So seasoned driver chime in Snow and Ice advice.

Any advice is appreciated.

1. Was watching a youtube video and a driver was spinning his tires in a truck stop. The trucker filming said "He should shift up to a higher gear. That is something they won't teach you in trucking school."

So if I am spinning my tires what gear should I be in?

2. Going down a steep hill in bad weather (rain/snow). To Jake or not to Jake?

3. If I am driving slow and you want to pass should I just stay in my lane and let you pass on the left. Or move over to the shoulder were the road might be a little dicier.

4. When to chain, does anybody chain before they are told to? If I am going over a mountain pass and know I will be running on bad roads. Would you chain at the base of the mountain pass. Or wait until the Highway Petrol tells you too?

And yes experience is the best teacher, just don't want to find out the guard rail can't stop a sliding truck.

if you are already out and doing your job, and the snow starts, or you run into a snow storm,

best advice is to SLOW DOWN, i do, at the very least 5 to 10 mph below the posted speed limit, and i move over to the far right lane, and if it gets worse, i drive @25 mph, in the far right lane.

i been doing this for just over 35 years now, and have not had any problems. i let the cowboys and billy-big-rigger, zip by me in the left lanes. in fact, many times, i will have several other trucks behind me in the far right lane, and we just all chug along.

of course, a raging blizzard can happen at any time during your run, i always pull over into either a rest area or truck stop if i can to seek "shelter".

i watch the weather reports as well, and if it going to get too bad, i stay home, in fact, my employer CALLS ME and tells me to stay home.

no sense in going out and looking for trouble.

1) i always carry either kitty litter or a mechanics "speedi-dry" in at least a 5 gallon pail for such occasions. when in a truck stop, and there IS already snow on the ground, i do not just park on top of it, what i do is drive forward and backwards in the parking spot, several times. this packs down the snow, for an easier out. that trucker must have parked on fresh snow. what happens here is the all of our tire are warm t0 hot, and this melts the snow, then freezes it later, and causes a driver to now be in an icy rut.

2) frankly even on flat surfaces, i DO NOT use my jake.

what i have been told is that yes, the jake slows down the rig, but the trailer might very well swing out from under you, so it was told to me, just use the brakes without a jake....others can chime in on thier experiences with jakes in bad weather, i just do not use them.

3) STAY IN YOUR LANE...!!!

you may not be able to see any drop off's!!!!!!!!

4) i never chained in my life....

if it is that bad, every company i have ever worked for, said stay home, or park someplace!...others here can chime in on chaining

5) and yes, experience IS the BEST TEACHER....however, what i have been thru and experienced over my 35 + years, will be different from many others, so absorb what you can and you will find what works BEST FOR YOU.

good luck

[QUOTE=LA90077;540118]So seasoned driver chime in Snow and Ice advice.

Any advice is appreciated.

Use youtube as entertainment.. shifting up when spinning is like leaning into someone throwing a left hook at your head.

You don't need a jake when the snow is there and in the rain.. its not like your'e going to catch your brakes on fire. Drive for the conditions, set your safe speed before you drop of a grade, and don't be one of those idiots who needs a jake brake in towns and truck stops.

I maintain the right lane and keep my safe speed.. you drive your truck, let the super truckers drive theirs. You will get blinded by the morons who pass at high speeds in the slop.. just turn on your wipers, focus on the right edge of the road and hold on till the morons get past..

When chain controls go up, you will be directed where and when to place them. MOST carriers do not allow drivers to run chains any further than to safely get to safe parking. There are companies who chain and chain every day if not more than once a day. Normally its the linehaul carriers and they don't have an option. I did this for a few years, it didn't kill me. With all of the drivers who are terrified at the thought of chaining (mainly the work in chaining up a truck) and the carriers who don't want to allow their drivers to do so, it makes it practically an open highway for me. I like running chained up.. slow driving, clanking up the mountains.. it was kind of fun.

Best rule is to slow down... SLOW DOWN.. the best advice I give is to go ahead and drive in the snow..SLOW DOWN! especially when its falling before it freezes. SLOW DOWN Make sure your pretrip covers washer fluid and SPARE washer fluid. SLOW DOWN Make sure your defrosters work GOOD and that you clean all the BS paperwork and trash off the dash and CLEAN the insides of the windows.. ALL OF THEM! AND SLOW DOWN! Snow is driveable.. ICE is NOT! There is no real safe OR SMART way to drive on ice. I cannot remember the exact figure but ice reduces your traction down to less that 20% of normal... so over 80% of your traction is gone.

If you begin to lose traction the FIRST thing you do is to remove power as smoothly as possible! If you have a clutch.. its the FIRST thing you use! It disengages power from the the entire driveline.. rolling wheels will regain traction best.. locked wheels will not!! Brakes are a no no! Engine brakes are a no no! and releasing the accelerator too quickly is the same thing as hitting the brakes.

NEVER let others talk you into running when its bad out there! If its too bad for you, its too bad to drive! Stick to your guns and don't let anyone make you feel like less a driver for not getting yourself or others killed.

All good advice.
Thank you for the reply

Good advice above from guys that know what there talking about. I know the same thing but last winter I forgot about my jake being on, no biggie as when I left the house the roads where clear and dry. As I got about 50 miles away the wind picked up still it was no big deal as I drove across a long straight flat stretch all of a sudden a strong blast of wind hit the right side of my truck and slid the trailer over into the left lane. I not only felt this happen but also got to see the same thing happen to the truck in front of me. When I felt the wind hit and saw the trailer in front go sideways I immediately backed off the throttle. What I hadn't realized was that not only was my jake on high but the road had gotten wet with blowing snow and then froze. I don't really remember what happened because it all went by so quick. What I do know is that at one point I could see the side of my trailer out the drivers window and I was past the point of no return, there was absolutely nothing I could do to save it, it was about that time as the tractor slide sideways down the road that the right drives slid over onto the rumble strip and that was enough traction to get me straightened out. I'd like to think it was my skill and experience but it was gods will or dumb luck. Lesson learned? Pay attention, even those small wet spots can be bad news. I should've remembered about the jake. I did do one thing right, at some point without thinking about I did push in the clutch.
As far as chains go, the only time I've ever used them I just threw them down on the ice in front of the tires and kicked them slightly under, then just eased forward and out of the hole. Works great and sometimes this even works with a straight tow chain, just don't forget to stop and pick up your chain!

Call me stupid or crazy but I set my Jake to the lowest setting in rain. I sparingly use it though. When I do, I sure as heck make certain I'm also actually braking. The Jake only slows the truck, the trailer is still trying to go the same speed, IE, faster than the truck now. Your going to jacknife now. You must slow the trailer, I get on the brakes then click the Jake on to help if need be. In snow, never ever use the Jakes. Do that only if you want to see the rear of your trailer without getting out of the drivers seat!

Shift to a higher gear during spinning? Stop, lock the diff in, then sure try a higher gear. In theory, more lower torque and harder to break traction in a higher gear. As long as your not standing on the throttle!

Slow down is the best thing you can do if stuck out. Take it slow until you can find a safe place to park it. A lot of states will help you on what to do in bad weather. They will make it mandatory to park it or chain up. Just plan to drive real slow. I tend to run at least 1-2 gears higher to keep my rpms low and reduce my chances of spinning the drives. I barely touch the throttle, just enough to keep it moving along at a steady pace. 25mph tops whether I'm empty or not.

Ice IS driveable.......BUT........you must move incredibly slow and be aware of potential problems even further ahead of you. Ice IS driveable........BUT.........avoided unless it's an emergency or to get off the road.

The best advise is to slow down and take your time even when the four wheelers and your Billy Big Riggers are still hammer down, you would be surprised how many of these clowns end up in a ditch or wrecked down the road.

We had the first snowfall here in NY last week, wasn't much but the roads where a bit slick. In the space of about an hour I saw 3 cars into the guardrail and a bunch of places where they had hit and kept going or went off the road into the dingweeds. The last involved a big truck that appeared to have been rear ended by a mini van and also had 2 other cars off road. All in about 50 miles or so.

Using the Jake can be tricky in winter weather. The best thing to do in adverse weather is to slow down. Leave plenty of space between you and everyone else. I just drove from Greensboro, NC to Chattanooga, TN. Most of the trip I saw a mixture of rain, sleet and snow. There wasn't much accumulation until I hit Atlanta. Judging from the snow on one car I estimate about 6". There wasn't much on the ground by the time I got to north Georgia. Once I got near Atlanta, roads were pretty clear. I tend to slow down in bad weather. Some drivers were changing lanes frequently. That can be dangerous with black ice. There were several 4 wheelers that spun out or abandoned. I only saw 1 bobtail on the side that was abandoned. Don't make quick or sudden moves in this type of weather. It can put you in a ditch.