Doubles in Wyoming winter

@Alzrn You actually can do that, and they'll even pay you the extra miles if you have them change your route before you leave. I've picked up relay trailers that came through Rock Springs with the trip sheet still attached and showing ~200 miles instead of the usual 191.

 

That’s a good policy for them to have.

 

I used to run doubles around Montana during the winter time.. I usually pulled them over several mountain passes, so my experience is going to be different than pulling them on flat surfaces.

But during fresh snowfall, fine snow can build up inside of your brake drums and prevent your brake pads from making contact. I found it helpful to occasionally ride my brakes for about a minute or so to get rid of the snow buildup.

The other tip is to never set your trailer brakes unless you are dropping your set. Yeah, it's counterintuitive to go inside of a truck stop or something, but if you set your brakes right away, you may find yourself underneath your trailers trying to free them up again.

Next, don't run your defroster during cold days when it snows. Let your windshield freeze itself clear. It will prevent snow from sticking to it. I was skeptical initially when I heard about it, but that definitely was one of the more useful things I ended up learning.

If you ever lose track of the roadway, find the rumble strip. We call that "drive by Braille". If you feel your steering wheel suddenly pull you one side or the other, then you have gone too far over the edge. Try to slow down and find your way back on to the roadway.

If you aren't sure about completing your journey safely, try to keep flares on you. They are way easier to see for other motorists than triangles if you find yourself in a ditch.

Safe travels!

 

Your avatar is too political. You're in the wrong business.

 

How do you figure?

 

The idea of never locking trailer brakes is sometimes faulty. On an incline, a single axle tractor or a tandem axle tractor brakes may not hold a vehicle on a slippery surface. Also some tandem axle tractors only have locking brake chambers on 1 axle. So be warned.

 

I wouldn't leave my brakes free on a steep incline if the parking lot was clear, so you are definitely right about that. If the lot has a minor backwards incline, you can try to back your set to where your rearmost tire touches the curb (if there is one) or you can also chock your tires.

Twin screws should have parking brakes on both sides of the back, but you are probably right about the ones that have tandems but one of them is just a dead axle. Single axle altogether is way to sketchy to rely on just the tractor parking brakes. Especially if one side or the other isn't perfectly aligned or had the brake pad recently replaced. That's a lot of weight where you would rely on possibly just one pad holding it.

 

Well now it's gone, but having to tiptoe around the site rules, your avatar showed a past and current is leader with a past German leaders mustache.

 

I've gotten out many times to piss on just an off ramps slight incline and two 20k pups will pull a single screw wherever it wants it to go.

 

Ever looked at your set roll on by and gone "screw it, I'll catch up to you guys in a minute at the bottom of the ramp"?

That would be my first thought. I ain't stopping once I started.