Wind

The crazy part, pattyj? They were in Colby fixin to go south with the wind on their tail. *shrugs*

To each their own...

 

Some can and some cant handle the wind.I never have any problems.Guess I don't consider the wind any different then any other day.When I first started driving I had a heck of a time keeping trailer in my lane and my shoulders hurt so bad from the steering wheel.

 

I'v driven in 50 mph with no troubles. Truth is a solid wind under 60 wont topple you over. The wind at 20 that gust to 50 might. Watch out for the gust more then the average speed. Truth is if you feel your loosing controll of your trailer, pull over.

 

reading a later post he stated "trainer told me to pull over, I rightly did so"

 

http://youtu.be/aQ4rbd0Zfwg

 

Now that's some heavy wind not to play with.Thats when its time to pull over..On 80 before Desmoines its always windy.Seen many semis rolled over because of it.But never drove in wind where I couldn't handle it.

 

I've been doing a lot of research the past year . Starting a local school Jan . I have found a ton of youtube material which goes from terrifying to entertaining to educational . Other than the obvious Donner crash of 2008 this is one of the more terrifying vids I have found .

~S~

 

But you're missing the point. At Colby, the interstate turns SSE and US83 is only a few miles down and it runs straight south. So they were at a point where the wind was no longer an issue and rather than continue on to their pickup, they stopped. Very poor decision making skills in a service industry.

In that video, notice the NHP already had that truck 'lit up' before the blow over.

Here's a tip about running empty in the wind: slide the tandems back, it greatly increases the stability of the trailer by transferring some of the wind loading to the tractor. Here is a post from a long ago thread:

 

That video reminded me one time on 80 before I started driving.Semis all over the place in ditches.The wind was so strong took me 5 minutes just to close my car door.Never exp wind like that before.

 

Exactly Hammer. They were in Colby, which is "just down the road" from where they turn due south.
Once they turn due south on 83, a north wind is a moot point and non-issue.
In fact, from Colby to Liberty provides the "optimum" safe direction of travel, related to the wind.

Also glad you mentioned about having the trailer tandems moved rearward.
No-one ever told me that, but from Day 1 I've always made it a point to do so. Just seemed like common sense to me, as if you take a moment to think of the "dynamics/mechanics" of the wind force against the structure design of the entire tractor/trailer (primarily the trailer), you can understand the benefits of moving the tandems as far back as possible.