To chain or not to chain...

i guess im a super trucker to, when i ran maxi's in the PNW there are days i would chain 3 or 4 times and it was usually short runs or to get in and out of a loading area or what ever throwing iron is throwing iron

lets see some one here run a pass with the chain law up with doubles and 105k ya i don't think so, maybe with a 53 and a tag so you can load your drives but still thats alot of weight.

any ways if i can't move forward with out chains on flat ground i wait for the plow to make a pass then im off

 

How do you know what situation will need them? Twice last winter, when I left Grand Junction, the chain law was not up, but by the time I got to Vail it was up. Now what? Do you turn around and wait it out? How long are you prepared to wait? Do you back track to a different route? Hmm, I can hang 2 sets of singles and be moving again in under 20 minutes, still making money, while your spending money to wait out the same storm. I know companies that will not give their freight to my competitors in the winter because they know their drivers won't come to them if the chain law is up. We can and have added surcharges to that customer for calling us last minute as a result and he's gladly paid the surcharge to get his product. Guess who made money.

Here's the way I look at it. The description of Truck Driver: must be able to work in all weather conditions; including rain, snow, sleet, hail, ice. At all hours of the day/night as the job calls for. McDonalds only expects you to have a pulse and show up. If your not going to give the job 100%, why bother to do it at all? So while your sitting and waiting for the plows to finish, the roads to dry up, and losing money wasting fuel or eating, I'm already 90 miles down the road and making money.

Colorado State Patrol, for the last 3 years, has setup along I-70 at the 179mm the last week of August handing out brochure's and telling drivers about the chain law. Beginning Sept. 1st, if you go through the scale WB @ Downieville and they don't see visible chains hanging off your truck, you may be required to prove to them you have them in the truck. If you don't, they reserve the right to issue you a "fix-it" ticket. Guess what, they issue several dozen of those tickets every winter to drivers who don't have chains.

and again, how long are you prepared to hole up and wait?

and thus you read into my comment what I didn't say. AS for running barefoot, it depends on the day of the week and the time of day. If it's a Friday, regardless of the hour of day, I'll have my chains on, why? because the idiots heading to the ski areas usually start heading up about 3am to be first in line. Any other day of the week, it will depend on the type of snow, temps., etc. If I'm heading up after 5am, again, regardless of the day I'll be putting chains on, as there are too many people heading up the hill, either to go sking, or for their own job. But, if it's 3 am on a Weds., I'll likely try it without chains, and I'll watch very closely to what traffic is doing and pick a line that allows me to keep moving and not have to slow or brake, but this is a skill that is learned and not taught or easily explained. If your as exp. as you claim, then you know that by adjusting your speed accordingly, you can get very good traction with just cold rubber tires on fresh snow. How do you get cold tires while moving, quite simply, slow down. If the tread of your tires is still visible black, your going too fast and the snow is melting. IF the tread surface stays white, your going slow enough that your tread is staying cool and allowing the tire to pack with snow and allow the snow to grip to itself.

 

Great post, Striker, thx.

 

I was born in southern California and live in Phoenix, AZ... So maybe my idea of heavy snow is different than a guy who was born and raised in Colorado.

 

I hear ya there buddy, these guys have no idea of what it takes to truck where we come from and where ya have to go and with the weights.

I am headed off to Fairbanks, AK on saturday and will prob come back empty. It may be a decent ride all the way up and back and then again could change in a heartbeat and think about where I would be if I chose not to chain? Or how about not be prepared for the worst as in food and water supplies? We arent super truckers but are sure more experienced than a lot of these guys will give us credit for. I just love getting chaining advice or snow driving advice from newbies or guys with 20 years of experience than wont or dont run in the snow or have once or twice.

I used to run heavy haul (105,500 gross) too and of course in Canada and have chained up many times as thats the only way to get r done up here.

I dont care if most of you do or dont chain up, just be safe and dont preach to me about what I choose to do and others that choose to do the same. I have big respect for those that do choose to chain up as that doesnt mean they are being unsafe, they are usually the most experienced drivers on the road and have no problems making sure you guys camped out at a truckstop can still eat

 

Glad you mentioned that winter records last year...Nov. 2010, now that was a winter to try and forget....first time I ever had to chain up to get from Salem to Portland....and Kent/Sumner valley, chains required to get into or out of docks, even level docks...spent a lot of time pulling trailers from docks frozen in place and the yard goats couldn't move to get things going....incredible!!!

I posted this after one trip south bound I-5 and was completely fed up with "trainers training and the lack there of"!

Here is the link to the thread....http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/swift/127286-mentor-why-bother.html

 

Thx for that, Otter, that was great.

Coupla questions:
1) What are "3 railers"? Do you cover that on your videos?
2) What is "R1"?
3) What is an "AM dial"?....hehe...

 

"3 railers", or "doubles" is actually two single chains combined into one package, but instead of having one "rail" (the main outside long section of chain on each side of a single), there is only one "middle rail" where the cross links connect to the outside and middle rails.

"R1" is a CalDot and CHP designation for the vehicles with only a single drive axle and pulling a trailer or 2 trailers.

You are from Sac...so you might have heard your grandfather listen to the AM radio setting of KFBK, 1530.

 

actually, I was born in Ohio and lived there til I was 10, have lived in Colo. ever since.

That said, my father was a truck driver, he made #### sure I knew how to drive and could do it better than most of my classmates. The very first day I was elgible to get my learners permit, my father had me at DMV getting it. Then I drove home. Three weeks later, we drove cross country, Colo. to Ohio, Nov. 1983 @ Thanksgiving. I drove from N. Platte to Omaha on 80 and then a portion of the Turnpike. When we came home, we were towing a snowmobile trailer with 3 sleds and a bunch of other crap. Again, I drove part of it. When we got home, every other night he took me out driving, side streets, interstate, mountains, etc., when I started drivers ed. I was better off than all of my classmates.

I learned how to put chains on a 2wd full size van before I had a license so we could go snowmobiling. My father gave me choice, you'll learn how to do it all or you'll learn on your own without my help. I failed to heed his advice twice, and regret both times, since then, I've decided if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it all or why bother.

 

Actually, Otter, I'm not originally from Sac. Born and raised in the Great White North. I was
also raised on AM radio- music, NOT talk- as I'm but a few
years younger than you. One of the beauties of the AM band
is how far the signal can carry. I recall driving around the
top of Lake Superior and getting stations from Chicago, Boston...of
course with sat radio that's all history now...

.I don't know if rigs
typically come equipped with sat radio but I have no intention of subscribing to it.