winter driving...for noobs??help!

Absolutely NO jake brakes! This will cause a common phenomenon called "trailer passing you"! Be very careful on bridges and overpasses this time of year. You could hit ice and not even see it. (black ice) There is also frozen fog. This is very dangerous. Oregon is famous for it! It is a good time to start winterizing your truck. Make sure there is no water in your windshield wiper reservoir. Organize your chains and have them sorted and ready. Also make sure you know how to put them on! Chances are you could be doing it in the dark in a blizzard, temps about -30 and you are on the side of a mountain with a moose staring at you! One thing a lot of new drivers do not think about is getting in and out of the truck. Especially when you are in a hurry. The ground could be icy and so can your steps and handles. Add a little diesel into the mix and it gets real slick! A lot of broken legs occur from this. I would have to venture to say that this is probably trucking's most common injury. Another tip for driving is when you get off the interstate and pull into the truck stop do a couple of laps around the parking lot to let your tires cool and let your brakes dry. Especially if it is a dirt parking lot. Your tires will actually melt the ice and you will get stuck in the mud underneath of it. I will think up some more tips and post them for you guys. I am trying to think of stuff outside the norm.

 

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Perpare for 24 to 72 hours of being on your own and you wont go wrong.

Stock up on plastic trash bags, road flares, three pairs of heavy gloves for chaining up, canned food (and a way top open them) and other things you can eat out of the box and water. Lots of socks, and other clothes that will get wet outside. Two pairs of heavy boots and lots of other things I can think of. Dont count on any help if it gets bad enough. Think Hurricane Katrina and you wont go wrong when the SHTF out there.

 

the more weight you have in the box the better in the winter--and try to get the weight up on drives and steers if you can
just take it easy and you will be ok

 

Some things I was taught about winter driving. 1. SLOW DOWN!!! 2. an easy way to check to see if it is just wet ort freezing is watch the water droplets on the top corners of your windshields and on your mirrors, If the water drops are dancing it is still above freezing, when they stop moving, you better be slowly easing off the accelerator, as you are now probably on black ice, or ice in general. Do not make rash sudden movements, ease the truck to next lane if passing or turning, don't jerk the wheel. When checking to find out if you can really expect ice or water find out what the temps were in area for last couple days, average temps together and divide by the number of days you just got. this is your average ground temp. with that maybe you have just wet roads or to expect frozen roads from the slush or salt water depending on the state your in. try to find out what they treat roads with, some states like Wyoming use sand. Idaho uses small pebbles to dig into the ice. Ohio loves salt and the Accubrine, and Clearlane solutions. These are some things I have learned to use to help me in winter. Common sense, be aware of your surroundings. If it is to bad for you to move, send a message and say it is Unsafe to move, and see what the weather brings

^^^^Dude, this is awesome advice! Thank you so much! I'm really starting to get nervous about starting out in the dead of winter!

 

In the snow take it slow.....NEVER LET ANOTHER DRIVER BULLY YOU INTO DRIVING FASTER THAN YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH!!!!! other posts on here have said this but it is very true. Also depending on the truck you have you will learn the hard way of keeping your windshield from icing up.
in my T-6 I NEVER ran the defroster on the windshield I kept all the heat on the ground so to speak and if I had a side vent i would leave it cracked open a bit. Same thing in my cornbinder....yet my freightshaker i had to use the defroster on the windshield....go figure

 

I never even thought about that...keeping the windshield defrosted I would automatically use the defroster...another great tip. Thanks so much!

 

A couple of friendly tips on chaining.

1st: Practice before you need it!! It's much easier to learn in a dry truckstop or depot than on the side of the road getting blasted by slush.....

2nd: As stated previously, lay out and organize your chains before you need them.

3rd: Your 5th wheel puller can also pull the end of the chain behind the wheel.

4th: Gloves!!!! I carried a box of latex (medical type) gloves. Good grip and keeps the fingers dry. I wore a pair of leather work gloves on top of them (4 pair on truck).

5th: (personal) Chaining is a last resort. They are meant to get you out of trouble. Don't use them to get into worse trouble. Crossing a pass, fine. Trying to stay ahead of a whiteout, bad. A late load will still arrive. Use your head.

Safe runs!