Another "HEY!!!" thread especially for new & newer drivers....
 

Here of late, in the Great White North....and even in the central states there has been some very cold weather....this is the time of year when you have to be supremely cautious, in more than one way. Here are some suggestions:

1. If you are assigned an older tractor....even just a couple of years old, you need to really go over that unit and look very closely at the components that are subject to exposure to weather..... One really important thing to look closely at is the "airlines" that feed the trailer brakes and release them. Yep, the patriotic colored "RED" and BLUE. Those poor things hang and dangle back there and get stretched and pulled and exposed to heat and cold every day.

In severe winter weather, aside from the salt and other chemicals used to melt ice, they are subjected to sometimes sub-zero temperatures.... Plastics that are normally very flexible in moderate or warm weather tend to "stiffen" greatly and resist stretching and bending. If your airlines get cold enough they will tend to be a little brittle and under the right circumstances they will break or even shatter. The older they are, the greater the chance.

So, if you suspect that your airlines are in bad shape.....get them replaced. Even if your company mechanics are not willing to do it..for some stupid reason, at least go to the trouble of either going to a truck stop or a dealer and buy a set of extras and a roll of teflon tape...and make sure you have the wrenches you need to do the repair.

If one of the airlines breaks or springs a severed leak....the results can be "catastrophic" and even "deadly"....not only to you....but others around you.

2. This time of the year....when it gets cold enough, diesel fuel, if not treated properly with anti-gel....wants to turn into something like a "waxy-jello" that won't make it to the engine.

I can't think of anything worse than being in the sticks and having an engine die in the middle of the night...in seriously cold weather. Because if you aren't prepared for survival in those temperatures without a heat source....you're in big trouble.

You need to carry anti-gel, and stay away from the cheapest stuff that takes a ton of it to treat a tank or two. Get the good stuff....and carry extra with you. Don't wait til you find yourself in a world of hurt and are freezing to death to put it in the tanks. Do it before you get into the cold if you are heading north...and keep enough in your sideboxes to treat a couple tank fills.... Even if your company's policy is restrictive on buying it, be a professional and buy it yourself.... We're not worried about $10 or $20 bucks....we're worried about not ending frozen to death stuck in a truck on the side of the road, in a rest area, or a truck stop.....

3. In addition to the anti-gel and tools and other stuff I carry.... I have a set of insulated outer clothing...like Carhartt's ...the bib overalls and a jacket....and several sweatshirts, plenty of blankets....and on top of that, I keep an "Arctic Grade US Army" sleeping bag under my bunk....its there for emergencies.... It didn't cost me that much, and while I have yet to use it....I know its there, and it will keep me alive.

I know there has been talk of this in another thread as to how to repair airlines, and some of the suggestions are good, but what I am talking about.....is "preventive maintenance" not "McGyver fixes". Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"!!

You have to protect yourself.....no-one is going to do it for you.

Be safe out there!!:thumbsup:

I apologize if this post is "redundant"...I didn't see one of the others, but I think its important enough to be necessarily redundant......

Good words. Thanks for taking the time to pass this information on.

:brownnoser::brownnoser::brownnoser:

:bigthink:



:bigthumbsup:


:bigclap::bigclap::bigclap:

Post
 

Sky:

Awesome Post, I'm glad to see someone using this forum like it should be used.

To inform other drivers of different ideas and concerns, not the " bashing / crashing and dashing other people and or companies.

Thanks again !!!!!!!

X2 :thumbsup:

Winter weather is full of redundancies. Might as well keep on posting it. About the time someone forgets about any of it, "MA NATURE" will catch someone with their pants down...:bow:

And it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaay to fricking cold out to be caught outside with them down !!!!! lololololololhehe

Be Prepared.
 

Always carry a heavy jacket, good walking shoes, a pen and paper, your wallet and a satellite phone . .

Houston - Hair Balls - Houston Trucker Takes a Hike, Sues Promaxima Manufacturing

Is "HAIR BALL" like "THE ONION"??? Invented news strictly for entertainment?

He's got other issues, legally, if he admits to carrying a lethal weapon in a commercial vehicle.

:D:lol::D:lol::D