Snow and Lockers!!!!!! READ NOW

when you are turning...and you have lockers, there is no "slip" from the inside tire to the outside tire...using a locker actually deffeats the purpose of traction in the snow while turning, the tires will actually slip more if you are turning with lockers on....think of the mechanics behind what lockers do and it will "click"

 

This is m daily driver down in Antarctica

 

Does anyone remembering just having to pump your brakes as you slid out of control? haha

 

I do..... and I remember when ABS first came out, it was sooo hard trying to tell yourself (in a panic type situation) not to pump the brakes. It was a habit for years!!

 

ROFL.
roll call for all us who got licenses on carburated, no ABS, stick shift trans AND 4wd, AM/FM (cassette ok ,cd not),glass headlighted, fly windowed,vinyl bench seated trucks.

 

5.5 car lengths at 55mph is WAY TOO LITTLE FOLLOWING DISTANCE.
I was taught to count 2 seconds from the vehicle in front in normal dry traction driving conditions. 5.5 car lengths at 55 mph would go by in about 1/2 second or less. If the auto in front jambs on the brakes full force for any reason at all (or for no good reason - thought they saw a deer...) you would be up their ass before your foot hit your brake pedal. Reaction time while FULLY aware of the auto in front can take almost a second - never mind if you are reaching for your coffee, tuning the stereo, etc. etc.

THEN you have assess the situation and decide whether to steer around, brake hard or some combination of manouvers to avoid a collision.

And 2 seconds is for dry pavement. I try to double that when its icy/snowy or hard rain.

I hate tailgaters. 5.5 car lengths at 55mph is tailgating IMHO.

 

Down shifting to slow down on snow and Ice come here and do that on a mtn pass and Ill pick you up at the bottom when you go off the edge Neutral takes the drive away from the tires so less likely to slide and just use your brakes in moderation.

 

If I recall Commercial truck training, its 1 second for every 10 mph +1 second for reaction so the length varies, that method requires you to watch the vehicle in front of you pass a shadow,sign ,bump etc to guage spacing
problem with all the methods in winter is who has bare tires and who has good snowtires

 

Almost Ditto - Except it was a Dodge Duster (slant six with 3-on-the-tree.) AM radio - no FM!

 

I think a semi takes alot longer to stop than a Taco at the same speed - adding distance beyond the 2 seconds makes alot of sense for a commercial driver.

 

ok, I just went through this whole thread and now????? what should I do? I have an automatic 4x4. I have to drive 50 miles on a very curvy mountain rd and the last 5 miles is nothing but about 26 stop lights on steep hills. I have never driven in the snow/ice. Can we get the "girl" a simple answer so I'm not at the bottom of the mtn? I should just call in sick....lol
For real, I'm worried about it though.

 

Assuming there is snow/ice,drop the psi to 28ish psi,use 4wd, brake slowly, dont follow closely,bring chains and know how to put em on. Its not hard just take time and dont rush. The toyo a.t. tires arent bad, not a snow tire , but act predictably.

On a flat and straight area , w/o cars behind you , tap the brakes lightly to get the feel of the snow, do it again firmer. You'll not want to go the posted speed either.Mostly relax and just stay focused.

 

chains are illegal on trucks in nj..i can only assume the benefit is nice...

 

Wow. Oregon has chain laws requiring them based on vehicle type, even a 4wd is supposed to have em on the truck in some cases, but not all. Point is say a 7000lb crew cab chevy didnt have em on and had a wreck thats a ticket. If it had mtn/snowflake rated snow/AT/ASR tires he probably would not. lot of sifting to do on the laws.

 

Ok, thanks. Last winter was pretty bad (for here), mostly ice, but I only worked about 10 miles from home then. It was impossible to get out for about 4 days, so I didn't really have to worry about it. Everyone at work keeps asking me how are u gong to get to work this winter, cause they know I don't know how to drive in snow/ice and I work at a prison so there is no closing for bad weather.

 

It can be a lot of fun. The thing is you get going ok , but its the stopping that uually gets people. If you can go on a trip on a weekend, play in the snow to get used to it.My sister drives 20 mi a day to work, I do snow/ice plowing when is snows and we ski, I still put a 2wd freightliner chained up on both axles in a ditch going 15mph, I think the slope of the corner pulled me in, such is the ice.

 

what about the heated tire mod...so we can all melt the snow away

 

First off....relax.
The worst thing you can do, is be tensed up and freaked out.

First off...what routes are you taking? Because, if you're taking pretty busy roadways, they'll probably be plowed and salted and melted. The chances of you actually driving in the snow, will be minimal. So relax....

If you have to drive in it.... GO SLOW. Leave plenty of room before making stops or turns. You'll get the feel for things soon enough. It's all about experience - feelin the road, feeling how the truck handles.

If you lose traction - you can step on the gas a bit more, but just be aware of how the truck handles. If the rear-end kicks out....get off the gas. Go in reverse for a bit ...and try again.

Put about 200lbs of weight in the back of your truck, that'll help with traction.

Have cell phone with you in case you do get stuck. It's not the end of the world. Lots of people get stuck in the winter. Join the crowd and relax. It's just inconvenient.

The biggest mistake anyone can make...is going TOO FAST.
If you're going too fast, then you're chances of getting out of control are much greater. You're far better off going slow...and getting stuck than you are going too fast and smashin into something.

 

For the cruise control you just need to pay attention when entering turns and hills, but you can still use it just fine. Just don't be a dumbass with it.

I drive over 400kms each week for work (Not including actual driving during those 4 days which may add another 400kms on top of that) and I use cruise all the time.


PS - Wicked with the Joe quote.

 

+1 on the parking lot / deserted road practice. There's nothing like feeling your car / truck break loose at low speeds and learning to properly control it. A buddy of mine had an old Volvo at one point, and it snowed a whole lot one weekend in December. (Memphis, TN. Really rare.) We went and drove around for about 6 hours from about 9PM - 3AM just exploring and seeing what all was going on. After feeling the car break loose and figuring out that if you're going slowly enough you have all the time in the world to think and recover from it, it's really not bad. The trick is to go slow and learn what everything feels like. It is vastly different from sliding on wet pavement, grass, or anything else.

I will say. We never got the ol' Volvo stuck, but we DID see lots of big 4wd SUV's and trucks stuck. Be smart and don't assume that just because it's a truck that you'll be fine. If 4 wheels slip, you're out of luck anyway. However, you're here asking about it, so you'll probably be smarter about it than those folks were.