[Colts Fan]

Originally Posted by TomB985

I disagree. Even heavily loaded, you can lose traction. The difference between a car and a tractor-trailer is size, and the fact that it's a combination vehicle. When you break traction, you can jackknife...and a jackknife can destroy the tractor, trailer, and kill you...all without hitting a thing.

I have a friend who went through orientation here at Con-way truckload back at the beginning of October. He was fired before the end of the month, due to a single vehicle jackknife...never hit a thing, but tore the trailer in half, and heavily damaged his tractor. He did this with a 44,000 lb load.

Agree to disagree. I saw a lot more cars in the ditch last winter than I did trucks. Undoubtedly most of the trucks that were there were probably avoiding 4-wheelers that lost control in front of them. And where is the winter weather in those pics. Looks like your buddy just lost control on a nice dry sunny day.

Of course any vehicle can lose traction but logic and the laws of physics tell me that a heavier vehicle will be more affixed to the ground than a much lighter one.

[Double R]

Originally Posted by dobry4u

and the season at hand is winter! :eek2:

Middle name is murphy here. I am just beginning my solo career and have absolute no experience/perspective of driving in snow other than in a four wheeler. I have a pocket or two full of common sense, but any advice to drawn on while i am gaining experience would greatly be appreciated. :bow:

Thank you in advance. :thumbsup:

no load is worth your life, regardless of what your company thinks! If you do not feel safe driving in bad weather, pull over in a safe place! better that the load gets there late andyou get there safe then never!

[Windwalker]

Originally Posted by Double R

no load is worth your life, regardless of what your company thinks! If you do not feel safe driving in bad weather, pull over in a safe place! better that the load gets there late andyou get there safe then never!

What you say is very true, however, there is often a little distance between where you decide that it is not safe, and a safe place to pull it off. For this distance, that "KNOW-HOW" still comes into play.

A major part of being a professional driver is KNOWING HOW YOUR EQUIPMENT WILL REACT TO VARYING CONDITIONS, and KNOWING THE LIMITS OF YOUR OWN ABILITY.

One day in TX, on I-40, I counted more than 30 trucks off the road in a 36 mile stretch of hiway. That was from the NM line to Vega. And, there is one more thing about getting off the road. Before you start down a ramp (or up), make sure the way is clear. More than once, I've seen ramps blocked by rigs that jackknifed near the end, at the stop sign. If the way is blocked, and the ramp is that bad, you could join the other rig at the end. I've also seen one spun out on a ramp, and a second one tried to go around... And their trailers met.

More than once, I've had to stay on the road because it was actually safer than taking an exit ramp. PA, some years ago, had a guy stationed at the enterance to the rest areas waving all traffic away, and someone on the CB saying that everything in the rest area was jackknifed.

It's fine to say you're going to get off the hiway, but can you do so safely? If not, you're destined to keep going until you can.

[Blind Driver]

Keep a bunch of cans of de-icer in your truck. Try to keep 1 in the warmth of the driver compartment so the cold doesn't make the can lose pressure. This is the best stuff for de-icing glass, mirrors, and light. I don't climb up to remove ice from my windshield...ever

[Fourcats]

Originally Posted by dobry4u

And the season at hand is winter! :eek2:

Middle name is Murphy here. I am just beginning my solo career and have absolute no experience/perspective of driving in snow other than in a four wheeler. I have a pocket or two full of common sense, but any advice to drawn on while I am gaining experience would greatly be appreciated. :bow:

Thank you in advance. :thumbsup:

Keep your following distance. There is no saftey in numbers, drive your truck.
Find an empty, snow covered paking lot and "try some stuff" to see what to expect when you get out of your "normal driving envelope". I have found it would take a LOT of stupidity on my part for things to get "out of hand".
...The same things that keep you safe in everyday driving {speed, distance, relative speed, ect} keep you safe in bad weather.

Keep your 5th wheel well greased, so the trailer does not "steer the tractor".

[classicxl]

drive safe talk to drivers going the other way and no load is worth your life

[Syncrosonix]

when you see yellow snow, it's best to go around it.

[Windwalker]

Originally Posted by Syncrosonix

when you see yellow snow, it's best to go around it.

Unless it's very, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY FRESH... Then you might want to go through it and see if you'll have meat for lunch...:eat::eat::thumbsup::smokin:

[Jumbo]

Originally Posted by YankeeTURBO

Unless it's very, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY FRESH... Then you might want to go through it and see if you'll have meat for lunch...:eat::eat::thumbsup::smokin:

I love lemon snow cones.

[BIG JEEP on 44's]

Originally Posted by TomB985

I disagree. Even heavily loaded, you can lose traction. The difference between a car and a tractor-trailer is size, and the fact that it's a combination vehicle. When you break traction, you can jackknife...and a jackknife can destroy the tractor, trailer, and kill you...all without hitting a thing.

I have a friend who went through orientation here at Con-way truckload back at the beginning of October. He was fired before the end of the month, due to a single vehicle jackknife...never hit a thing, but tore the trailer in half, and heavily damaged his tractor. He did this with a 44,000 lb load.

Never hit a thing...but his trailer,and destroyed over 100k in equipment .