I'm in a bad situation...
 

Sitting here in Grand Island, NE and leaving at 12am to head west through wyoming. I just checked weather.com and it's going to be snowing all night and early morning in Wyoming, specifically between laramie and nebraska. The problem is that I'm so light that I'm practically empty @ 4klbs. Any tips on how to handle the ice while being so light? For the last month I've had pretty much all 40k pound + loads and usually I'd be all happy for a nice quick ride up over the mountains, but now I want a heavy load...

Any help for the california boy would be very much appreciated.
Chris

As you already know I'm sure just take it nice and slow and watch out for the wind when on ice (if there is any) ;) I'm pretty sure if it gets too bad they will close the higway. Ive driven a set of doubles empty up Donner before with no problems, I think if you take your time and be smart with following distances you would be just fine.

Glad I won't be going OTR this winter.

Drive like you have NO brakes, keep your momentum going up hill. Don't hang in a group with other trucks.

Wyoming was my favorite state to drive in....rolling hills and good speed limit. :D

U-R not alone; my hubby just went through/out of Laramie last night or this morning- he was 'light' too and told me today that his trailer got loose a few times- especially @ overpasses. Ok, maybe this isn't 'good advice'- not trying to add to your anguish- just take it SLOW.

Watch your speed........maintain separation greater than you normal do.....and treat the accelerator like there was an egg underneath it. If there's ice or snow on the road, turn your jakes off........and let the engine slow you down, which means backing off sooner then you usually do.........when you do use your brakes again light pressure...........think of it as a dance with a glass of water balanced in your hand..........no sudden moves.

Watch your mirrors..........if you see ice forming on them, screw it......find a place to park it and wait for the sand trucks..........ain't no load worth running the risk. Trust me, unless you're hauling hearts for transplant, ain't nobody gonna die if you don't get there on schedule...........

Other than that........enjoy the weather, I used to love seeing fields completely covered in snow.....everything takes on a different look in winter. I remember one run, coming across eastern CO into western KA, setting sun behind me, fields totally covered....road was clear, but the backside of the snow front in front of me turned the eastern sky a deep Payne's Grey color......the setting sun cast an eerie golden yellow glow to everything...........it was quit the sight......kinda looked like the calm before the storm, thank god it was in front of me and moving east........by time I caught up with it the next day, it had pretty well played out.......lucked out again.

Be safe driver..........

remember that overpasses freeze before the highway does.
just drive easy with a light grip on the wheel and you'll be ok.

What if you are driving a snowplow/sander, how do you know when to park it??
LOL
I'm gonna drive one this winter, we have to run through all weather, unless we absolutely can't see anything, then we pull off until it clears.

You park it when the pile of snow in front of the blade blocks your vision........?

My nephew in CO is hoping for a snowy winter.......last year he made a little over 16K clearing parking lots on the side...........it's his mad money he calls it. Last year's money went toward his cycle and a month long trip on the road to the NW..........this year he's thinking St. Thomas.

We only stop if we can't see anything cuz the whiteouts are so bad. When the whiteouts get bad, you might as well drive with your eyes shut, cuz you will see just as much.

Re: I'm in a bad situation...
 

Just go easy on the hammer and you will be ok. :wink:

Kona: That's what you get for being a California surfer dude! :lol:

Just kidding! Everything has already been said. No jakes. Slower speeds. Stay OUT of the crowd. Give yourself plenty of room.

Remember that the lack of "load" weight, can ONLY be made up for by slower speeds. The faster you go, the lighter your trailer becomes!

If things get REAL slow, and real icy, consider using your drive interlock - though some would disagree with me. Do it carefully, if at all.

Higher gears give you MORE traction, lower gears can cause you to "break loose." Especially with a light load!

The analogy of "dancing with a glass of water in your hands" was spot on!

And, if you're NOT comfortable with it all..... park it!

Turn ON your CB! And watch the other trucks around you.

But... it IS a part of trucking. If you want to BE a driver.... take control of the situation, and DRIVE the dang thing! 8)

Watch/listen to the weather reports, and KNOW what is ahead of you.

Best of luck to you, hope you survive the trial by fire (ice.)

Hobo

We had it so bad here in NH a few years ago with ice the snowplows were driving backwards on the highway putting down sand. The roads turned to ice so fast there were cars all over the place.

i been driving a snowplow tri axle dump for a guy around 3 years now it ain't bad. You are all ways loaded. you really don't start to put salt down in till it is all most over. When you get about 1/2 way empty you go back to the salt pile to get more so you have alot of weight on the truck.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Yeah... that's what we all THOUGHT was happening!

Thanks for (next to) Nothing! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

well you could put it down but when you come back your just plowing the salt off the road anyway.

Do you mean that the salt doesn't HELP? And that you would just be plowing the salt off of the ICE? Or do you mean that you would be plowing the salt off the ROAD??

THAT is what we hope you are getting paid well for! :lol:

You can plow salt off of asphalt all night LONG as far as I'm concerned! That is what I want under my tires.... ROAD!!!!

Heck... when it's "all over" even "I" can wait a few minutes for the temp to rise and melt the ice! But... I needed to be there Yesterday! :lol:

hey am just a driver my boss allways told us not to start to lay salt intill around the end of the strom. Thats what good old PENNDOT wants. I just do what am told. But if it is really cold 10-15 and you lay salt when you come back in 25-30mins later you really dont give it time to work so you push it right off the road kinda a waste dont you think.

and if you're trucking through Colorado, among some other western states, they use that Spray which looks like you're driving on Black Ice but it's just this wet Stuff.
Once you get it on your Tractor and Trailer it's a Royal Pain to take it off.

We just started experimenting with this last year and seems to work pretty good. It's basically sea water which has a much higher concentration of salt and works fast.

Speaking of Magnesium Chloride???

I had the joy of driving in Colorado last year/this year and my tanks/whels have never been the same.

Anybody heard from Kona? Curious how he did...I would turn off the cb if it's his first time...guys razzing him about going "too" slow for them etc. could add to nerves. I would hang back and go at your own pace. I had to bobtail through Kansas/Colorado this year through 250 miles of snow/ice...talk about excitement! lol.

ahh, no problems. Dropped to about 17 degrees outside but I just kept on trucking cautiously. I wouldn't of been so nervous if I actally had a heavier load... 4k isn't very much for a drive across an icy windy road in WY... But I made it. Won't be leaving Cali/Oregon till next summer...