Some good points in here for sure. But don't be afraid to use your power divider. It won't hurt anything, it won't make you understeer. Power divider + 1 locker = minimal understeer, power divider and 2 lockers is where time and place should be considered.
I run it on bare dry pavement pulling a hill to spread the torque out a bit, rather than cooking that back right position. And its in anytime the road isn't flat, bare, and dry. Done this on dozens of company trucks, and the 3 of mine I've owned, never had an issue.
A little winter adventure (Learning about traction for dummies)
Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by Hammer166, Mar 19, 2025.
Page 2 of 3
-
Hammer166, D.Tibbitt, BlackjackCo and 1 other person Thank this.
-
Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds
Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.
-
I'm in between jobs right now. One of the company recruiters I was speaking with over the phone was asking me some questions, one of which was what to do when driving and discovering that a storm is ahead. I said, "chain up and proceed..." , she corrected me and said the company requires their drivers to park and wait it out.Hammer166, Moosetek13 and D.Tibbitt Thank this. -
-
But no worries, I was actually supposed to be in day one of orientation today, but I missed my flight by 17 minutes. The carrier got a credit for the missed flight and got me booked for Sunday.kemosabi49 and D.Tibbitt Thank this. -
scottied67 Thanks this.
-
-
As far as running the power divider going down the road, the buzzer is one of the first things to get disabled in a new truck. I don't run it engaged as much as I used too, mainly because drive tires have so much better snow traction than they used to. I've been driving long enough that I remember when we engaged it anytime it was slick as unnoticed slip would eat the power divider as they would fling the oil off and overheat. Modern rears have much better lube designs that have eliminated that problem.
But climbing in the crap it's locked, as I'll run much closer to the traction limit going up vs down. Coming down I generally want a much earlier warning I'm approaching the traction limit, so I'm usually unlocked unless it's so slick that unlocked makes the Jake unusable.
The truck I had with full lockers only had two switches, so it was all or nothing. You could plow snow with it all locked up, you just had to pointed in the right direction first! LOL -
Wow. It all sounds like a crap shoot.
And better tires? That depends on what your company uses year round and at the cheapest price.
The tires I am used to have zero traction if there is any snow or ice, and they slide with a modest amount of water on the road. -
My Volvo came like that... Salesman said they couldn't be isolated and couldnt be made to come on in high range. Figured it out easily enough though!D.Tibbitt, Hammer166 and Accidental Trucker Thank this. -
D.Tibbitt, Banker, Oxbow and 1 other person Thank this.
Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds
Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.
Page 2 of 3