Doubles in Wyoming winter

I love the johnny bar for my single trailer in snow/ice, i'll even pull my trailer ABS fuse at times to guarantee I can lock my trailer brakes if needed.

I've never pulled doubles, and the wrong reaction there could really start trouble. I'm sure some experienced hands will be along shortly.

 

Get you a good T handle to tighten those chains.
A bunch of tarp straps to keep chains tight.
A good radio because if the truck quits and about 30 minutes all your heat is gone get someone to stop so you don't freeze to death.
Johnny bar will drag you straight. Play with it on flat snow covered lot at slow speed.

 

If i remember @snowlauncher pulls triples out in id/Mt and @Cattleman84 is a Wyoming vet

 

I pulled doubles for the better part of 20 years with CF and UPS. I ran team for Buster Brown to Salt Lake from Louisville Ky passing through Rock Springs twice a week several years ago. Best tip I can give you is both hands on the wheel and until you learn how your tractor handles slow way down in inclement weather. During the day especially on a nice sunny day it was possible to drop your guard and out of nowhere a gust of crosswind would hit you. We often pulled emptys home at Buster and it was fun to say the least. In my experience on 80 the problem was wind and ice, slower speeds and experience is about your only advantage. In fact they would often route us across 70 in the snow to avoid the winds on 80 and the fact that 70 seldom closed. I didn’t like that plan, but we went the way they paid us to go.

 

Oh boy, I don't know which stretch of road I despise more through/around the mountains, especially during the winter, I70 or I80. Probably the toughest stretch of road anywhere. SLC to Denver. Rarely would I ever run empties on I80 in the winter, unless absolutely sure of good weather all the way, all day. Almost always ran empties on I70. Wind gets ahold of an empty and it will twist your dolly like a pretzel (seen it, never happened to me, I knew better). I preferred I80 with weight in my pups. Never used a Johnny Bar. Utah salts the heck out of the roads, so no issues there. But Wyoming, ughh, they through down a little sand and it can get ugly quick. You can hardly be moving and slide all the way down a steep hill, helpless. Weather maps and Wyoming DOT updates will be your friends. Guess I was lucky, not a scratch, one full winter season was all I wanted to see. Now I rarely see snow and if so, not sticking to the roads, no mountains, no chains.

 

Never pulled short doubles like fed ex... Amd never been a fan of the Johnny bar. But i will say that you need to pay attention to the weather amd WY DOT sites for the wind. But from SLC to rock springs isn't to bad for wind. The only kinda bad stretch there would be from little America to the sisters, sonetimes it can get a bit windy through there. Running doubles the wind will affect you more than pulling a single. Take it slow and park if you don't feel comfortable. DO NOT go barreling along just because everyone else is... That will get you into trouble.

 

I learned the need for a better tire chain wrench the hard way. Great advice!
https://www.iowa80.com/pd/budtbar-tire-chain-wren/400741/

If you freeze to death in this day and age in a vehicle keeping the wind off of you until roads are cleared.... maybe you did the gene pool a favor?
Bibs, jacket, gloves, hat, boots, thermals & a full face mask/protection and your hardest challenge will be potable water. Stay with your vehicle and don't count on others for help especially in sparsely populated states. Hell, pretty soon all cell phones will directly communicate with satellites weather permitting.

It's getting harder and harder to be alone on this rock.

 

@D.Tibbitt good to see you back around again.

 

We pulled doubles for about 8 years, mainly across I-40, but quite a few times across there. It's probably not as bad a stretch as Rock Springs to Cheyenne.

Practice putting on some chains while the weather is nice - and take the advice above, tarp straps to keep them tight. I only ever put a single rail on the drive tires and trudged on.

Sometimes I'd get the wife to push the brake pedal, and I'd go to the last pup and crack open the valve a little, so the trailer set wasn't getting the full amount of air when brakes were applied, so a light trailer axle wouldn't grab on slick roads and start to whip around - but I'm not advising you do that.

As said, make sure you're prepared for survival if you get stuck on the road for wrecks/closures etc.

Ask them if you can take 15 to 84 to 80 when it gets bad - lot easier and safer than climbing/descending that summit.