you just said you were scared and nervous.....so now dont say 'i wasnt scared or nervous'. sorry....just busting your balls a bit, cause come on...i've been solo for just about as long, and after talking with fellow truckers, as long as you're heavy...keep the wheels rolling....and give yourself plenty of distance to stop and leave yourself outs.....you wont ever have problems (cept for black ice)....

but to BS everyone, saying "i'm not scared".....that is a little bit of crap.

 

I think they call it "begginer's luck" or something like that! :lol2:

Not raggin' on ya, Hawk! I believe you were well "prepared" for it. But, like Snowman said.... don't expect the same results NEXT time! Driving on/in snow and ice conditions will make the BEST of drivers nervous. The extra weight of your rig works good in some conditions, but will be harder to handle in others. Your job is to know which conditions are which.

From your account, you did the right things. Drive slow. Stay in a gear that will control the truck. Think ahead. The object is to GET there alive!

Oh, BTW.... it was ONLY about 6 inches! :lol::lol::lol:

 

There was a lot of good advise! But "going slow", might be a dangerous thing. If you have to slow down way lower than the most trucks do, stay to the right, use your flashers, and if it's a big area storm, get of the road ASAP. It might save you from a lot of trouble, and even somebody's life.

 

By all means, do not try to drive normal highway speeds, however...

If you come to a hill, and you see one or more trucks standing still on the way up, chances are that they (one or more) have "spun-out".(I've come up on this in WY, NY, and in NC. I"m sure there have been many other locations where it has happened as well.) Some hills will require "inertia" to get you over the top. That may mean a slight increase in speed, then feather the throttle on the way up. If you hit the top doing 15 mph, that's fine. You've made the top. It "should" give you a much better chance of controlling your descent down the other side. But, if conditions are such that you will not be able to start out going up the hill, don't expect the truck to be able to PULL itself up. It will require "riding the inertia" to get over.

One more note on the "spun-out"... If you see them half way up the grade, and they are not in a position that you will be able to get past, don't start up. Stay at the bottom where you will be able to get a running start when there is a clear path. If you come up behind them and stop, you'll be in the same boat as they are. Chances are, they will be talking about it on the CB as well.

 

i love you hobo!!! no homo!! but it probably was beginner's luck, but it was more than 6 INCHES!! more like 8 or 9!!

 

ill tell you something about my first big storm experience. I was in a suburb of chicago, think it was Glendale Heights. I got there with an hour or so left in my clock, and i knew the word on the street was 'a big storm was coming. sleet changing to snow'. Naturally everyone says 2-3" if sleet with 8-10" of snow on top. The drop worked me in (somehow i found some extra hours...lol) and drove across the street, docked it and then drove back to where i parked. I could hear the sleet falling, and knew i would be in for a nice drive the next morning. I get a pre-plan to run down to Morris, and then take a load that had to be in Detroit (Livonia) to a Wal-Mart there by 9p. I was going to get there about 745p when i pulled off the interstate near Livonia. Traffic was backed up, and 3/4ths the off ramp was backed up. Took me 20-30 min just to get down the off ramp and make the turn left. Then i see why the traffic was backed up. I see an 18-wheeler up just past the overpass with its flashers on. I figure 'oh he must have hit someone'. I get a little closer, and see a salt shaker pulling away from the front of his rig, he had just dumped some salt in front of the truck, and the driver was shoveling it under his tires. I was thinking "oh this will be nice....he must have been MT". WRONG !!!! I get abreast of him, going up a slight grade, and come to a stop for the light. I know why he was stuck now.....he wasnt MT...he was loaded, and the snow which the city didnt bother to plow all day, made it impossible to get moving. I was furious that they city didnt bother to plow...and seriously....they DIDNT plow. So i called 911, to tell them that they need to get someone at the bottom of the hill to keep 18 wheelers from going up this road, till it gets plowed. I thought i was going to get stuck, but i was able to rock it back and forth, and get over to the left to find some fresh snow and the concrete curb to give myself some traction. I found it, and got moving. and once i got moving, i didnt stop......kept it at a crawl, then when my light turned, i made my left turn. took me an hour, to drive a mile. Lucky for me, i still made an on time delivery....but just because you are loaded, dont mean you've got it easy. Now, ill be careful not to take a load up a slight grade in town when the streets arent plowed.

 

That is pretty key for not getting stuck! Detwa has no $$$ to spend on road maintenance. All their money goes to keeping their mayors "stylin" :hellno:

 

Hey we still talkin about snow here? If not maybe ya'll should be using PM's! :rofl::rofl::rofl:

 

YouTube - happy jack snow

Road wasnt bad only light ice, but 50mph wind from the side made things fun

 

Driving in a snow storm ain't no fun. I can still remember my first storm - was nervous as hell, but after some time you get used to it. You just find out how the truck behaves under these kinds of road conditions and have to act and react accordingly. Can't believe that anyone driving through a snow storm for the first time is not nervous or at least - as snowman7 said - has respect for mother nature!