Heavier gives better grip ,and if evenly loaded you stand less chance of sliding..But if you break traction heavier is harder to regain control of ...

 

Actually it's the same with both ,and it boils down to a wheel that has torque applied to it will break traction b4 a wheel that does'nt ,and that applies to any vehicle .

 

heavy load is great in snow. that fella in the picture was out of control on black ice.
i have run in lots of snow and on uphills go 45-50 mph to keep up the momentum. i go down hill slower than most so if trailer tries to come around i can accelerate and straighten it up with out gaining too much momentum going downhill.
it takes me too long to do that full chain thing. i wont be without raingear. rubber or snow boots, rubber gloves and a good lantern.its just too miserable chaining when your wet and cold and your in the way
you get some lousy trips if you park that load and your co-workers run those chains for 5 miles and deliver on time

 

Good point. The momentum required to get to the top depends on the height and angle of the hill you're climbing. The bigger the hill, the more momentum needed.

The rubber gloves come in handy for more than just chaining up. For the guys that work flatbed, if you run through salted slush on the road, and the temp is down around 20 F, the straps will be soaked, but not really frozen. A regular pair of gloves will get wet with the first strap you handle. A good pair of rubber coated gloves (and you can put another pair inside of them) will keep your hands dry. The first part of keeping your fingers from freezing.

A couple of years ago, when PA had most everything shut down, I made the trip from FL to Boston ON TIME. The return trip was also ON TIME. Care to take a guess on just how long it took me to get runs away from the east coast, and out to the mid-west where I much rather run?
Come to think of it, that was also the run that I got there and was told I don't have an appointment. I had to have dispatch make a real appointment for me for the following day, and I asked dispatch just who was responsible for the 22 HOURS OF DETENTION TIME on that run. Wonder if that's why they ran me east so much after that?

 

But, your chances of breaking all drives loose is far greater with the differentials locked in than with them unlocked. If you break one drive loose, you simply release the throttle and re-apply pressure on the throttle, just enough to try to keep most of your momentum going.

If you have the differentials locked in, your chances of spinning out with all drives is far greater, and when that happens, gravity will pull the drives toward the lower side of the highway. It's far more difficult for you to try to keep tractor and trailer in line.

I've talked to a number of drivers that have jackknifed, and in most cases, they could not understand how it happened. "I even had the differentials locked in to give me more traction, and it still went." To get started, the differential lock is an asset. Once you are rolling, it becomes a liability. There's a good chance that if they had not locked them in, they would not have jackknifed.

If any of you ever have the chance, try it out on a skid-pad and see just what the effect is. But, make sure it's a skid-pad with a crown to it like the crown on the road.

 

Like I said a wheel with torque will spin b4 a wheel without...now a drive wheel will break loose when you put more twist to it than you have traction which is hader to do with 2 live axles than 1 since the torque is now applied to 2 drive wheels not 1 , But if you use 2 much skinny pedal you are now breaking loose 2 tires not 1...and 4 if you have a locking differential ...NON OPEN CARRIER...as both drive shafts will receive equal torque regardless of what wheel has most traction unlike open where the wheel with the least traction get the torque ,as energy always follows the path of least resistance ... So if you srew up with diffs locked it's worse b/c you break loose more rubber,and if you spin a tire loose it loses traction in every direction so you will slide to the down hill side of the road ,because it's the path with least resistance...Until you find a few large trees .

 

And, if we keep this up, we'll have the new drivers sitting in their trucks UP-SIDE-DOWN so that when they lose it on ice and the truck comes to rest, they'll be sitting right-side-up...

 

Use your time wisely and watch the weather closely. This is where an air card (or new generation phone)can become priceless. Weather forecasting isn't all that different today than it was 20 years ago . . you get some "reader" reading the same forecast over and over again even while you're watching the weather change before your eyes. An air card gives you realtime access to numerous sources and images. For instance, the WADOT site offers real time chain status and traffic cams for all the mountain passes. If it's currently clear and you have the choice of spending the night on this side or the other, run like hell to get to the other.

Slow and steady wins the race, said the tortoise to the hare. If you find yourself on a rotten roadway, don't be afraid of it . . manage it. On a narrow two lane posted 35, you might set a target speed of 25, which, depending on your truck is probably the high side of 5th or the low side of 6th. In any event, you want to "gear" yourself so you can add or reduce your speed by 5 mph without shifting or braking. Accelerate a little as things look better, back off a little at the first sign of trouble. Add a little speed as you approach an upgrade and back off a little as you approach a downgrade. You'll be in a better position to downshift if you find you need to do so quickly.

Always be prepared to stop. Probably one of the hardest things to do on any slick road is to watch the super truckers and 4x4 4 wheelers blow by you because they somehow got it in their heads that they won't have to stop. They are wrong. Sooner or later, everyone will have to stop. If you're approaching congestion, an intersection, ramps, rest areas you have to anticipate and assume someone is going to do something foolish and you have to be prepared to stop.

Be prepared to stop for awhile. Keep plenty of extra food that doesn't require any preparation. Keep plenty of extra water. Keep plenty of extra warm clothing and bedding.

Stay with your truck . . it'll be a lot easier to find than little bitty you.

Stay ahead of your fuel. When in doubt, ask for more.

If you can avoid trouble by getting off your fuel route, by all means do so as long as you're sure you're not jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

If you do find yourself in need of assistance, wave your VS foundations aggressively to attract attention.

 

Some one needs to photoshop a swift logo on that truck an trailer .

 

" Care to take a guess on just how long it took me to get runs away from the east coast, and out to the mid-west where I much rather run?"

yea, we got a driver thats good buddies with the dispatch boss and i done lot of chaining cuz he whines so much. and he got the new equipment
it also sucks when you chain up and your coworker gets through barefoot and they want to know what took so long