CHAINING...are you ready?

I seriously thought about chaining up last night in Oklahoma. The issue wasn't snow or ice, it was that slick mud in SE Oklahoma on a dirt road with rolling hills somewhere north of 20% grades. The last 200 yard climb with a full load just kept ejecting my efforts until I backed off for the fourth and last try before breaking out the iron. 2nd gear and maintaining 2000 rpm did the trick, barely.

I hate chaining in the mud.

 

When you chain up in the sticky mud around here, it only makes your rig taller....

 

Spent most of Monday and a good portion of Tuesday chained up, rolling up 550 from Farmington, NM to Montrose, Co. Started snowing at the state line, slipped and slid my way up Bondurant Hill into Durango. Hauled butt N. out of Durango, at the start of Coal Bank I stepped out into calf deep snow, hung 4 singles, and boogied up to Montrose. Heading from Montrose to Gunnison that night, chain law was up for Cerro and Blue Mesa, didn't bother, ran it barefoot, judicious use of the throttle and I made it with zero issues. Tuesday afternoon, missed the chain law on Vail by 5 minutes, but had to hang them heading to the tunnel. Of my 1,100 mile run, I had snow for 790 miles of it, by the time I dropped the empty trailer at the customer, had close to 8,000 lbs of snow/ice between the truck and trailer, spent 15 minutes busting ice so I could open the doors, lower the landing gear and find my 5th wheel handle.

 

Ain't leaving for Wyoming in the morning...... I 80 is open -- now it's closed ---- it's open --- woops, closed again.

What a mess......

 

I use 3 railers or doubles as I call em. they aren't that to install. dang

 

That's dedication to your craft.

 

Nah! Just the normal life of a mountain driver. It's often like that up on the back roads in the northern plains, too, but of course we ain't hanging iron.

 

Does Wyoming throw a chain law at all?

 

yes

 

did it awhile back here .. wy 28