Snowy weather in an 18-speed?

you can use the jake break but u want to combine service break with it.. keep the jake on low setting.. the reason for this is because the jake only applies braking power to drive axles.. it can put you into a jacknife if you arent careful. the brake pedal applies braking power to all wheels... the best way to drive in the snow is to drive like you dont have brakes... leaving alot of following distance to the people in front of you.. dont ever drive in a pack. either slow down or speed up to get away from a pack of vehicles or trucks... constantly monitor the road. if it looks shiny/wet and you dont have road spray then you are on ice... if its a wet snow its going to be ice underneath the snowpack and it can be pretty slick... if its a dry snow you will have good traction on it ... tell us what are you are in and we can figure out what conditions you are going to face and better help you?

 

dry snow you are going to find when it is colder. like 5 degress and below. the wet snow you will find in humid enviroments , between 15 and 30 degrees. this is the worst snow to drive in because it ices up real quick... the colder the better, dry snow you can drive 60mph on it all day long and never break traction. you do that on wet snow and you will kill yourself... just walk around the truck parking lot and walk on the snow , it will give you a good idea of what has traction on your shoes and what doesnt have traction. you will notice the shiny looking snow is very slick and you will fall... the powdery looking snow actually has good traction underneath your shoes and you can walk on it pretty easy... really the only way to get good at driving in snow is to drive in it... the biggest thing is to pay attention to whats going on around you and to drive like you have no brakes... those 2 things will keep you out of trouble no matter what weather conditions are like.

 

One thing I've learned the hard way - in a 13 speed- is when you are in slick conditions, be careful when splitting down say from 13 to 12, or in your case 18 to 17. This would apply anytime you split down.

I was on a snowy road, can't remember what gear I was actually in, but I know the splitter was front. I wanted to drop a gear, so I flipped the button back and ended up going for a bit of a ride.

Far as using the Jake brake in snow, I do it a lot. But ya gotta be extra careful with it. I run a Cat, and the Jake brake is kinda weak. When I'm loaded, I'll use it on the high setting, anything else doesn't really do much. But if it starts to slip, turn it off. And empty, it's on the low setting, which is sometimes too much.

Just kind of something you'll get a feel for after a snow storm or three.

 

Living in Pennsyltucky, I never knew either. Until I went to Michigan in January. Then I knew lol

 

theres nothing quite like the feeling of being empty and letting off the fuel pedal for a patch of ice and realize you left the jake break on in the high position and feel the truck going into a slide... mini heart attack

 

In bad weather, slow down, take it easy and Increase your following distance. As for the Jake brake, usually in hard packed snow you will be ok using it. Fresh snow depending on how strong your Jake brake is it can cause the tires to loose traction. If you loose traction, turn it off obviously.

 

yes they are crazy. dont follow them . they are the ones that contribute to the pileups. drive what speed you feel is comfortable.