First Winter!

I've heard that if the mountain grade is icy or too snowy, chain it up. They'll add a lot of traction. .. Youre not supposed to driver over 35 mph with chains to begin with, so you're speed will be considerably slow on the downgrade. If you don't have chains, I wouldn't venture on the mountains!

Now if you can't use your jake because it's raining, I'd say just slowwwww dowwwwm. I had the pleasure of going downhill during my training in rain... was doing about 40 mph and lightly braking. IT seems you can brake if you'reeasy on the pedal. The rain didn't stop the fedex double road train super truckers from flying past me on curves, though!

Anyway don't take my word for it, not sure what's true or not. JUst lassing along info I've gathered hoping to be true :)

Ok, maybe I'm just not understanding, but not using the jake on downgrades worries..no, TERRIFIES me. How do you keep the rig at a safe speed without melting your brakes if the jake is not an option? This will be my first winter and I cannot say I'm looking forward to this part of the learning curve. Is it June yet?

He he yeah I can imagine. I suppose if you think of it like an increased threat of what hydroplaning is like which I'm sure you know what that's like. Except you wont really feel a resistance like you with standing water would unless it is slush. Definitely stay AWAY from the edges of the road. deeper snow can suck you in like driving through a pool of water on one side of your truck or trailer would. One thing I noticed going through Canada to Alaska was that if the water on the road started to leave 20' tracks behind other vehicles, its starting to freeze. The longer the tracks the worst its getting.

Yeah not jaking down a good grade sounds scary too. But if you are in a proper gear and use the proper braking method, nice steady braking in intervals it will be better than trying to use the jake even in the lowest setting when slick. like any hill you don't want to be too high of a gear or too low of a gear. Road conditions have to be really bad for even experienced truckers to decide to park it til better weather with steep grades.

Believe it or not but weather conditions up here have been bad enough that the snow haul crew has gone home. Everyone was spinning in place in the dump site where it is flat. People trying to pull other spinning trucks got stuck in place too. That's the wet ice scenario worst case style. Even just a little bit of moisture + packed snow (turned into top layer thin ice) on a grade so minuscule it was like less than 0.5% grade (yes half a percent lol) I was sliding backward when I came to a stop O.o! Fresh dry snow on top of ice can also be very bad.

Just take it really slow. My 10 speed I can drop it into 8th and I can keep it below 45 without the jakes. When you are in lower gears and going slow it takes more for your brakes to heat up. I will admit I haven't tested this on any major grades but that is the strategy I used to drive through that snowmaggedon storm last year.

When I'm light, keeping it below45 isn't an issue, but loaded, I can't keep it below 45 WITH the jake in the second position. In the 3rd position, it'll just keep slowing me down till I'm backing up the hill I'm trying to go down...o.k. till I'm at a complete stop. :-) I've gotten to the point where I play with the 3rd position all the way down. On for a sec, off till I've sped up 5-10mph, on for a sec...and so on. So...without the jake? I just can't see it.

Ok try thinking of it this way. Friction is what causes the heat so the object is to cause enough friction to slow you down without applying too much because that'll just heat it all up. If you rub your hands together you can go a lot faster if you are touching them lightly before they heat up. Basically you want to slow down and out the truck in a gear where it's running idk on mine in 8th at 45 I'm a lil over 1700 rpms. The engine is going to try to slow itself down so you just have to apply enough brake to help it basically. I am having a really hard time explaining this lol that's why I'm not a trainer. I know what to do but to try to explain it to someone else I suck at it lol. My advice would be to start practicing it now tho before most of the country gets hit with snow and you have to be able to do it safely.

First, don't worry about brake heat. That's just what happens when you stop: the brakes convert the forward motion energy to heat. Harder brakes get more heat, but require more friction. The icy road ain't got that. Brakes are not your friend in ice or snow.

The best job for brakes in icy conditions is in controlled acceleration. You start down a hill, going slow, and riding the brakes a bit. Manage the speed with a low gear, and use brakes for adjusting the acceleration. Also, as you drive down a road, always be thinking about when and how you're going to stop.

I wrote about this last year in a piece I call "Sleigh Ride".

Thank you Sue for the advice. I am thinking of getting my own room and I look forward to meeting you sometime.

Safe travels out there!

My advice would be to start practicing it now tho before most of the country gets hit with snow and you have to be able to do it safely.

That I am, down every hill I descend. I managed a couple mountains yesterday at 40 and was able to keep it below 45 with lighter breaking. That was still with the jake, though I did see that with a slower speed it took longer to climb to 45.

Errol, I did read your sleigh ride response, as well as a couple blogs about winter driving, and I'm beginning to get my mind a wrapped around this, but for the 6 and 7 percent grades, I'm still concerned.

I'm home now and the plan is to bring Daryl back on the truck. I'm going to get him to teach me how to use the manual mode. That way I can start practicing the hills without the jake at all. I have the general idea, but have just always left it in auto mode.

I WILL get this!!

Just thought id comment and say it snowed last week in MA up north. I was headed south through nyc and it started to come down. Granted it was light but its definetly here.

Hi, Carlos. You listed some decent "rules" for icy driving. I wrote a post called "sleigh ride" about driving on icy roads. Use the search box above and look for that term. The basic idea is to not use any braking if you suspect ice might be on the roads. That means driving real slow.

Here's a few comments listed by your numbers:

1. Sure cold night air might mean ice. But did you realize that warmer daytime temps means wet ice? That's more dangerous. 2. "Don't worry ... the roads are pre-treated." Sure they are. And your brother will be paying you back that $50 he owes you next week, too! Don't trust that rule. Drive for ice, and you get a good surprise if the salt's been laid down.

3 + 4. The thing about icy bridges is true. Bridges get iced up way before regular roads. As you approach, slow down (coast, no brakes), and aim for a point on the other side. Try not to change direction or touch the brakes until you get over the bridge. Use the accelerator lightly or not at all. 5. Jakes/ engine retarders only work to slow the drive axle - the wheels in the middle of your rig. Yes, that's an invitation to jackknife.

6. Retarder systems usually have three levels on the switch, and yes, it uses a certain number of cylinders to adjust the stopping power. 7. Driving before or àpres snow? I figure fresh snow will have better traction than packed snow, all things being equal. You should be more concerned about driving visibility. 8. This sounds like driver lounge talk. It also contradicts your #7. 9. Your truck has a dashboard thermometer that reports outside air temperature. You'll see a warning signal come up at 34°. See your #1. 10. Don't know about that. Maybe you won't run into that wet ice as in #1?

Extra suggestion: before it gets too cold, stop at a Walmart in the northern states to get a good cold weather work jacket and gloves, etc. Texas stores won't carry the real cold weather gear.

Do you know what's scary guys, is that some off our brothers still think some of this. I had a great teacher 15 years ago and my company sends an experienced driver with newbies in the winter. I live in northern Minnesota, and the gentleman in this is spot on. The only advice I'd give is this and it goes for anything, you or we can go slow in dangerous conditions, roads weather, a million times. We'll only go to fast once. Find one good teacher and keep him or her and block out the others they'll just become noise. You're off to a great start by just asking. Thanks for doing you're best to keep our roads safe. Best of luck and happy travels.

Shawn speaks Truth:

The only advice I'd give is this and it goes for anything, you or we can go slow in dangerous conditions, roads weather, a million times. We'll only go to fast once.

There's an old saw about pilots and flying that fits well here:

There are pilots, and there are old pilots.

But there are no old bold pilots.