A few cold weather tips

When a 4 wheeler spins out in front of you during snow/ice, you'll wish that you were going slower and had more following distance.

Its not risking your CDL, and peoples lives, for the loads on time delivery.

If your determined to be on bad roads, at least do it safely (slower speed and greater following distance).

Dash Cam will help you in case that someone else acted like idiot and was beyond your control when they hit you. Protect your CDL!

 

Because every driver out here will have there own opinions, it's like the old saying, you could not get 10 drivers to agree on where to stop for a cup of coffee.......

 

I know those two.

 

I had to throw iron Friday and one thing I can ad as a small tip.
It's nice to have a good set of heavy duty insulated rubber gloves.
I got a set after having froze my hands with wet freezing cold gloves chaining up in the past.
Nice to have warm dry hands!

 

Great post.. really good.
I am up here in PA I-80, waiting at Pilot stop... And so I can see how some guys don't do their job or maybe just don't follow the right procedures to not end up in trouble in this so cold weather.

This morning as I enter the Pilot store to get me some good hot coffee, a driver come to me and ask for help, if I could jump start his truck, because some how it wouldn't crank up. Then I realized how we, the truckers, sometime most of us are so selfish and just want to run the miles as fast as they can; I say this because this driver told me he was since 6am (he talked to me around 8:30) he was asking one and other driver if they could help him, and everyone said "No Sir, I can't help you". - Well, I could not help him with my truck to do the jumping, but I set down with him, and we called a bunch of phone numbers until we found someone to come and help him. The fact of the matter is, he is from Dallas, TX not so experienced with this kind cold (about -5 at night) and he didn't do what was supposed to do.

Any way, the trucking repair guy came and got this driver's truck running again.

I hope everyone stay safe and warm. May God bless you!

 

How do you drive over a bridge you think may be covered in ice?

 

Hopefully he didn't gamble the whole week he was stuck there lol

 

That's the general consensus of today's trucker. Good for you for trying. That's the GA in you! I kept jumper cables and in winter even a logging chain on my truck. I jumped off more trucks than I have my own. I actually can't remember but jumping my own reefer off once and my truck once at the house. If I could help a driver I would. I've probably used the chain a half dozen times pulling some one off or giving them a tug to get unstuck.

I grew up in PA and lived most of my life in the south. I will say people in the south are more apt to help one another. The country needs to back up about 50 years in that aspect. People today are so much in a hurry they don't have time for the simple stuff. If you help someone there will be a time you need help. Pick one up and pass it around is the way I see it.

I remember one time breaking down in the middle of no where. It was about 3 am and only a few had cellphones back then which I didn't. A driver headed the other way hollered at me on the CB. He said let me get turned around. He had to go five miles to the next exit but he did. He come back and we tried to figure it out. I was low on oil and he even gave me a gallon of oil which I tried to pay him and he wouldn't accept. After borrowing his phone and a phone call waking my boss up we figured out it was the ECM wire broke in two. I was up and rolling again thanks to that driver I'll never forget. That's the way it's suppose to be.

By observation. First you know the weather as part of your trip planning. Second you never drive outside your comfort zone. The only time a bridge will catch you off guard is most likely before a storm with a combination of rain and freezing temperatures. When it snows everything is covered. The beginning of a storm is the worst time. Afterwards the plows and salt trucks are running. I have pulled over and waited for the salt trucks before.

I remember one time coming into Indianapolis on I-74. A storm was approaching and it already had some rain and the temperature was dropping quickly. The salt trucks ran and the roads were safe, no problem. One thing you'll learn is salt trucks run out and the next one has to pick up where he left off, so you hope. Sometimes they mess up and there might be a stretch they miss as in this case. I was coming down a slight hill where gravity was helping. At the bottom was an overpass. I noticed four cars wiped out in the median right after the overpass which caught my attention. As soon as I hit the overpass I felt my drives coming out from under me. I knew my trailer was pushing me from the hill. I knew gassing on it or braking was the wrong idea. What I did was gave it a very light throttle so I wasn't pulling or the trailer wasn't pushing me. Luckily I made it to the other side with only some drawn up underware. I immediately got on the CB to those who were listening. After the bridge the salt trucks picked up again. They just missed that overpass.

I've noticed too salt trucks have jurisdictions. Four trucks and me were stuck in a storm in NE one time at the top of a hill with two trucks jack knifed at the bottom. All you can do in them situations is wait for conditions to improve. I seen in my mirror a salt truck coming. Good! Maybe I can get going now. Here come the flashing lights closer and closer. He turned around right behind us and went the other way. WTH? I looked on the map and we were sitting on the county line hence the turn around. They will only cover their area no matter what. We waited until sun up and then the plows finally ran. I was the lead truck and made it down the hill and started spinning near the top of the next hill but I made it. I got to delivery with 5 minutes to spare.

Black ice is your enemy. Pay close attention to the temperature. Watch the spray off your trailer and drives and even other trucks. No spray or decreasing spray means the road is freezing. Watch your mirrors and antennas for ice accumulating. Look for that glaze on the road. Lastly you'll feel it in your drives. If you start feeling uncomfortable don't feel scared what your dispatcher might say or out of place to pull over. It isn't a contest to see who's best like many think. I made it, I must be good type thing. A late load in winter is better than no load. It is expected. Don't ever let a dispatcher push you in winter. All they care about is on time delivery. They don't know the road conditions. That's one time as a driver you can put your foot down and say "NO". As you gain experience your comfort level will raise. It's not something you can rush.

 

Thanks!I hope it never happens,but there is that chance.Make sure the tractor is pulling the trailer,not the trailer pushing the tractor.