Winter Driving Tips

RE: Frozen Brakes

Any company SAFETY DEPT. would have a conniption fit for me posting this, and just remember every driver is responsible for their own trucks, but most people when they park for the night, they set their tractor brakes, but they don’t set their trailer brakes. It’s kind of hard for the brakes to freeze when they aren’t engaged. Again, do so with your own risk. After being on my back, pounding brake drums with a 5 pound hammer Anytime I am connected to the trailer. This will likely be standard practice in subzero temperatures.

Here are the hand warmers found at Walmart.

As u can see on the glove, these are good for -30 degrees, have a great strao to keep them closed to your wrists, and are extremely warm inside. Waterproof and got them at TA for $30... free with points

Here’s a winter driving situation to be aware of that I just encountered last week.

Some southerly states only get freak winter storms and so they aren’t very good at dealing with snow and ice. During the last arctic blast that hit along interstate 20, I was traveling westbound from Georgia to Texas. Of the states involved, Louisiana did the worst job of clearing the road. When I went through, the travel lane was pretty good but the passing lane was unpredictable as far as hard packed snow and ice. The big issue was that the exit ramps were not cleared and de-iced. So vehicles wanting to exit had to drastically slow down in the travel lane before hitting the exit. Many vehicles failed to slow down enough and much wreckage was evident. But the real danger in those conditions was the rear end collision because of the “almost stopped” traffic trying to exit. It was pretty iffy as to being able to move over to the left in the passing lane at those exits and there had obviously been accidents caused by this situation.

So even if the travel lane is in good shape, I saw how critical it was to be super alert for vehicles exiting the highway when the ramps are still iced over. And the states that seldom get the moisture along with freezing temps are perhaps the most dangerous states to drive in when they do. Plus, the people in those areas have no clue as to how to drive in those conditions.

Here's a couple I experienced this week that haven't been touched on. Pay attention to if moisture is freezing to the back of your mirrors. If it is, temp is at or below freezing and less traveled portions of the road like ramps and side roads WILL be ice. Bridges likely will too. Look at other vehicles, if you see road spray the surface isn't ice but still proceed with caution. Just because the right lane isn't ice doesn't mean the left lane doesn't have some ice since it's typically less traveled. I was able to comfortably do the speed limit earlier this week but when I got to the dock area of my store complete sheet of ice I needed to throw salt after unloading to get back to the street.

Also NO CRUISE CONTROL. Last winter I was talking to a volunteer firefighter in town and he mentioned several serious injury accidents had happened due to cruise control on ice particularly when they got on bridges.

Also don't be like this guy.

There really isn't a widely available solution to this problem. Excess snow pack on your equipment will also drastically increase your weight as well.

Yeah something needs to get figured out for these situations. I’m curious Rob how would you handle that situation if it was your assigned trailer? I was actually going to post about this to see what other drivers thoughts were.

Also don't be like this guy.

There really isn't a widely available solution to this problem. Excess snow pack on your equipment will also drastically increase your weight as well.

Yeah something needs to get figured out for these situations. I’m curious Rob how would you handle that situation if it was your assigned trailer? I was actually going to post about this to see what other drivers thoughts were.

we have a heated shop at the yard where I Start every day so I'd go in there and see if they could assist me since they have the tall ladder/stairs they use to change trailer lights. If I were out on the road I'd really not have much of a choice but roll with it or stop at a truck wash and have them wash/melt it away. Definitely need to be mindful of bridge heights and slow down going under if you've got a big enough pile that'll contact the bridge.

Also don't be like this guy.

There really isn't a widely available solution to this problem. Excess snow pack on your equipment will also drastically increase your weight as well.

We have snow scrapers at the DC yard for trailers on the lot. If we're hooking to a trailer out on the road like at a store or vendor, we call our tractor shop. They have accounts set up all over the region for trailer snow removal. Make the call and in a little while a couple guys show up with a ladder and shovels to clear the snow right on site.

Yeah something needs to get figured out for these situations. I’m curious Rob how would you handle that situation if it was your assigned trailer? I was actually going to post about this to see what other drivers thoughts were.

Also don't be like this guy.

There really isn't a widely available solution to this problem. Excess snow pack on your equipment will also drastically increase your weight as well.

I had a trailer collapse once from excessive snow pack on the roof. Drove it from Denver to Grand Junction, roughly 5 hours and actually had to take Loveland Pass instead of going through Eisenhower tunnel because my trailer was too tall with the snow on top (I didn’t realize how much was up there before I left. By the time I reached the receiver the walls and roof had started caving in.

Just to clarify, my trailer wasn’t nearly as bad as the one pictured but it still was too much weight on top.

Pretty much if you don’t feel comfortable getting a ladder and climbing on top with a snow shovel, you gotta call your company to see what their solution is. I have climbed up there with a snow shovel before and cleaned it off because I just wanted to get going, but without protection or fall restraint it’s dangerous and violates osha regs so I don’t really recommend it.