winter driving...for noobs??help!

I drove a t-600for a few yrs. and the shop said it didn't need any anti gel. Well, I was in northern Illinois parked for the night , got a load the next mornin and had to get towed into shop . Froze up . From then on I put anti -gel in . I saw several drivers from my company that winter froze up on the side of the road. I think it has to do with this new fuel , it just freezes easier.

 

I rarely run anti gel. However, a caution to consider is where you fill up.

Pilot in Illinois runs bio diesel and bio will gel before normal diesel.

 

In the winter, I avoid it as much as possible.

However, one year the company I was working for only used Pilot and I never missed using it. Many of the company trucks gelled up.

 

This is sort of a winter driving question...I am taking my 3 week CDL course beginning Monday, and if things go well I will have a job as soon as I gradute from classes. It is my understanding that the training period, depending on the company, lasts 4-6 weeks which will place me right in the middle of the Holiday Season. Will companies attempt to have me home for Christmas or am I going to just miss out on the Holiday all together? Thanks in advance for your responses.

 

Hey Sara, one thing you have to realize about trucking is that you are going to miss out on a lot of things. Xmas, holidays, funerals, doctors appointments, etc... They can get you home for an occasional important event but don't plan on getting home for the exact day you want too. As for the holidays usually xmas is optional, however this is the busiest time of the year for trucking and you want to try to make as much money as possible during these times. After the holidays it really slows down until after February. Most experienced drivers plan their vacations and time off during this time. You have to realize that trucking companies don't just send you to the house when it is time to take a day off. They will get you in route and it may take awhile to get you home. Your dispatcher will set up your loads so that you can eventually get one that goes close to your house. There is no way they will pay for the fuel to just deadhead you home. If you have an emergency then you would probably leave your truck at a terminal and fly or rent a car to get you home in time. I have been down that road many of times! If you are an owner operator now that is a different story. If you would like to pay for the fuel then you can just drive to the house. It is costly though and I do not recommend it. I see you live in Ohio so that is kind of a central state and freight lanes should be a little more common where you are at. That should make getting home a little easier than if you lived in Florida or Maine. Please think long and hard about being away from home for long periods of time though. This is part of trucking and is probably the main reason most new drivers quit. Have you ever been on a really long vacation by yourself? That is kind of what it is like however you are working. Good luck and like I said put some extra thought into the whole trucking thing.

 

1. I would not advise drinking the anti-gel

2. The Grades of fuel there is Pilot /Flying J which you will get about 6-6.5 mpg and then there is Petro/Ta fuel which i see from 6-5 to 7 in my KW and higher in some of the newer more Aerodynamic trucks. It all runs trucks, just see better fuel milage. Co drivers you have to fuel where they tell you. Owner Operators have the ability to fuel where we please, but most also shop for the best fuel prices. It is also kind of a trade off fuel price or fuel milage, which pays better!!

3. The alcohol is a small bottle that you can get at some truck stops specifically for putting in air lines. I have heard of ole-timers using whiskey also, but not exactly allowed to carry that on a truck.

 

Both Petro and Road Ranger/Pilot in Rochelle, Il. run Bio Diesel. I am 100% on Petro and 90% on Road Ranger/Pilot.