Winter Mountain Driving Advice Needed

That's the audio they used... Trying to remember Gene Tracy maybe?

 

Shoot I don't remember who now, but I can almost still hear it in my my mind!

 

It has all been hashed before. I have some opinions from just a few years driving.

But I've driven all of two trucks, both old junkers. So my experience may be vastly different from guys in new trucks.

One thing I do, is just feel my truck out. Every day is different, and it changes throughout the day.

Some days my truck feels loose under me, like a boat in a current break. Gotta really watch it those days.

Some days everything is solid and easy runnin. Steering nice and tight.

One thing I'm always checking. What does it take to slip a tire? I'm doing that throughout the day, from stops, starts, and going uphill. Just constantly checking to get an idea of how "loose" the road is.

 

You are very correct, and to this day, I’ll spin the pickup on the ice in front of the house so I can back it into the driveway so I don’t have to climb out into the snow bank. The neighbors just shake their heads….

Guys (/gals) that grew up in the last couple of decades have another handicap: many have never driven a rear wheel drive vehicle before getting in a semi. They do not have any of the muscle memory we have from years of screwing around in our trucks in snow, on ice, in the mud. They were never stuck in a snow drift in the mountains miles from anywhere, having to figure out how to rock it out so you didn’t have to do the walk of shame home to get a buddy to pull you out…….

if you’ve never felt the rear of your vehicle kick out before, it’ll be maximum overdrive pucker when it happens the first time!

 

I didn't consider the front wheel drive deal - you're right.!

 

You already know it’s slippery because it’s snowing or icy or snow covered roads. You don’t need to the engine brake to slip a tire to know this.

if all the wheels slip then you have a big problem. You can head to the shoulder and hopefully get traction

That’s why you don’t use engine brake. People should already recognize it could be slippery. If people wait till engine brake causes a slip you’re a little late to the game. You want to avoid getting yourself or truck one step closer to becoming a bigger problem you have to deal with.

The engine brake is only there to help save the brakes or let you go faster downhill. If the roads are snow covered or slippery you’re only worried about getting downhill in one piece. A little extra wearing on the brakes is no going to out way the cost of having an accident.

 

Snow covered roads aren't necessarily slick. Sometimes roads with no snow are the slickest (black ice, rain on frozen surface, freezing rain).

I'm not going to debate this with you again this year. The OP should have enough information from this thread to begin considering the possibilities.

 

Your first sentence is 100% incorrect and the fact you believe this somewhat invalidates your opinion when it comes to winter driving in the mountains.

 

That was generally statement. In general if the roads are snow covered they will be slippery. You can’t just hammer down like normal.

 

It’s a general statement. This show how crazy you are, or you looking for every possible reason to disprove something. When the road is snow covered you going to be driving slower and not hammer down like you don’t have care in the world or nothing could possibly go wrong.