Newbies!!! It's almost winter!!! Here's some tips.

I'm looking for more ideas to prevent gelling since were not allowed to run additives.

I've also heard it's good to keep your tanks full. If you stop for the night and plan on getting fuel, you should do it that night instead of the next morning. That way the fuel will be the same tempature as the outside temps before running through the engine. If you don't, when it comes out of the ground it is warmer than the outside tempature and will cause condensation????

Thoughts, more ideas to prevent gelling?

Thanks,

 

I find it hard to believe anybody won't reimburse an additives purchase if the temperature where you're at or going to be at is going to be at/below 10 degrees F. A $20 additive purchase is a lot cheaper than a $400 road service call 150 miles west of Fargo. Buy it yourself if you really feel there could be an issue. If it gets cold enough, you can have gelling/freezing issues running down the road, let alone simply idling overnight. It's the extended periods below about 10 degrees that will get you. Simply getting down to 10 degrees for a few hours then a slow rise to 24 degrees you can probably weather but if it heads below 10 for 24+ hours, you have to be prepared for fuel issues if you don't take special measures.

The northern US winter blends (at least 80% of your fuel) will probably keep you safe for extended periods down to 10, any colder then I'd be thinking about extra measures.

Yes keep your tanks full is ideal if you can and again, preferably with northern winter blend fuel. And don't fuel at trashy small truckstops who may have questionable fuel quality.

 

Reimbursement for costs is not the issue, supposedly the manufacture recommends not using additives with the new trucks and the anti-pollution systems.

 

Why do people say not to use jake in winter? Coming down vail or Eisenhower you need them to help keep rps low, i ushually put them on low and in 7th gear if roads are bad and just togle jake on the way down, but this is my first winter.

 

There is a chance of locking up the drivers and causing loss of traction. With that said I use Jakes on Snowpack/slick roads but on a lower setting. If your barefoot your chances increase to have a bad day.

 

Hmm, maybe. I hadn't heard this yet. Will look into it though. I suspect too high concentrations are the primary concern. Power Service website seems to not see an issue with any engines or exhaust systems so long as used as prescribed.

Also, changing gears ... might bookmark this site for future reference prior to starting out on those cross-country trips or otherwise planning ahead.

http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/wwd/winter_wx.shtml

 

I was having a good day till I read this

 

Rubbing alcohol incase lines freeze

 

Always pay attention to the slope of terrain and how the sun hits it. If a slope faces north, the chances are it will have a lot more problems with ice than if a slope faces south. Slopes facing east will unfreeze in the morning and freeze in the afternoon and vice versa.

One area that always seems to have ice is the hill just east of Laramie, WY when you are eastbound on I-80. That's in a canyon and rarely gets any sun, so you could have bare and dry roads before and after that climb, but be in very slick conditions on that hill.

I had a "situation" last winter (I forget where) on bare, dry roads getting close to a shipper. I had to make a turn from a 4 lane highway running east and west DOWN a short hill toward the north. That short hill was facing north and had a layer of ice on it. Because I was paying more attention to oncoming traffic I failed to recognize the situation until I was already committed to moving my butt off the 4 lane, although I was taking it pretty slow. The downhill was short, then turned 90º to the left after 100 feet. It was glaze ice and if I tried to make that turn I was going to jackknife right into a curb. Fortunately there was an entrance to an office parking lot straight ahead. I remember the astonished look on the face of the receptionist as I eased to a stop in front of the main entrance. I then put on the 4-ways and backed out onto the street to make the turn.