winter driving advise

Monitor the CB for accident and road closure information. Plan your routes with weather information in mind. If you run familiar territory, know where it is convenient to leave the Interstate and run the back roads.

Many have advised not to make any sudden moves with steering and braking. However, driving in strong side winds on slippery roads, you will need quick corrections with steering whenever you feel the drive tires sliding sideways. Think of a sprint car racer, elbows up, steering into the skid. Get the tractor straight. Forget the trailer except when braking. Watch the trailer when braking. If the trailer slides sideways, release the brakes momentarily. Stay in the plowed lane because a trailer over the snow berm will pull the entire rig into the ditch. Carry a bottle of naproxen sodium for sore hands and wrists.

 

Good advice.

Strong side winds on slick roads are a pain especially if light.

 

Keep your chains and pyjamas in the same bag.
In case of a blizzard, put on whatever's easier.

 

When you pull in a lot to park or dock let your tires cool first. They will melt ice and the ice will re-freeze around your tires gluing you to the pavement. Also do not set your trailer brakes when you stop to fuel, only set the tractor brakes.

 

Good one.

Just to expand on that a little ... if you stop for more than about a half-hour, such as for your 10-hour rest, remember to move the truck a foot or two after about a half-hour (if you are parked on compacted snow or ice). You will see a set of depressions in the surface where your tires were (from melting). If you wait till morning they can be aweful hard to get out of.

 

My route takes me through the Sierra Nevada on back roads (Routes 395, 44 & 89...then I-5 to north of Yreka, CA - serious snow country!) at night...sometimes as many as three or more chainups in one night. I would offer that there are a lot of "drivers" that have the attitude that if chains are required, they are going to park it...but they are not truckers, in my estimation. There is a time to park it and wait it out, but being able to confidently, efficiently chainup is part of this job. You will never learn winter driving on the side of the road in the sleeper. Learning when to park the truck can only be learned by chaining up and gaining the experience that you need. If this really freaks you out, I'd look into a job along I-10...not much chaining up and winter conditions driving down there.

Try to see this winter as an opportunity to build your trucker skill set. Remember, experienced winter drivers can drive in almost any condition (albeit a lot slower), but fair weather drivers can only drive in fair weather. You received a lot of solid advice in the posts on this thread...now don't be afraid to use the advice by being a trucker who knows that they can drive in horrid winter conditions and the experience to know when to park it. I'd lastly suggest if you are going to drive in the winter regularly, get a chain repair tool and carry chain repair parts...it sure is nice to know you are able to fix a broken cross-link yourself.

 

I second you on that... this will be my first time driving on snow. I feel the same way you do... this will be the REAL training.... but I am up for the challenge too. What makes me even more nervous is that my team partner has a little less experience than me and he never drove on snow either...

 

I generally only chainup my outer tires in a tandem (generally when I pass chain control it is so dark that all they want to hear is the click of the chains). I found it useful to carry some short length (about a foot long) of 4"x8" wood blocks. I put one in front of each inner tire of the tandems I plan on chaining (generally both drive axles and on one trailer axle). Then I pull the truck onto the blocks and I hang all the iron and tighten them all up. Drive about a mile and retighten. The blocks make it easy to hook 'em up and I feel speed up the process for me.

 

I'll second that!