Tonight should be fun, wind then ice

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by Nahbrown, Nov 30, 2023.

  1. Last Call

    Last Call Road Train Member

    7,568
    45,901
    Mar 15, 2021
    0
    30 years ago the weather fore
    casters were fairly reliable before all these computer models and etc Now their just mouth pieces for the computer that depend on . At least here in Iowa they are competent, drama queens that have a much better chance of winning the lottery than predicting the correct weather forecast. There’s been 2 or 3 that left their job because they were so poor it and started getting death threats & hate mail
     
    MACK E-6 and Nahbrown Thank this.
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. Albertaflatbed

    Albertaflatbed Medium Load Member

    347
    964
    Nov 20, 2022
    Nisku, AB
    0
    Without a doubt freezong rain sucks, driving on ice is less of a worry to me, but it's kinda normal up here for months at a time lol.

    Your doing it right, you guys know what the weather possibly will be on your trip and can anticipate road conditions. If you start getting icy condition you are already mentally prepared, and can adjust your driving to match conditions.

    To be honest, the female drivers tend to be more cautious and have generally faster reflexes....so you are in good hands
     
    Nahbrown Thanks this.
  4. Ex-Trucker Alex

    Ex-Trucker Alex Road Train Member

    1,392
    2,346
    Jan 7, 2023
    0
    This is where experience comes in to play; being able to tell if the road surface is freezing by visual clues, like how much reflection the road surface gives back (it becomes less reflective when starting to freeze), or how much spray is coming off vehicles ahead (lessens as the surface freezes), and knowing a few tricks on dealing with it (like that traction is always better OFF the tire tracks; drive with your right side on the shoulder), and realizing that you get better traction on the snow than you do on the ice. Also, to never, EVER make any sudden move; brakes or steering. I drove through BLIZZARDS, and never shut down unless the highway was closed. Would sometimes take back-roads when the highway was closed, but only if I was driving with a group.

    I remember one time I was stuck in Rapid City, and I was supposed to switch trailers with a west-coast driver at a truckstop in Montana. But Wyoming had shut their stretch of I-90, so a bunch of us decided to convoy down US 212 from Sturgis, SD to Crow Agency, MT. THAT was fun.....
     
  5. tscottme

    tscottme Road Train Member

    I find radar is the best info. Look at the precip, which way it is moving and drive accordingly. Radar is what is happening, not a best guess.
     
    Albertaflatbed, lual and Opus Thank this.
  6. 4wayflashers

    4wayflashers Road Train Member

    1,066
    1,235
    Mar 14, 2014
    0
    Don’t ever hesitate to shut it down.

    Ive driven more than my share of ice covered super slick roads while rockin in the Bakken. There were some well known spots if you didnt slow down to 3 MPH you were going to start sliding and then you had no choice but to let her roll all the way down the hill, through a stop sign, across the tracks to the intersection that they always had treated. It was a wild ride:) There were plenty other times I used lessons I learned while skiing. Seriously. I guess those of us who kept all 18 wheels on the ground all like to look back on the big chances we took. Thing is, up there it was sorta all a big joke as long as you lived and didnt total the truck.

    On the big road it’s really not worth it to push on into worsening weather IMO. Half these four wheeler are hopped up on goof balls and are just waiting to spin out right in front of you while trying to pass you in the bad lane because they are maroons. So many times I’ve shut it down for safety and to wait for sunup so road crews and Mother Nature have some time to do their thing. So many times Id get rolling the next morning and pass a dozen or so rolled big trucks. It’s a deadly game and there are way too many maroons playing.

    Not to mention getting stuck in the traffic behind a bad wreck or driving into a storm you shouldn’t have, along with hundreds of other maroons and now your all trying to pull into that one Pilot to wait the storm out. Knowing if you’d stopped 12 miles earlier you be sipping hot cocoa after a hot shower and preparing for a good nights rest while watching google maps go from green to red.
     
  7. Nahbrown

    Nahbrown Medium Load Member

    395
    1,765
    Sep 6, 2021
    Illinois (the sane part)
    0
    I tend to overthink & over-plan. I did it for four years while we lived on our sailboat and sailed around the gulf coast, East Coast and Bahamas, and I’m doing it again now that we’re trucking. Perhaps as time goes on when I gain more comfort, I won’t worry as much.

    The most precious cargo on that truck is my wife and I would hate to think that because I got lazy We drove into something unexpected..
     
  8. 4wayflashers

    4wayflashers Road Train Member

    1,066
    1,235
    Mar 14, 2014
    0
    In a post I made a while back I recall stating I do my trip planning in only 10-15 mins. This was not entirely accurate. My initial trip plan (IE get thru Chicago today, stopping at x location puts me in easy range for delivery, fuel up after crossing x scale etc) is done in that time but I will continuously update and revise this plan as the day unfolds.

    IMO the most reliable weather forecasts come from local weather channels. The apps are ok for getting the big picture but a meteorologist thats been following weather patterns in a specific area for 20 years is going to give a better prediction than the apps.

    I need to make a more complete file with links to favorite/trusted forecasters but some examples I’ll list below.

    (I just search for ‘Kansas city news’ etc and try and pick the best website or favorite meteorologist. Then copy the link when I get to the weather page. Careful when you pull it up later on that its not giving you the weather from the day you copied the link so hit refresh or whatever.)

    Kansas City Weather News – Kansas & Missouri Weather Updates – KMBC 9 News

    https://www.wric.com/weather

    https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-weather
     
    Last edited: Dec 3, 2023
    Nahbrown Thanks this.
  9. MACK E-6

    MACK E-6 Moderator Staff Member

    48,713
    224,839
    Sep 19, 2005
    Baltimore, MD
    0
    That’s because they weren’t this one. :biggrin_25523:

     
    lual, 4wayflashers, Last Call and 2 others Thank this.
  10. Last Call

    Last Call Road Train Member

    7,568
    45,901
    Mar 15, 2021
    0
    That’s exactly what we have here but uglier There was one on 1 of Des Moines stations that actually tired to blame the high humidity on the corn fields. She went back to the promise land of Caili shortly after that statement
     
  11. Long FLD

    Long FLD Road Train Member

    11,807
    48,328
    Mar 4, 2015
    0
    I don’t buy into the theory that it’s making a whole region more humid, but you can definitely feel a change in humidity when you’re close to a corn field on a summer afternoon. I’m not sure how much is actual corn sweat and how much is from the pivot, living in Nebraska I don’t get to ride my bike past dry land corn fields to have any sort of comparison.
     
    Last Call Thanks this.
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.