Rookie on winter driving

[wildkat]

wildkat, those are some fantastic pictures!

Thank you! I love running the North, it is EXACTLY where I belong... I was born in the winter, I got my licence in the winter & I learned to drive a big rig in the winter LOL

Summers up there are awesome too...just hot (well for me anyway)instead of cold...it is a country of extremes!

[grainhauler08]

Whats the deal with driving across the river,is it a short cut in the wintertime up there?Man I bet thats kinda creepy isn't it?Does the ice get pretty thick?Sounds like river is wide,is it deep also?Wow thats really different.Just curious.

[mbadriver]

You don't want to use the Jake on slippery roads - period.

Just take it nice and slow. If you have any doubt in your mind pull it over and park. In the morning you will be surprised how many SuperTruckers are in the ditch, medium, or cornfield.

In these winter storms visibility is usually the first thing to go.

I am a firm believer if you can't see the *****, you will probably step in the *****.

I often hear trucks using jakes on snow covered roads when going down hills here in Ohio.

I see how using the jake on an empty trailer can cause a jacknife but when going down a hill with a heavily loaded trailer + jake cause a jack knife?

[stormothecentury]

Thank you! I love running the North, it is EXACTLY where I belong... I was born in the winter, I got my licence in the winter & I learned to drive a big rig in the winter LOL

Summers up there are awesome too...just hot (well for me anyway)instead of cold...it is a country of extremes!

Yeah, my wife and I have talked about taking a month or so off sometime renting a van or RV and taking a drive up through to Alaska in the summer, and then a cruise back down to Vancouver.

How hot's hot in the summer up there?

[wildkat]

Whats the deal with driving across the river,is it a short cut in the wintertime up there?Man I bet thats kinda creepy isn't it?Does the ice get pretty thick?Sounds like river is wide,is it deep also?Wow thats really different.Just curious.

There is no bridge, we cross in the summer on an itty bitty ferry:



It carries 2 trucks at a time!


In the Arctic there are very few roads, 7 in total for 250,000,000 square miles of country, & most of it is in the MacKenzie River delta, which in summer is pretty much under water, so in winter they build roads over the lakes & rivers to get frieght to the isolated settlements & mines that are up there. It's the only time of year that frieght can be hauled in there.

The ice must be 28" thick before it is safe to cross with a truck. The Mackenzie River is up to 10 miles wide in the far north (near the Arctic Ocean, but where I cross it is amost 3 miles wide, it is kind of creepy the first time in winter cause the ice crackles & groans, but you get used to it. Whe you have a problem is when it DOESN'T make noise, that's when there's trouble. I understand that the Mackenzie can be seen from space.

The reason it makes noise is because ice actually floats above the water & when you drive on it, it goes down to the water level & flexes so the more weight you have the slower you must drive, on this crossing the speed limit is 15 mph, which is STRICTLY (1 mph over the speed limit is a 500$ fine) enforced, because what happens is you create a wave in front of you which will hit the shore before you get there & break the ice therefore damaging the road.

The worst time, for me at least is crossing in the spring, cause there's alot of water on the ice, sometimes up to 3 ft deep.

THAT gets scary:







I took these last spring, this was there scariest crossing I ever made, there was one truck allowed on the ice at a time, there were water marks 1/2 way up my fuel tanks & my bottom step was completely under water. The road was closed the next day.

I hoped on the reurnt trip it would be better at night (hoping for colder night), but all it did was scared me worse

[wildkat]

Thank you! I love running the North, it is EXACTLY where I belong... I was born in the winter, I got my licence in the winter & I learned to drive a big rig in the winter LOL

Summers up there are awesome too...just hot (well for me anyway)instead of cold...it is a country of extremes!

Yeah, my wife and I have talked about taking a month or so off sometime renting a van or RV and taking a drive up through to Alaska in the summer, and then a cruise back down to Vancouver.

How hot's hot in the summer up there?

It can get up to the low 90's, but you must remember there is 24 hours of daylight so there is no night time cooling, and bring ALOT of bugspray cause the bugs are big enough to carry you away!

[wildkat]

Also storm...

Most of the roads up there are either gravel or narrow 2 lane...well pavement if you are generous... They are narrow & winding through the most part as they were built by the army in the 40's & since there's not a huge amount of traffic & the construction season is roughly 6 weeks in summer, well I think you get the idea.

My mom went to Alaska last summer & she just loved it, spent 6 weeks up there & said it was one of the best holidays she ever had...just her, her 2 big black labs & her camper!

[Snowman7]

Awesome pictures Wildkat. Thanks for posting. From my avatar you can see I play around in the snow a little too. I go riding in Michigan's UP and also up into Canada. We ride alot of lakes, rivers, etc like Whitefish Bay, riden to Mackinaw Island, Magpie reservoir near Wawa. I can picture the slush and water and I know the scary feeling. Difference is if we dont like the looks of it we go another way. You have no choice! But in a big truck, what a rush!

[wildkat]

Awesome pictures Wildkat. Thanks for posting. From my avatar you can see I play around in the snow a little too. I go riding in Michigan's UP and also up into Canada. We ride alot of lakes, rivers, etc like Whitefish Bay, riden to Mackinaw Island, Magpie reservoir near Wawa. I can picture the slush and water and I know the scary feeling. Difference is if we dont like the looks of it we go another way. You have no choice! But in a big truck, what a rush!

Thanks Snowman, unfortunealtely there is only ONE road...either you take that one or you simply stay home!