To everything there is a season
#11
11-22-2008, 04:59 PM
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.   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.
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"A government big enough to give you everything you need, is a government strong enough to take everything you have" - Thomas Jefferson 
#12
11-22-2008, 05:05 PM
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 1,658
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:
#13
11-22-2008, 05:36 PM
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.
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( R E T I R E D , and glad of it)
YES ! ! ! There is life after trucking. a GOOD life
#14
11-22-2008, 06:47 PM
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
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"Professional stake killer with ability to operate heavy equipment"
#15
11-22-2008, 08:07 PM
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: 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".
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Bad weather gets bad drivers off the road...one way or another! Fourcats Last edited by Fourcats; 11-22-2008 at 10:18 PM.
#18
11-22-2008, 11:20 PM
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:
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( R E T I R E D , and glad of it)
YES ! ! ! There is life after trucking. a GOOD life
#19
11-22-2008, 11:37 PM
I love lemon snow cones.
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Don't trust anybody. Especially that guy in the mirror.
#20
11-23-2008, 01:54 AM
Senior Board Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: pod# 110 -Shared with a high risk in a red jumper.
Posts: 2,240
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 . |
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