New drivers in here: My first chain up experience

This is for all you new/inexperienced drivers and those who havent chained up before.

I am a female driver that runs Anheuser Busch out of St. Louis and ended up making a run to Oklahoma City, OK then to Ft. Collins, CO. Then they were short a few drivers and they needed a load ran up in the mountains last Tuesday to Glenwood Springs.

I had never chained before but had a little bit of mountain driving experience, and I was scared, nervous and didnt really want to do it, but I faced my fear and went anyway. Cant learn anything if you arent willing to apply yourself and at least try.

It snowed the whole way from the scales in Dumont on I-70 and my heart probably thumped through my shirt and bra the entire way. Slid and slipped up to Eisenhower Tunnel had to pass a Swift truck that spun out. My adrenaline pumping, sweat on my face, trying to keep fear at bay.

Traffic then came to a dead stop 3/4 of the way up the grade going wb I-70 and I thought I would never get her up the hill. But I locked my interaxle diff in and got in low gear and got her going the rest of the way. Chain law from mm 224 to the tunnel went in effect right as I hit the tunnel. This unnerved me a bit. But as I hit the tunnel I celebrated a small victory. i made it to the top!! yeah!

Went through the tunnel and geared down to 5th gear as I came out the other side. Darn near jack knifed going down the west side of Eisenhower doing 15 mph w/ 80000# and left rear of the trailer kicked out on me and tractor headed for the wall. gave a little fuel and steered into it and got it back. pretty scary and this really rattled my cage hard.

So much in fact it took me out of my mental focus. Turns out I was actually going TOO slow. Which can be just as dangerous as going too fast. 20-25 mph is a good speed to maintain. Nice and steady to keep that trailer right where she should be...directly behind you.

Made it down the grade to Officers Gulch and over near Copper Mountain and had to chain up at the bottom to go up Vail Summit.

It took me 70 minutes to chain up...first time ever and was pretty frustrated.

Another driver helped me get 'em on and I finally got on my way. Once chained up, I felt way more in control and much safer. My confidence started coming back. Got out of the chain area, stopped to unchain and I made my delivery and stopped in Eagle for the night on the way back.

The chains I had were old and needed replacing as they were bad so I sent a macro on the qualcomm and got new chains brought out to the truck by roadside breakdown.

I called my trainer and we talked a bit about what happened that day. He talked me down and got me calmed down because I honestly didnt think I could do it all again if I had to. I told him I didnt think I could do this all winter. He said sure you can. He coached me on a few things, gave some pointers and said that I could do it and I would be alright. I wasnt so sure but I took his advice and got a good nights sleep.

Coming back on EB I-70 the next day, I got to Vail and chain law was in effect for Vail Pass Summit. Reluctantly I pulled into the chain station and got my new chains out. Having good chains it only took 39 minutes to chain up this time. Big improvement in time and my heart swelled with pride and boosted my confidence some more. I got my chains nice and tight and everything went nice, smooth and easy.

And then I conquered Vail Pass Summit without a second thought. Got up, got down to mm 205 and unchained and easy sailing the rest of the way back to Denver. My confidence and pride soared! That wasnt so bad! Not as bad as I thought it was or as bad as I had made it up to be in my mind.

Now the reason I am writing this is to help some of you who may find yourselves in a situation where you gotta chain.

I psyched myself out when I found out I was going up in the mountains. Didnt want to go, didnt want to chain, didnt have the experience, hadnt been taught or instructed and had no one to coach me. This can be very scary for a new driver.

The best thing you can do is stay calm, face your fears, call your trainer and have him/her talk you through it. If you had a crappy trainer call Safety and have them talk you through it. Call a fellow truck driver or someone with knowledge. But dont give into fear. You will learn and accomplish nothing by doing so.

Chaining is not the end of the world. Your mind will convince you that its the most terrible, awful thing and you will fear it and shy away from and run from it amd refuse to do it. Many other truckers will try and convince you of the same. If you give in...you are robbing yourself of valuable knowledge and experience.

But once you get past that first experience. It gets easier. and easier and easier.

After my return trip it didnt seem so bad. I made more of it than there actually was.

Chains are there for 2 reasons. To give you traction and for safety reasons to get you out of a bind. You dont have to drive 50, 100, or 200 miles on chains. They are just to get you to a safe area or out of the chain zone. In some cases in the mountains up on those high mountain passes, that chain zone is only 5-10 miles and then the roads are clear and the weather is great.

Nothing to be afraid of. Many truckers will tell you they refuse to chain, aint worth it to keep going and all that hogwash.

Truth is I feel safer with the darn chains on than I do slipping tires and sliding up to the top of the Eisenhower Tunnel.

Get those chains on and you can get up and down and out of the chain area and continue on your way without further adieu.

Or you can be scared, let fear control you, refuse to chain up and sit on the side of the road and waste time and not make any money, possibly risk running out of fuel, might freeze to death, or without chains you get stuck up there a few days because where you park doesnt get plowed so you either have to wait till the plows come through or get towed out (which some companies will slap you with a preventable and/or accident).

And...you can let a girl show you up. [emoji6]

Not here to tell any of you that you have to chain, I am just telling you it really aint that bad if you have to do so.

If you can chain up and get through it...you can do most anything else that comes your way when you are behind the wheel of a truck.

Happy trucking out there. Be safe!

 

i dont think anyone wants to see me in a bikini lol. flabby stomach and cellulite on my butt = no bueno.

but thanks!

 

i figure if a driver cant go all in on their job...then what good are ya?

you spent the time and money for cdl school
spent the money for a cdl
you spent 6-8 weeks with a trainer
got assigned your own truck

but you wont chain up and run through a little snow?

i came to work and earn my keep. girl or not. scared or not. sometimes you gotta take the bull by the horns and twist his head and throw his ### on the ground and show him who the boss is. . I am not special or above chaining up just because I am a rookie or a girl.


the equipment provided is designed to help keep you safe and the training is designed to help get you through situations. just gotta remember it and apply it.

 

in Colorado its $500 fine + $67 fee up to $1000 fine + $67 fee if you dont chain up when its in effect or you get stuck and have to be towed because you didnt chain up.