Here's my philosophy......If the roads are bad enough to need chains, you shouldn't be driving on them. PERIOD!

Last year I ran across Wyoming, Colorado, Utah on a regular basis. Not once did I chain up. Just waiting for a few hours can make the difference.

Just prepare for delays and leave plenty of extra time during winter travels so you are not forced to drive in unsafe conditions.

 

Just trying to help the drivers that WANT or NEED/HAVE TO chain up. WHEN & IF you chain up is up to you, not trying to tell you how to run...just that the chain up tool really does help IF you do chain!

 

My question is why wait the extra hours when you should be down the road because that person chained up and you didn't. The people that say they think it's unsafe to drive in snow are crazy. The only crazy thing is if you still drive the same way as if it were summer. Just to let you know your philosophy probably costs your company money and time because you don't "feel" that you should have to chain up or don't want to. These are the kinds of truckers that we have now a days. :roll:

 

Yep, the fued continues, some of us chain because we WANT or maybe even HAVE to and some of us will never chain PERIOD...I understand and respect that. Again, not trying to tell anyone how to drive...just that IF you do chain, the chain up tool is a no brainer...especially for $50!!

Just a driver trying to help out other drivers....that DO chain up....
http://www.chainuptool.com/index.html

 

I don't understand people that try to be on both side of the fence. I guess you may not want to be incensitive to other people's feelings or their point of view but the reality is if you truck drive you chain up if need be. Not because you want to but because it's a part of your job. I wonder what some of the truckers back in '70s and '80s would say about the truckers today. They didn't even have half the comforts of what we have in our trucks today.

 

Being one of those guys of the '70 (actually started driving in the '60s) we knew when to chain and when not to chain. Most of us would chain up to get to a safe area. We knew when the weather was going to be bad and didn't go if it was going to be bad.

The biggest difference I see is the drivers today don't know when to stay put. Today everyone seems to think their some kind of super trucker and can just keep on going.

We had one other advantage dispatchers knew when we said NO we had a reason. They would simply say keep me informed.

Maybe that is why we had a lot more 1+ million mile drivers than we do today.

kc0iv

 

I don't cost my company any money....As a matter of fact I think I save them money by not having to come and pull me out of a ditch. I have no trouble driving in snow. If it's just snow you shouldn't need chains if you know what you are doing.

I guess that is why I am a proud 1+million miles driver.

 

:lol: don't know what truckers from the '70s say, but grandpa was one of the first drivers in mn. to bolt a sleeper on his cab. he says he wished he had all the cool stuff then as we do now for our comfort. they didn't do without airconditioning and apu's or sat tele because they were too tough, duh, if they had that stuff then you better believe they would of had it installed. as far as chains go, if i am hauling fresh meat, well i better chain up. if i got extra time and no preplan, well i am sorts lazy and like to stay toasty warm and dry. 2 weeks ago i chained up 3 times between seatle and green river wy. last time was because another storm was blowing in and i wanted to stay ahead of it.

 

Just finished a round trip to the west coast and back and I thought of this thread and wanted to comment again.

My trip took me from Pennsauken, NJ to Billings, MT to Cody, WY to Salt Lake City, UT to Long Beach, CA to Spanish Fork, UT back to Bloomsburg, PA.

As most of you know the west got hammered with snow during my trip.
I am happy to say I didn't have to chain up even once and was totally safe the entire time. Just smooth and steady.

I will say however that I seen alot of people throwing chains and then losing most of them till they got to the top of the mountain.

Maybe that why I did so well. There were enough chains on the ground that it was like I had chains on anyway.

Still a good trip....5,380 miles in 8 days.

Have a good one all.

 

And THEREIN lies the crux! The MAJORITY of truck drivers in North America AND on this board, do NOT live in YOUR neck of the woods! :roll:

Down here in the States, temps rise during the day, usually just after a snow storm. Up there, you can expect the snow to stay around forever. Down here, they plow the roads, the sun melts the thin layer that remains, and within a day or less (sometimes longer,) trucks can roll again without chaining! MANY MANY more trucks than you have up there!

While I agree with you that truckers should KNOW how to chain.... I don't think it is a REQUIRED part of our jobs, UNLESS we want to live where YOU LIVE.

You asked what the truckers of the "old days" would have done?? Well, I suspect MOST of them would have waited it out like WE would like to do! Best reason for this..... they drove BEFORE the "Just In Time" model of logistics and warehousing! In TODAY'S world, with "J.I.T.," many more loads are under time pressure than in the previous WAREHOUSING "model."

Yet... STILL.... most American companies prefer their drivers to chain up ONLY to get OUT of trouble.... not INTO it! :roll:

The fact that you prefer (or have no choice but to) live in the frozen North, hardly gives you the right to question OUR work ethic! You see maybe 50 trucks an hour on some of your roads up there.... we see 50 trucks per MILE!!!

MORE fatal accidents are caused each year by shear CONGESTION of trucks in the "States," than are caused up there by the rare inexperienced trucker who doesn't want to chain.

A driver is MORE likely to die in a truck crash in CLEAR WEATHER down here in the states, than in snowy conditions in Canada. With the exception of those who live in and drive regional in the Western 11, MOST American truckers RARELY would need to chain up! And by your OWN admission, you'd rather that those inexperienced drivers stay OFF the road when YOU need to be ON it! :roll:

So instead of being concerned with the SIZE of our "private parts," I suggest YOU "grow" some perspective..... and maybe "get OUT a bit more!" :roll: :wink: