Wind and "white knucklin"! Pull over or keep moving?

i've never shut down because of anything, but i do keep the thought in the back of my mind when it gets tough. I would totally shut down if i couldnt handle it.

The only time i wanted to shut down was on the 402 in ontario after i nearly jackknifed, but there was nowhere to shut down until after the road was better. Some would say that means i should have shut down before that happened, but the weather was perfect. Then all of a sudden black ice everywhere. You just can't predict somewhere like that.

You just have to listen and feel the wind and keep a loose yet firm grip on the wheel. You have to countersteer smoothly and accurately and gently. You also need to slow down and watch your mirrors.

I remember a while back i drove through the worst part of that big blizzard they had in the NYC/NJ/PA/CT area to make a delivery in Yonkers, NY. I rolled about 30mph most of the way and got there several hours late (after telling dispatch i was 100% going to be late because of the storm before i even left the truckstop). I got to the consignee and they gave me this crazy WTF look and told me i was absolutely crazy to drive in that storm. Hahahahahahaha.... It's a good thing i was late too, they had just got the roads plowed in NYC/Yonkers! Imagine NYC with two feet of snow on the darn road!

Funny thing though, is i guess a lot of truckers don't have the same attitude i have. It's mostly super trucker morons that run in that kind of weather. When it starts getting real windy the truckstops fill up. I remember one time when i worked at walmart, apparently the flying J filled up and so all the trucks started parking at the walmart (everyone who knows this area knows that walmart is very trucker friendly, people even leave trucks there for weeks at a time for hometime). THE WALMART FILLED UP WITH TRUCKS. hahahahhaha....

You've driven a small van or big minivan before, right? I assume you have because of the "old" in your name? A van trailer basically acts as a big sail. I used to drive a chevy astro, and it got pretty hard to control when it got windy. It's the same thing, but a 53' van is infinitely worse because of the size. As stated by a safety guy at CRST, the wind's effect is magnified substantially by the speed you are going.

The real problem is when you are empty or very lightly loaded. If it gets windy with an empty trailer, the wind can actually lift the trailer tires off the ground and throw the truck over into a ditch. You won't feel it until it's too late. If you watch your mirrors, and tap your brakes after a set of tires leaves the ground, but before the trailer pulls the tractor off the ground, it'll slam the trailer back down.

When you go to work for a company, you'll eventually meet up with some drivers at a terminal who are on light duty because of an injury. I always enjoy talking to these guys about their injuries. There's usually an interesting story with it. I met a guy one time who told me he was on light duty and might not ever be able to drive a truck again because a freak wind gust blew his truck high into the air before dropping it into a ditch, he said that a witness said that it "jack knifed in the air", and that it was totally a freak accident. I wasn't there so i can't comment. It mustve been pretty windy in the first place.


It also gets really scary because the cab is on it's own air ride suspension. The cab can start to lean at severe angles even though the tractor is firmly planted on the ground with no danger of rolling over. In my opinion, this is the worst part of it.

 

Without being in MS. It's all a matter of how comfortable you feel. I mean if you are at truck stop and your rocking back and forth. Then wait.
I've been in Wyoming , near Larimie.. just over Sherman,, and if anyone who has drivin that stretch knows.. Coming off Sherman headed west is always windy.
Have seen many wind advisories for loads less than 20,000 lbs. in that area. Wind gust in excess of 70 mph.
Parked at the trk stop, messaged company of the high winds and that my load was just over 9000 lbs. They had no problem. Just be safe.

 

It depends on the individual. We can have some pretty blustery days in the Carolinas. The feel of the wind pressing against your cab and rocking your trailer can be unnerving. A driver would slow down for the conditions or take a break for a bit. Can't fight the wind, ya know Just go with the flow.

 

You need to know your limitations (in my best clint eastwood voice) The last bad wind I got into I was going down 65 heading to russelville KY to load. Even in a flatbed the wind can be wicked. I kept going. If I stopped every time I faced something I would be late with every load. Another time I was heading home and was about a hour away and it was so windy I stopped a rest area for a couple hours. This is when all the tornadoes hit along I-40 in TN.

 

I've driven through some pretty horrible conditions (wind, snow, etc.), and stopped to wait during some that weren't quite as bad. It just depends on the individual and how rested one is or how much time one has on the load. Sure it's true that no load is worth your life, but sometimes it would drive me to push the edge of the envelope just a little bit more.

I will tell you this, driving 3 hours fighting wind can take just as much out of you as driving 800 miles. That #### steering loves to fight back now and then.

 

Johnny Law will shut down the freeway in mountain passes in CA if it gets to windy.

 

That is true, I-5 in northern CA. has been shut down many a time due to wind in excess of 90 mph.
And yes the south can be just as bad. I recall a time when headed north on I-55 out of Mississippi toward TN. I stopped at a Walmart for supplies. All was fine when I went in, came out about 25 min. later and shopping carts were rollin all over the parking lot. Well I got out of there and hit the highway.. After several miles noticed southbound shut down due to large trees on the highway in several places..So in the words of Ron White.. "It's not that the wind is blowin it's what the wind is blowin"
Made it to Memphis.. lots of power out.. I needed fuel so kinda had to wait..
But a driver will never know what they are capable of if they stay skitish..
Listen to the veterans and should do ok.

 

The other day I hit a windy spot in Utah that scared me. Where the road cut through a hill acted like a wind tunnel. Bounced me around pretty good. In Nebraska I've had to steer against the wind the whole way across. It's kind of freaky when you have to keep the wheel turned to the left. It does wear you out.

My Astro van is way worse. I've had the wind blow me into the next lane before.

 

More power to yall long haulers.I drive otr,in all sorts of stormes,snow,ect.But i haul really heavy loads and go alot slower some times just a crawl or im on a dirt road for miles.But i have drove otr 48 states+canada with a pete 389,53ft van and boy i tell ya id drive tell it got to that line were you say now im just being stupid.So id half to say just use your comen sence and if your fighting like a bloody maniac to keep your rig in the road then ya pull on over and waite out the storm,it pays better than a wreck does.