how are the big trucks in the snow

I'm in Nephi, UT at the J right now.

It seems I came down US-287 and that's ~211 on I-80, which is the furthest point east I know it was shut down. Then they shut down I-80 eastbound somewhere further west. I've seen a lot of milemarkers in a lot of different states in the past few days, so I can get confused pretty easily.

 

mikepleaseaddaperiodwhenyoutypebecauseitmakesitapaininthebasstryingtoreadthewritingofotherswhentheyforgettoaddpunctuationbecausewecanttellwhereonethoughtendsandanotherthoughtbeginsitsalmostasbadasreadingthisbuttheonlydifferenceisthatimalsonotusinganyspacesthanks

I think it was closed at Wamsutter, west of Rawlins, going eastbound. Ahh Nephi, lol...had to look that up. I dont hit Salt Lake City, but the burbs north of there along 84/15.

 

would traction control and ABS help in emergency situations? I've been told that autoshift would not be good in the snow as if it downshifts with little traction, it could cause trouble.
At any rate, when did traction control/ABS become available and on what brands is it prevalent?
It goes without saying that this is an extra margin of safety, not a license to drive fast in bad conditions (as I have seen some 4X4's do) you can't beat the laws of physics
regarding autoshift, (I'm thinking of gettting into trucking and becoming an o/o) I can shift, but if the computer can do it better, sounds good to me.
you can hand fly a 777 but the computer can fly it more economically and it's less wear and tear on you.
Dan

 

If you come to the North West and you don't have chains in some areas you won't make it up the hills regardless of what you are driving. If your a heavy haul trucker (104,000) gross you better have your truck side drop axle up or you will not be able to steer.

 

The ABS is pretty standard on every tractor, I believe. In fact, I'm pretty sure it has been mandated for a long time. Every trailer manufactured after a certain year (many years ago) also has ABS. You'll notice when driving down the road there's an orange light near the back on the left side that's not lit when the others are (hopefully). That's the ABS light.

I've never heard of traction control being standard on any tractor. I know there are companies that place their own systems on the tractor and trailer that can individually control the brakes on each set of tires, but it's quite costly.

And most importantly, don't become an O/O right now. Not sure if things will ever get better for the O/O, but right now a lot of them are struggling to make ends meet. Yet again, you hear most of them bragging about having the newest, biggest, baddest motor getting 4MPG. They can pass me going up that hill with twice the weight, but at least my truck will still be rolling in 6 months.

 

I know the new LoneStar has traction control as part of the ABS system. and it is an option on Kenworth, but was not sure if traction control has been installed on many yet, or if it is available on other brands.
are you speaking of o/o that are independant or those o/o that work for big firms like Schneider?
and I assume this is in relation to fuel prices.
I'm not planning on doing anything until fall, time will tell what happens between now and then, it's a wildcard.
Dan

 

I'm talking about all owner-ops. You can only tack on so much of a fuel surcharge before you can't compete with the big companies.

 

Well I think it depends on what yoau re hualing. If you ahve a niche, you can make some pretty good money. Even if you dont have a niche, if yo can get some guaranteed weekly loads from point A to B and back...thats going to work out well in yoru favor. Just don't go after the big companies for freight...and you shoudl still be able to work in a good fuel surcharge. Negotiate is a good word.