Hello.
I've been driving trucks for over 20 years (most of it local though), but have never experienced something like this.
The truck: I recently got back to the OTR and picked up 2016 Freightliner Cascadia with auto transmission.
I woke up this morning in Petro, Laramie, WY and hit the road going east being about 73k lbs on gross. It was snowing and the road was somewhat covered in snow so I would say that it was a bit slick driving on the packed snow/ice. The plower trucks were going throwing dirt on the road. So here what's happened:
The truck was doing fine till I got to an upgrade. It started loosing speed dramastically like it has no power at all. When it got down to like 15mph I thought that it is traction control holds the power back. Sure thing - as soon as I hit disable ATC button - got power back. But all what it was doing is spinning tires and not really picking up speed, at that time I was crawling at about 2-3 mph, so I was doing that, trying to pick up some speed till I got to a some bridge where it stopped at all. I could not make it go forward. As soon as I hit throttle - tires spin forward and truck rolls backwards. So I had to back it up behind a bridge to a shoulder. I slided the trailer tandems all the way back to put as much weight on a tractor tandems. Also engaged differential lock. With all that done I hit the road again, I don't know if any of that helped, bit it still was spinning the tires and slowly crawling up the hill. I tried to stay off to the side so I can get some traction from the shoulder. Anyway, I pretty much had to crawl like that to the top of that hill. All other trucks were passing me with no problems for them.
So can anybody shed some light for me on what is wrong with that truck? This is new to me truck and I am not really familiar with some systems in it. For example, it has ECAS (electronically controlled air suspension) which seems to be not working. I have Check ECAS light on dash and remote control is dead - don't do nothing. Could it be it?
Need advice, no traction on slick road whatsoever.
Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by OFilippov, Apr 10, 2021.
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Look at your drive tires; they might be too old. What is the brand and date of manufacture?
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Tires look fairly new - very good thread. Green Max CDH100
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Super singles ?
ive seen trucks with super singles and only one drive axle on the tandems , and they get stuck on any moderately slick surface.
as mentioned the age and the tread design of tires makes a big difference.
I got stick in a unexpected snow in Atlanta a couple of years back , in my Ford Expedition .
I had no trouble driving, even in 2wd. But other 2wd vehicles right next to me couldn’t move at all
only thing i can figure is the tires were very different . -
Looks like date code is 3420. And no, not super singles. Regular double tire setup. 295-75 r22.5
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My guess is that your tires have become solid due to the cold, thus becoming less than pliable.
not4hire Thanks this. -
Is the tractor a 6x4 or 6x2? I sometimes run a 2016 Cascadia 6x2 and it will lose traction very easily, not much fun in slick conditions.
not4hire Thanks this. -
My friend was slipping all over in his rear-wheel drive BMW 5 series with new Michelins. Checked the date on them and they were manufactured few years before his purchase. Took them back to Sears tire shop (now closed) where he purchased them; store refused to take them back since there’s no defects. I had the same experience with Michelin tires - very good when new, hard and brittle as they age faster.
Soft tires get old and brittle quicker than regular cheaper tires. -
They are a Chinese tire. Probably not the right compound for snowy conditions. Too hard perhaps.
not4hire Thanks this. -
I had the same problem this winter with all the snow we got here. I had crappy old highway tires with solid shoulders. They had some decent-ish tread left but I never thought about age. They were definitely very hard tires.
Well i finally talked the boss into letting me get a new set of drives and go figure, we never got any more snow after that so I haven’t really been able to test them out.
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