they often do. And there's the rub. "I can drive in this, but what about everyone else?". Makes shutting down a tough call, but if driving was easy people would be standing in line for the job.

 

The trick to driving in this stuff is NOT TO! there isn't a trailer load or truck that needs to be anywhere when the conditions are such, Why didn't you move it in the day time? The temps would have been higher and the suns rays melts the ice and heats up tires. I have said this before, I don't chain, I don't go into it and so I don't chain up, there is no way I want to be responsible for that families loss of that cute little blond headed girl that was in the car I it because "I had to get that trailer or the pass" I'd like to know who sent you over the pass empty and at night? Who do you work for? So I can add them to my do not contact list! be safe out there guys.

 

I came off Vail yesterday, saw the road conditions, threw iron inspite of the fact I legally didn't have to. If I had been loaded I would have came down barefoot. People who have never driven on 10 miles of windy roads on 8% grade on a sheet of ice, will never know how you felt. A month ago I came off without chains, empty, and scared my 22 years of winter mountain driving experienced butt into religion!

 

Who told you it was impossible? In many if not most cases it's the Indian, not the arrow. I used to drive a Geo Metro through where 4-wheel drive enthusiasts got stuck, and at my first and only "mud-run" a 16 year old girl took all the money in a bone-stock 2-wheel drive pickup. I almost had to fight my way out of there because I couldn't stop laughing so hard and loud. A lot of those guys had $20K or more tied up in their nowhere-near-street-legal rigs with huge mudder tires.