super-b driving and chaining advice in winter.

You don't want to blow up your diff lockers. Make sure your drive tires are all the same tread depth. If the front and rear axles rotate at different speeds this will cause the smaller tires to scrub, cause binding on your drivetrain, stress out your differentials, and ultimately cost your company at least $16000 to fix.

You need your diff lockers in the winter in order to prevent wheel spin and evenly distribute torque to each drive wheel.

You can still use the lighter spec chains on your trailer axles.

Today's automatics are dual clutch systems which manage a standard gear set. They are nothing like the automatics in your car. They are more of an automated manual transmission instead.

 

I also forgot to mention this: Every fall change out your air dryer cartridge/canister. It's cheap insurance, and you can do it yourself.

The benefits? Your anti-lock braking system will be less likely to fail in freezing weather, your stability control system will be less likely to fail in freezing weather, your trailer brakes won't be frozen open (runaway truck!), your trailer brakes won't be frozen if they are already applied (brakes on fire, trailer won't move!), your transmission air lines won't get clogged with ice (automatics are very vulnerable to this), your air tanks won't build up ice at the bottom of the tank (more reserve air, more safety).

Numerous air-pressure control systems are in place in today's trucks. Moisture in the lines in warm weather will turn to ice in the lines by the time you get to your destination. Chains won't help you much by then. It may take a day or two for a tow truck in bad weather to get to you because of how busy they get.

 

When you are empty, learn how to slow down without touching the brakes. Unlike a straight trailer, as soon as the brakes start to apply, both trailers will decide their own way to go (at least with the decks I've used, they tend to have really grabby brakes, and yes, they are properly adjusted).

At least with a straight job you can see what's happening and correct it, but with B's, it'll happen faster than you can fix.

Properly loaded B's are a dream to drive in the winter though, they stick to the road really nice.

 

I always ran ice breaker cam lock chains on the b trains. Chips & flats. When you chain, chain all the corners on your drives. It sucks to spin out then try and get started again. I've even double chained drives in deep wet snowpack. It's nice to be able to back up 2 trailers.

 

That sucks running e-logs pulling trains. Hope you running downhill both ways. When I was running shoreline of Lake Superior pulling trains average speed was 45 mph. Few companies make it worth your while
Have fun out there

 

It depends on the company, most of my deck buddies on ELD's get hourly for On Duty time for tarping/chaining and such. When getting unloaded, after your straps and tarps are off, and the forklift is doing its thing, go chill in the sleeper berth. Lots of good advice here, I've never run super B on Hwy 1/3, but done lots of Tandem/Tridem rounders in the winter. Best advice I ever got, was do everything in 1-2 gears lower than you think you can do it in; saved my ### many times. Also the using a lower gear, and keeping the RPM's higher works amazing, with room to work the fuel pedal is the hot ticket.

 

Like others have said, use higher rpms to climb than usual. If you take the hill regularly in direct 3, or for some with monster power, 6 direct (trains I'm talking about here), use a half or full gear lower. Best bet is 300 to 400 rpms over your regular. You can then cruise up slower, but allow yourself some room to not have to touch the shifter. But, do this before you hit the hill, not when you're already on it. Suck it up and crawl, it's not a race. Trucks can and do spin no matter what. But I guarantee you, if it's really bad, then one teeny tiny little half gear split will shut you down.
Other tips from an incorrigible super trucker that bare foots almost exclusively. Use your radio. Find out what the hill is like before you get there. If it's a gong show with trucks spun out, then find a spot to pull over, or with enough time, slow down and time your attack. It never fails to amaze me that guys pull out of the chain area, then half way up they come to a dead stop because of the mess ahead of them. Trying to lift off after snow has piled up for an hour or more is not fun. I seen have DOT force guys to leave the chain up, only then get stuck. So if it's bad, find out ahead of time. But the best tip of all, is know how to fricken' chain in the first place, and carry enough for what you need. And yeah, sometimes a drag chain is needed too. Oh for the true idiots, if there's two of you that compounds the idiocy, if one is outside chaining, the other guy must keep his foot off the go pedal!!!!