Don't Wanna Roll In The Wind

[Chasingyouolds]

Guys, I have driven before. My trainer scared me though, by telling me that if I saw more than 10% of my trailer in heavy cross winds, that we were going to roll.

She also told me that if I swerve too hard, it wont be able to be recovered and I will roll.

I love the road, my dad was an OTR driver for 12 years. I lost him to cancer in 2005. I want to be out there carrying on in his name, and for me.

My brother is a driver, my cousins are drivers. I can handle everything about driving except the elements of wind and rain, what is the realistic safety zone for wind?

How can I tell if I am about to roll?

Will I roll if I go too fast around a curve?

I love and mis the road, your emails would be much appreciated.

Chasingyouolds@yahoo.com or hell, even call me at 620-200-7276

[Rev.Vassago]

Guys, I have driven before. My trainer scared me though, by telling me that if I saw more than 10% of my trailer in heavy cross winds, that we were going to roll.

She also told me that if I swerve too hard, it wont be able to be recovered and I will roll.

Your trainer was a paranoid fool.

I can handle everything about driving except the elements of wind and rain, what is the realistic safety zone for wind?

There's so many "what if's" in that question, that it is impossible to give an absolute answer. If it's windy, slow down. If it's insanely gusting, stop.

How can I tell if I am about to roll?

By the time you feel it, it's going to be too late anyway.

Will I roll if I go too fast around a curve?

Again, it depends. Trailer weight, center of gravity, curve sharpness, curve grade. Slow down, and take the curve SLOWER than the sign recommends.

[Sealord]

How can I tell if I am about to roll? When the horizon tilts really quickly.

Will I roll if I go too fast around a curve? Yup, that's why curves are taken at least 5 MPH less than the posted speed.

Many western states close highways, routinely, to high profile vehicles when it gets too windy. Happens all the time in Cali during Santa Annas and winter storms. Microbursts out of thunderstorms will also put a big rig on it's side, seen it in Texas on I-10 east of Ft Stockton and near Iraan. Another good reason to pull flatbed. BOL

[Chasingyouolds]

I really appreciate the help. It's nice to have found a place like this, cos I was worried about being really alone out there on the road!

I was worried that Iwould get out there and have no one to talk to at the end of the day.

Thanks for helping me out with my worries!

[Rawlco]

Please continue to worry about rollovers. The time that you get really comfortable with your driving you will get careless and you WILL roll over.

I almost rolled my truck two weeks ago. I run a flatbed, and the worst loads for us are the loads of plastic pipe, loaded to 13'2" or so. That means that the center of gravity is at least 8 feet from the ground, closer to 9' probably, so that is a very topheavy load. I pulled out of the Lamson and Sessions plant in OK City and just after getting on I35 northbound at the Petro there is an unmarked curve to the right. I did slow down the obligatory 5mph like usual, so I was running 50 mph in that 55 mph zone. I felt as I entered the corner that I was going too fast and managed to drop another 5mph. I still felt the trailer lurch unsettingly in that corner. Later I realized that there was an extra heavy bundle on the top left corner that stuck out to the full width, causing an even more off balance problem. I was lucky, but it shows you that rolling over is easier than you think, especially when you are just starting out with a load.

[BigWheels]

There's a stretch of interstate 94 between Beer Town (Milwaukee, WI) and the Windy City (Chicago, IL) that runs fairly close to Lake Michigan (area around Racine/Kenosha, WI). Every now and then, crosswinds gust through there in excess of 40+ MPH. When you see the guy's empty van trailer ahead of you para-sailing along with the left axles completely off the ground (or vice-versa), it's time to slow down!

[4roses]

Guys, I have driven before. My trainer scared me though, by telling me that if I saw more than 10% of my trailer in heavy cross winds, that we were going to roll.

Sounds like your trainer was trying to stress the dangers on the road, which are real dangers. Don't forget to use common sense and don't gamble with your life.

I had been on the road a couple of years when I encountered my first strong hard winds. I was starting into a valley - the hwy had a sign flashing a warning .... telling of the cross winds and if your load is less than a certain weight ..... don't try to cross the valley :shock: . My weight was right on the 'suggested weight' to cross or not. At that point in time my finance' (now deceaced) was asleep in the bunk and I decided to go ahead. The cross winds took my entire tractor/trailer and slide me across the hwy sideways :nervous: ..... I couldn't controll it ! ... Ken came through the curtain and softly said .... "hon are we moving sideways?" ... "my reply was .. h@## yes !!!! what do I do ??? Don't stop the truck, just ease down the speed slowly and continue on. Shortly down the road ... we started going sideways again. ............... It wasn't a fun moment in life but it sure was an eye opener! .................... Later in the day when I was out of the valley and able to stop for a break to change my jeans ...hehehehheeee ......... I asked myself what could I of done different? :idea: ...... my answer to myself was - - - the next time I see a sign flashing a warning of cross winds :!: ...... I will either turn around and find a different route .... or find a place to park the truck to wait for the winds to die down. ............... Ken said if we stopped the truck when the crosswinds had a hold of us, we would of rolled over. .... NOPE ... I don't want to encounter that again, but the next time I'll know what to do.

Driver safe, read all the warning signs and ask the drivers what the weather is like behind them if your concerned at any point in time.

[silvan]

10% sounds too paranoid, but it really depends on your load, etc.

The most dangerous load in the world seems to be a flatbed piled high with lumber. I've lost count of how many of these I've seen spilled in a curve. Usually the truck is reduced to a set of wheels and an engine on the frame, with the cab a twisted pile of rubble 30' up the road from the rest of the tractor. I don't think the drivers live through those.

The second most dangerous is paper rolls. When a dry van lays over on an off-ramp, it's usually a paper roll.

If you don't want to roll over on curves, drive more slowly. How slowly is too fast depends on load variables, like the others have said. I regularly take a 60 mph curve at 65 mph, but I have 45,000 pounds low to the floor of my trailer, and hence a low center of gravity. I saw a Werner tanker lose it in that curve a few weeks ago. No telling how fast he was going, but it may well be he was down to the posted 60 mph, and it was still too fast for his load.

As far as wind, all you can do is keep up with your prayers. You never know when wind is going to get you. I had one last summer in Charlotte, NC where this one other truck and I about crapped in our shorts. We wound up stopped on the shoulder in driving rainy windy hell, with OAK TREES whipping all the way out of the median, across the road, and slamming into our trucks like palm trees in a video from a Florida hurricane. We were both stopped with the brakes popped, and both of our trucks MOVED a foot to the right in the face of that wind. SCARY!!!!! But then a few seconds later, all these trucks came barrelling by at 70 mph wondering why the hell this other guy and I were stopped like that.

I was going off Fancy Gap, which is known for wind related truck rollovers in the winter. I saw a JB Hunt go over right in front of me, and we were both running about 40 mph that night. Why did it get him, but not me? There's no telling.

Basically there isn't much you can do about wind but drive by the seat of your pants, and hope your instincts are right. However, fear of wind should not dominate your life. It might roll you one of these days, but it's not likely if you respond to the conditions, and stay in tune with your truck. (And stop if you need to, obviously. That's part of the feel thing. Knowing when to plod on, and when to go a different way, etc. If they're calling for 60 mph crosswinds, consider an alternate route or a little nap.)

[Fredog]

10% sounds too paranoid, but it really depends on your load, etc.

The most dangerous load in the world seems to be a flatbed piled high with lumber. I've lost count of how many of these I've seen spilled in a curve. Usually the truck is reduced to a set of wheels and an engine on the frame, with the cab a twisted pile of rubble 30' up the road from the rest of the tractor. I don't think the drivers live through those.

The second most dangerous is paper rolls. When a dry van lays over on an off-ramp, it's usually a paper roll.

If you don't want to roll over on curves, drive more slowly. How slowly is too fast depends on load variables, like the others have said. I regularly take a 60 mph curve at 65 mph, but I have 45,000 pounds low to the floor of my trailer, and hence a low center of gravity. I saw a Werner tanker lose it in that curve a few weeks ago. No telling how fast he was going, but it may well be he was down to the posted 60 mph, and it was still too fast for his load.

As far as wind, all you can do is keep up with your prayers. You never know when wind is going to get you. I had one last summer in Charlotte, NC where this one other truck and I about crapped in our shorts. We wound up stopped on the shoulder in driving rainy windy hell, with OAK TREES whipping all the way out of the median, across the road, and slamming into our trucks like palm trees in a video from a Florida hurricane. We were both stopped with the brakes popped, and both of our trucks MOVED a foot to the right in the face of that wind. SCARY!!!!! But then a few seconds later, all these trucks came barrelling by at 70 mph wondering why the hell this other guy and I were stopped like that.

I was going off Fancy Gap, which is known for wind related truck rollovers in the winter. I saw a JB Hunt go over right in front of me, and we were both running about 40 mph that night. Why did it get him, but not me? There's no telling.

Basically there isn't much you can do about wind but drive by the seat of your pants, and hope your instincts are right. However, fear of wind should not dominate your life. It might roll you one of these days, but it's not likely if you respond to the conditions, and stay in tune with your truck. (And stop if you need to, obviously. That's part of the feel thing. Knowing when to plod on, and when to go a different way, etc. If they're calling for 60 mph crosswinds, consider an alternate route or a little nap.)

with a food grade tanker, there are no baffles so your load is still going around the curve after you clear it. VERY easy to turn over, if it goes one way and you try to correct, then it will go the other way. just slow down and dont worry about the idiot on your tail, he thinks he is a better driver because he can take a curve faster but he will learn the hard way one day

[Odie]

I was going off Fancy Gap, which is known for wind related truck rollovers in the winter. I saw a JB Hunt go over right in front of me, and we were both running about 40 mph that night. Why did it get him, but not me? There's no telling.

I used to run Fancy Gap everyday pulling doubles. I can remember many times I had to go to the Dr. to get the seat pulled out of my butt after that trip. Dispatch seemed to love to give you an empty rear trailer to pull up the road out of Charlotte which didnt make things any better. When it was stupid windy like that, I would get off the exit before the gap and run 52 up the mountain and get back on 77 at the top. I had seen too many of my coworkers get blown over on that hill.

[yoopr]

Stay out of Wyoming

[Skywalker]

Stay out of Wyoming

Thats for sure!!! I've had runs across Nebraska and Wyoming on 80 when it was so windy...it was nearly impossible to keep my loaded trailer out of the fast lane even though my tractor was practically running in the breakdown lane....and yes, I did shut it down...as soon as I got to a safe place to park. Being up on Elk Mountain in the winter when its snowing, white-out, and really high winds....no fun at all......

On the original subject.... if you are pulling a light or high center of gravity load and it is really windy....slow down!! If you are pulling a fully loaded tanker...with 45K+ lbs of product in it...wind won't affect you to much... but if you are in a curve.... you had best bring the speed down...below the speed limit, and if its a deep curve that tightens up....especially a ramp, you had better jack it down quickly and get into a slow roll.... if you are moving too quickly and "the beast starts to climb the wall" you are going to find yourself rolling over and maybe keep right on rolling....

But never overestimate your abilities...even with a van or flatbed... because if a load shifts and you're in a curve....its going to shift to the outside of the curve...and you can't go very far that way to correct....so unless you are moving slow enough to correct the effects of the shift, you are about to have a really bad ending to your day!!

If you are coming off an interstate....you need to at least drop to 10 mph below the posted ramp speed, and if you are driving a tanker, maybe 15 to 20 mph below is in order, and if its a real tightly curved ramp....a speed known as "crawling" will do just fine 8)

[GTR SILVER]

good advice "skywalker" !!

being interested in tankers.....before i go out with a trainer, i want to get a jump on my education.................i found this dvd

http://safety.1800inet.com/product.p...ng-description

i know there is nothing like "real world" training..........i'm just trying to find aids that will help me" wrap my mind around" different techniques!!
what do you think??

ps....fleet week in new york......did a tour of the ships......awesome!!!!!
8)

[Skywalker]

good advice "skywalker" !!

being interested in tankers.....before i go out with a trainer, i want to get a jump on my education.................i found this dvd

http://safety.1800inet.com/product.p...ng-description

i know there is nothing like "real world" training..........i'm just trying to find aids that will help me" wrap my mind around" different techniques!!
what do you think??

It looks pretty impressive....though its not cheap. But on the other hand if you can afford it, it will definitely pay for itself in the long run. You might want to see if there are other sources for something like this, maybe at a little better price. I know some companies are using what is called "Tread 1" that is done on an Apple computer other, and is broken up into modules. I wonder if there is a source that would be public for this kind of thing.....

ps....fleet week in new york......did a tour of the ships......awesome!!!!!
8)

Sounds like fun!! 8)

[Krzysztof]

Everyone seems to have hit the nail on the head. Raid isn't that big of a concern as long as its not standing on the roadway. I've only been driving for 6 months but I have no fear of driving thru a hard rain so long as its not pooling up on the road.

Wind is another game tho. I'll take my load into wind but at a slower pace. I have no problem with goin 10-15mph slower than posted limit in a heavy wind (even slower if i get to a really gusty section of a storm). I was goin thru kansas a month or so ago and the wind kicked up and the sky turned black. I thought it'd be ok to roll so I kept goin to my planned stop for the night (only 15 miles up the road)... it took me about 30 minutes to get there because the wind/rain were so bad. Just slow down and if you're goin to slow put on your 4 ways. Don't worry about any of the other trucks out there, the ones passing you at the posted speed limit in bad conditions are either super truckers or truckers that have no fear (or ones that have just been doing this since well... trucks were invented) and let them do they're thing. All you can do is worry about you and gettin your load from A to B safe, screw the rest of them.

Fog is a fun thing to play in tho, seen some thick fog that rivals my days in the Coast Guard. Again tho just slow down and kick on your 4ways to help people see you.

Truck driving isn't a hard thing at all... same basic concepts as driving a car just alot bigger and so you have to be alot more attentive. And the one thing my trainer told me that I'll never forget is that posted speeds are NOT for us... they're for the 4 wheelers. An off ramp says 35mph take it at 25-30 (or slower depending on the type of load you have). I have a habit of getting the paper roll loads (3 rolls, 45k lbs) and they're VERY top heavy... I take those 25mph ramps at 10-15. Again I'm worried about me getting from A to B safe not what the car behind me is yelling out his window.

If you're worried about people behind you getting upset just imagine how upset they'd be if you rolled and they were stuck for HOURS while you get rightside up.

-Chris

[BigWheels]

Don't worry about any of the other trucks out there, the ones passing you at the posted speed limit in bad conditions are either super truckers or truckers that have no fear (or ones that have just been doing this since well... trucks were invented) and let them do they're thing....

or they're just plain stupid.

[Chasingyouolds]

I love this. I am going to be hitting the road sometime around June 8th. THinking I am going with FFE Transportation.

I have to go out with a trainer for six weeks, which is cool.

The funny part is that I have been TEACHING a CDL course here in Hutchinson, KS for a couple months. But, their equipment is second rate. A 1998 International Eagle with a 32 ft grain trailer.

I got spoiled for draggin a 32 ft trailer around. Hell, the entire length of my combination is the length of the trailer I used to pull at PRIME!!!

So, I may be munchin some curbs at first. And, since the Freights I'll be hoppin into have Straight 10's and I was drivin a Super 10 - I may have splitter fun too!

I really am looking forward to it though. You guys who posted replies - I thank you so much.

My dad was a truck driver for almost 12 years, but I never thought to ask him these questions. I didn't even have my CDL when he died, I didn't think I was going to want to do this.

Wishin I had asked him! :?

I appreciate all the help, and will check back in often.

Y'all - keep it safe out there. If ya ever get to Hutchinson and get lost or need directions - hollar at me. 620.200.7276 :arrow: