At what point would be considered lightweight? In Wyoming i80

I’m sure they will and rightfully so. If you’re getting thrown off your lane constantly, it’s time to park the truck.

 

And someone that is in higher winds frequently is going to react differently also. Someone that is experienced is going to let the truck do what it needs to do within reason, and someone that doesn’t deal with wind much could very well jerk the wheel and jackknife into the ditch or tip over. And any one of us could catch that one gust that does us in.

I shut down empty a few weeks ago in Iowa of all places. I was empty, coming back west fighting a north wind. It was slick and I was getting tossed around pretty good. I decided I wasn’t ready for a new truck yet so I parked. I don’t know what it is about that tank but it’s the worst of any trailer I’ve pulled in the wind.

 

I have only driven 53’ box trailers, so I’m not sure about cattle trailers. I would say that making your equipment more aerodynamic should “in theory” help in high winds.

I was in a rest area in Pine Bluffs, WY a few weeks ago. I noticed one of the light poles being shaken by the strong winds. The pole was not round but squared. So apparently strong winds can move you more if you’re not aerodynamic (enough). I would also guess that if you tried walking in strong winds with a sheet of wood in your hands, the strong winds could throw you off balance. There is probably a video on YouTube explaining this phenomenon.

So back to the truck and trailer, my assumption is that if you make your equipment more aerodynamic, you can minimize being blown over. Sure, it might be minimal, but maybe a little can help. I’ve seen so many folks driving around with the trailer tandem midway. I personally always put as much weight as legally possible on my trailer tandem (I’ve talked about this elsewhere), so I can say that most 40k+ loads will be legal in holes 1 to 3. If your 45k load is loaded to the back of the trailer, then you’re looking at 4th hole or higher.

One last experience, on two-lane roads, I’ve noticed that every time I and a non-aerodynamic truck pass one another I feel this strong gust of wind moving my truck a little. On the other hand, there’s this brand new aerodynamic truck that doesn’t move me or make any noise at all. I’m sure others have noticed this as well.

 

“Driving toooo fast for the conditions “
That is a citación . The sign is snow, wind , rain , homes , people , heavy traffic .

 

Wasn't cited, but I didn't roll, it just moved the entire vehicle onto the shoulder, I slowed waaaaay down until I was clear of it. But, I'm sure that had I rolled, I would have been cited. I've been blown over once, almost blown over two or three times, my new rule of thumb, if I feel it's too windy, I'm taking my toys and going home. My bosses rarely argue with me about it, especially since the last almost blow over was their fault.

 

In this day and age of smart phones, every trucker should have downloaded on their phones the DOT apps for the states they normally run, if they are going to unfamiliar areas, look for those apps too. Wyo. is one of the simplest, and one of the best. You can view camera's, weather stations, and electronic sign messages, also, subscribe to the text alerts for those states.

Another thing to remember, states don't talk to each other, Colorado is one of the absolute worst for working with their neighbor states, many times Wyo. will have 25 closed or the high wind restriction up from the stateline to Cheyenne, if you don't receive the text alerts or use the app, you'll never know, because despite them asking Colorado to close 25 to trucks, CDOT and CSP will simply ignore them, seen it happen many times.

 

Speaking of short pallets. Akzo in Seneca Lakes used to load 24 pallets about 3 feet high for a full load of salt in bags give or take a layer.

Take a 45 mph curve at 65+ and add power coming out for 100 as if she is on rails. Loved those loads back then. Turn a 9 hour slog into about 4 hours of joy.

 

My experience is the farther to the rear your tandems are the better off you are.

 

Prove it. I posted a comment (#64) about why on 53’ box trailers with a trailer skirt, moving the tandem as forward as legally possibly should help with high winds.

 

The more air that can "compress" between the ground and under side of a trailer the easier it will roll.

Bullracks are very close to ground, but most of that is offset by being tall.

Vans and reefers are couple feet off the ground, lots of air can compress in this space... Skirts can minimize this a little.

Some tanks are kind shaped like a wing... And and several feet off the ground. With the right wind speed and direction thus can be a very unstable combination.