Well, on another note. I did my 600 miles the other day and shut down in Nebraska. I went to bed at 6pm and woke up at 1am to my cell phone making weird sounds. I pick it up and there's a message screen that says severe weather alert. My phone is a Razor and so thin I hit the wrong button and delete the message. I turn on the TV and the Emergency Broadcast System is sounding. Tornadoes in my area.

I look out the window and the rain is really coming down and the wind is going to town. I didn't feel it in the truck as I'm parked between two vans. I get on the internet and see which county I'm in and it's the one. Screw this, I'm outta here.

I pull out and now I feel the wind. Everyone else is sleeping I guess. I would have though there would be a siren or something. I get on the highway and the rain is coming down so hard my windshield wipers do nothing even on high. Now there is lightening and when it happens I can see BIG HUGE puffy black clouds and there are so low. I've seen this before in Iowa were I lived when tornadoes were around.

At this point I'm considering pulling under a bridge as close as I can but I miss every one because I can't see. I keep going and within an hour things seem to let up so I keep driving. I come out of it and pull over to have coffee and put my clothes on. I lay down and end up falling asleep for another couple of hours. I wake up 4am which is really 2am since there is a 2 hour time difference. I keep my East Coast time.

I figure out how to read my cell phone messages and there's a lot on there. All messages from T-Mobile about marketing stuff except for the weather alert. I remember when I got the phone my package deal included the severe weather alert. They knew where I was via GPS and that's why I got the message to beat feet.

I take my trash outside and another driver is pulling into the rest stop and comes over. 3 semis were wrecked from the twisters. He said 2 were picked up into the air and smashed to the ground upside down. The other was forced into the other side of the highway and burned to the ground. This happened on the highway right after I left the truck stop. I'm still trying to find any articles on the news about it.

So I leave the rest area and continue on. The rain starts up again and it's real heavy. Oh great, just in time for the blue collar rush hour through Denver. That was a treat. 4 lanes of traffic and I couldn't tell which lane was which. I ended up following a DPW truck.

I make it out of Denver and the not a lot of traffic and start to head up into the mountains. The sign above has a message on it. Chains required 46 miles from here. Ya right, it's raining out you meat heads. Well, 5 miles more and it's snowing to beat the band. You gotta be S$&%ing me. It's Spring, I'm done with this stuff. I turn on the radio and they are expecting 1 to 2 feet of snow. NO WAY....

I stop at the chain up area and there's 6" on the ground. I put on the chains in no time. I'm pretty good at it now. Maybe 10 minutes each side. I bought new ones with the cam.

Off I go up the mountain. I'm following another rig who is doing 5 mph and I figure I'll stay behind him, I'm in no rush. Everyone else is doing maybe 20 mph. Crashed cars on the other side coming down, stuck trucks going up the hill with no chains. The usual stuff. I get bored following this guy so I pass him and notice he doesn't have any chains. I also notice no more traffic coming down the other side so something must have happened. I get to the tunnel at the top and start down the other side and the next thing I hear on the CB is a rig in back of me jack knifed as soon as he started going down. It was the guy I passed.

The other side is shut down the cars and trucks stuck going up and blocking the road. I'm loaded up with 40k and the jakes on full in 5th gear going down the 7% grade. No problem with the chains on. Without the Jake and using the brakes would have probably locked up the trailer.

I make it down a ways into the chain area and take them off and I'm back on my way. 1/2 an hour later I have the window cracked because it's warm out. A few hours later into Utah and it's hot. I've been driving for a while and no rest stops or any place to pull over for a break. Finally I get fed up and pull over on the highway to make coffee and stretch my legs. I get out and there's something all around me. All I think of is that movie Tremors and those worms are going to get me. I stand really still then all of a sudden I see all these prairie dogs sticking there heads up then ducking back down.

Back on the road again and make it to Green River or something like that. A small truck stop but not bad. I'm less than 200 miles from Milford Utah where I deliver and should be waiting when they arrive.

I forgot to mention before about he hail too. The size of quarters. Didn't hurt my truck but makes so much noise you can't hear anything else.

 

Sure you were in Colorado? Sounds more like Alaska.. Wait 10 minutes there and the weather Changes.

 

I believe we've all done that a time or two. :lol: :lol:

 

Nope - that was the story in Denver today. Denver itself got a few flakes, but nothing stuck. 20 miles south, and they had 1 1/2 feet of snow.

 

Holy Cow!! Are you sure you didnt get picked up in the tornado and deposited in Alaska??

Now there is this load of penguins you forgot to pick up..... :wink:

 

That's Colorado. Some of the ski areas will stay open until the end of May. Mountains can get snow anytime of year. Glad you chained up. Chain law is set up to stop trucks from getting stuck and wrecking while going over the mountains. Several of the passes were closed because of stuck and wrecked trucks. Fine was $250 dollars, but thats getting bumped up to $1000. Just passed a few weeks ago and I'm not sure when it takes affect.

 

do you leave the chains on while driving through the tunnel?

 

He's the guy on the SB that says "I aint wearin' no panties" :shock:

 

Had my regulation whitie tighties on so I was DOT approved ops:

Yes, you do have to leave your chains on going through the tunnel. You want them on anyways to go down the other side. I don't think there is any place to take them off before going through the tunnel even if you wanted to.

I just couldn't believe how fast it changed from rain to heavy heavy snow. I looked at my weight gauge after I got down the bottom in the chain off area and it looked like I gained maybe a few thousand pounds or more from the snow and ice caked up. As I was driving and hitting bumps I could see huge chunks of ice and snow coming off the trailer.

Before I headed up the mountain I stopped at the last place to get fuel. I had a quarter tank which was more than enough but all I could think of was the worst and being stuck for days so I filled up at $3.20 a gallon. I'm sure they charge that on purpose being the only place.

That ride from the bottom of the mountains in Denver to Utah is a real pisser I tell you. The road is like a roller coaster with one rolling bump after another. It's like waves on the sea. I had to raise my seat up real high so I had the clearance not to bottom out on every bump. Then come the hills one after another. Go up in 5th at 35 then scream down the other side with the jakes on full and stabbing at the brakes.

I left that little town of Milford Utah and drove about 40 miles to Beaver. There's a small truck stop here with a restaurant next door, showers and my cell phone works. It's a nice place so I'm going to mark it in my truckstop directory. I've been circling all the good places and writing the exit numbers also which they should do anyways. That way you don't have to find it in the table then try and read the exit number while driving. Maybe I'll send them a letter.

I still have the shimmy in my front end. Big surprise!! Instead of putting my digital camera in there I'm going to buy a $30 USB Webcam instead. They have a nice little base that I can tie wrap it to many places. I'll run a cable back into the truck and plug into my laptop.

There are enough clues to my problem to at least give me some hints. It is a circular type of problem. I mean it does have to do with rotation. The faster I go the faster the frequency. When I start out in the morning it won't happen for at least an hour so I'm thinking it takes some time for a bushing or piece of metal to warm up before it has enough play to be a problem.

Well, we'll see if I get a load of out this place this morning but it may not look to good. Not much action around here.