Doubles in Wyoming winter

I'll just say that I NEVER run triples when there is even a chance of snow or ice or generally crappy traction on road surfaces. I tell the dispatchers to go and kick rocks!
As for doubles, our company trucks are single screw, auto shift with no manual mode/paddle shifting. Also no trolley valve for braking the trailers. It pisses me off, but I've learned how to keep it on the road nonetheless.
For one thing, when you apply the service brake in tandem trailer combinations, the air has to travel to the rear most brakes first. There is a bit of a delay for the onset, but this means that the back trailer slows first. As long as are controlled in your initial speed and braking on slick surfaces it stays straight. If your back trailer starts to skid you don't apply the brakes harder, instead you gently accelerate to pull it straight.

 

Not Wyoming doubles but this happened in Western Minnesota this last Wednesday. 4 sets of XPO went in the ditch one right after the other.

They all came out of XMP back to West Fargo, all are ok thankfully. Pack mentality strikes again. This was my friend Nate. He’s leaving XPO as soon as another spot opens up where I’m at. He’s tired of being told he has to go, management has no idea about what we deal with out here.

I’m not sure if the others will be leaving with him or not.

 

It's a stupid irony, the same corporate morons who constantly complain about company safety scores and excessive accidents, are the ones who constantly set drivers up for failure. Removing control features from the trucks, then dispatchers send you out in an ice storm when all the OTR guys are smart enough to park it and wait it out. Then they pull this crap where they tell us to limit our speed to 35 on the interstate highway and expect us to turn 500 miles in 11 hours of drive time!
It gets stupider and stupider every day, and I stopped taking these corporate desk drivers seriously a long time ago. I'll be responsible for my safety and do it my way, not the way some bean counter who looks at spreadsheets all day tells me! As long as I get home safely to my family every day and bring home a paycheck, these people can take a flying leap with all their threats and efforts to fix their own stupidity!
I really don't lose any sleep over it...

 

That and the whole “work-home life balance bs” they spout about, I told them to take a flying leap back in March. I caught on with a company that lets us make the choice of go or no go. They don’t fight us on it either, and make sure we are ok if something does happen.

I haven’t looked back, and really don’t miss that corporate bs. I’ve seen a few more pictures and videos where there have been involved in other accidents. The safety rating has to be in the toilet by now

 

Don't forget about the terminal managers wanting to keep motel stays to under 10 nights in a whole winter across 50 linehaul drivers where every 80% of the runs are 500 miles to 600 miles across Montana.

 

When I started at FxF, I was told they had a rule where you needed to maintain 15 seconds following distance from any other FedEx branded equipment in adverse conditions. Not for our safety or anything, but to reduce the monetary loss incurred from a single accident and to avoid bad publicity from seeing a bunch of FedEx trucks all smashed together.

But like you said, there’s a pack mentality when running the same route, so everyone still groups together.

 

Someone has a pretty good blog on the subject. Seen it floating around on facebook in a few trucking groups.

The Rocky Mountain Trucker Blog

As far as personal experience, you won't have the worst of it if you're only going to Rock Springs.

If you have to go through to Cheyenne that's where it gets ugly with the wind from Elk Mountain to Cheyenne.

My rule of thumb is 7K lbs of freight minimum per trailer up to 65 mph winds. Winds higher than that? No dice. I won't run. Too dangerous. If I'm 75K - 80K gross I'll run in 70 mph winds and that's where I draw the line in the sand with Central and Safety.

Most empties weigh about 7500 - 8900 lbs.
gears weigh 2800-3000 lbs.
a twin screw tractor daycab fully fueled is about 16500 lbs.
Single screw daycab is about 13K lbs.

T/S DC Tractor - 16K
Trailer - 8K + 7K freight = 15K
Gear - 2800 Lbs
Trailer 2 - 8K + 7K freight = 15K
48,800 lbs Gross

(You may need to slow to 55 mph till you're through the higher wind areas if you're getting rocked but it won't blow you over). You can also take US-30 from Walcott Junction to Laramie. The winds are a lot less through there. The mountains and hills break it up better than on I-80.

Most of the warnings are for 40,000 GVWR or less. Sometimes you get the 50,000 GVWR warnings.

Watch for the black ice. It's a real mother, especially at night. Watch the rpms and listen to the engine.

Make sure your mechanics are rotating your drive tires regularly and properly. Mark the insides with numbers so you know. Loss of traction on black ice is a career killer if you end up in a ditch.

I also turn the traction control off on ice. It'll just throw you into a median or ditch. Turn your diff lock or power divider on (stay below 50 mph).

If you break traction, foot off the fuel, dont hit the brake. Steer the direction it breaks and once you get control back steer back to the correct lane.

Don't run in packs. If people start latching on your rear bumper, get off the highway and let traffic go on. Then get back on. I prefer to be by myself. Safer that way. You can watch all the stupid happen ahead. You don't want it anywhere near you.

Sign up for WYDOT text alerts on your phone. Check wyoroad.info regularly.

Stay safe driver. PM me if you need anything. I run Den to Wams 5 nights a week.

 

From exp., as I once watched my truck slide 60 ft down Vail Pass after I stopped at the summit, set my tractor brakes, used the restroom, came back out to watch my truck slide away, tractor brakes set, trailer brakes released, fortunately it buried itself into a snowbank. State Patrol, CDOT and the Tow company all said the same thing, I was the 5th one to do that that winter, and winter was only halfway over.

 

Probably cussing up a storm. I know i would.