To chain or not to chain...

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by jet460, Sep 10, 2012.

  1. moosc

    moosc Road Train Member

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    NWMAXI Thanks this.
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  3. skellr

    skellr Road Train Member

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  4. warhoop

    warhoop Light Load Member

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    Look, if you need chains or are required by "chain law", throw the iron, get over the hill and take them off. It's part of the job. I'm tired of all the "large car" drivers telling everyone to just park it an wait it out. That is unless you want to tell your customer why you were the only one out of twenty other trucks scheduled for that day who didn't make his delivery appt. because your simply to special to throw iron. If conditions are truely to bad to continue then by all means park the truck, but if we are talking about a only running in alittle snow for 15 or twenty miles THROW THE IRON! It's part of the job. Don't want to do all the job, do something else.
     
  5. WMGUY

    WMGUY Road Train Member

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    i know all about it and it works... colorado approved it the rest of the western states say go ahead and use it if you get stuck its your ticket
     
  6. Guntoter

    Guntoter Road Train Member

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    Its all about perspective, to you snow is easy because you have done it forever. To me, its impossible to drive in snow. I learned to drive on freeways in Los Angeles, I learned to drive a truck by pulling empty RGN's home from jobsites when I was 16. 90% of my career I have hauled oversize (illegal in snow) so living in L.A. and Phoenix doing oversize has given me very little chance to "throw iron" on a 250K pound transformer or an 80' long 18' wide mobile home. On the rare chance that Im in Colorado in a snowstorm, Tom Bodet will leave the light on for me. If I made a living driving 53' dry vans from Denver to Grand Junction I would probably have a very different perspective.
     
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  7. striker

    striker Road Train Member

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    Denver, Co
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    not as great as the make it out to be, Western Dist. offers them to their drivers, most carry them, they are easier to apply than regualr chains, but they will tear up just as easy. Patchy snow/ice, better slow to under 5 mph or they will tear up.
     
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  8. kattiebar

    kattiebar Bobtail Member

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    Sep 15, 2012
    Phoenix, Az
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    For me, if I feel it's bad enough weather to put on chains- I park it! Besides; I might break a nail.
    All the posts have been good advice; so I'll just recap for you sweetie!

    Your new so you should lean how to drive in bad weather; but slowwww down!
    If YOU feel it's beyond your skill or comfort level; get off the road
    Don't listen to the "chicken trucks" on the CB as they are wizzing past you at 70 mph- you'll more than likely see them again up the road a few miles............ in the ditch!
    Don't let anyone bully or talk you into doing something you don't feel is safe; your the one behind the wheel; not them, because they will try and you will have to over come that feeling of "Oh, I don't want them to think I don't know what I'm doing" that is a load of crap. I usually tell other drivers to "let go of my ears- I know what I'm doing!"
    The important thing is that you get you, the equipment and the load where it's going safely and you haven't hurt anyone in the process.
     
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  9. Rogerthat

    Rogerthat Medium Load Member

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  10. NoCoCraig

    NoCoCraig Road Train Member

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    Company driver and my companies policy is that if you get into ANY accident, regardless of fault with chains on the truck it is a preventable accident since you decided to drive. That is why we will not chain. We also make pretty good money and drive very hard so sitting is kind of a nice break sometimes. Last winter we only sat two times for a combined 11 hours when we could have driven. This does not count the three times on I-80 in Wyoming and the one time on I-40 in Arizona when the roads were closed.
     
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  11. Rogerthat

    Rogerthat Medium Load Member

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    So, this is your co policy? What's your co?
     
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