was driving over vail pass lastnight empty.

I've only been driving a year but the one time I was stuck in a truck was probably the most fun I had. I could have sat there all day at the landfill trying to plow my truck through that mudhole back onto the road.

#### helpful customer had to come over with the dozer to move the mud out of the ditch and make me work

 

I read the first page of replies and came to realize that the majority of replies had to of come from guys who heard "do not use your jake brakes (and majority of trucks now have "engine brakes") in slippery conditions"

when in reality, if you have enough experience, the jakes are the BEST thing to use on icy roads. Much better than using your brakes. You can easily control the truck with low RPMs and jake brakes applied.

 

I use them.....Only one time I had a major issue.....

The last major snow in the Vail area last May....I was running two MT "Cans" and It was slicker than snot in some spots....That light wagon decided it wanted to say hello to my rig about 1/4 way down the last grade W/B to Vail.....

So I down shifted....Shut the engine brake off...Rode all the way down nice and easy to Vail.....

And then thanked the "Big Guy" I wasn't part of the big trucks that got all tangled-up at the bottom...

Yeah....That last storm caught a lot of drivers with their pants down....


Snow in "Summer"?.....In CO...Better believe it can happen.....

 

That packed snow on Vail is a #####. If you're light, you can have chains on every tire and still not get traction. Best thing to do is try riding the shoulder where there's a little more traction with the loose snow and more sand/gravel. Or you could wait for the sand truck to come back around and run behind him.

 

not4hire & Quiettime- I hear you! I was born and raised in Alaska in the Territorial days and have done most of my trucking in Alaska, The Yukon, and Northern BC. Icy roads and snow-pack are just a fact of life for about half the year-it's just something we have learned to live with and we all have our own tricks in addition to the tried-and-true practices. I am cautiously comfortable with my level of skill, but I CANNOT drive for the other person as well-when I do park, it usually for this reason.


Happy New Year and safe travels!