Community Forums

nothermark · 12-09-2014, 10:45 AM

Now I'm going to be watching plow trucks. Off hand I do not remember seeing chains on the highway plows. They are common on parking lot and driveway plows. I suspect it is a matter of conditions. The highway crews are mostly running during snow events to keep the major roads clear so they are not working in deep snow. Mostly wet pavement from the deicer chemicals or crumbly slush. The other trucks usually wait out most of the snow so they are pushing big loads and maybe dealing with packed surfaces.

koda59 · 02-04-2015, 07:07 PM

I grew up in northeastern Pa. Drove on snow and ice from the time I got my drivers license at 16 till I went into the service. I now am retired and live in Florida. I have driven everything from cars to 18 wheelers and now a 41 ft dp in snow and ice. Every year, the day after Thanksgiving, my son and I head to Pa for deer season and visit family and friends. We are on a time line to get to Pa. Still, even with my experience I will park the rv and not think about it. I also learned that if you start wondering if you should get off the road and park, YOU are past when you should have already stopped. Getting to ones destination at the expense of you, your family or someone else's life is not worth it. Happy trails

Murf2u · 02-05-2015, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagles16

In my neck of the woods it is not uncommon to see similar situations. Not having ever operated a plow truck or sander, I can only imagine that it would not take much to have one of these machines end up in the weeds. Wind driven snow coming over the front blade would all but blind the driver and he/she would not have to wander far off the travelled portion to be sucked right into the ditch with no steering control and no way to stop.

In this part of Ontario at least the plows are not chained, nor do they run anything but the 'standard' tires any construction truck would be equipped with. A friend of mine runs his family's construction business and puts most of his trucks on highway snow removal contracts for the winter. With a box full of salt or sand over the drive tires and all that plow harness weight on the front end they're pretty sure-footed on the road. The big angled blades are very efficiently designed, not much makes it over the top.

Bear in mind the tires are behind the blade, so it's driving on the already cleaned part of the road.

nothermark · 02-09-2015, 05:15 AM

FWIW I have been watching the plows go by. Most of the time no chains and driving faster. This morning after a slow plow day (Sunday) and heavy overnight the first run had chains and slower going. Apparently they have them if they think they need them but do not run them unless they do. Given memories of repairing chains that makes sense to me. ;-)

wa8yxm · 02-09-2015, 06:38 AM

It is not possible to give you a hard and fast rule as to when you should not drive... Why.. Well let me tell you a true story (I mean I was there, along with my wife and daughter)

We went up Mt. Charleston (Las Vegas) for sights and lunch,, The main parking lot (Plowed clear) was full so Darling Daughter pulled around back, Her car had "Valley" (Los Vegas means "The Valley") license plates,, It was a rear wheel drive Chevy (Forget the model) 4-Door.

Sleigh Rid operator came over "Are you sure you want to park here, There is snow, you might get stuck"... Well, we refrained from laughing but it was not an easy task.

As we headed toward the inn for lunch I was watching a woman driving a Lincoln Navigator, this is a 4wd,, She was stuck.

We had lunch, then left, without problems.. So what was the difference?

Vally Navigator learned to drive in the Valley,, Darling Daughter in Detroit,, She knew how to drive on that kind of surface, plus we had far more aggressive tires then the navigator.

So, what constitutes "Too white and scary" Depends on you and your tires and vehicle.

Another story.. Drove into a blizzard (back in 2006) When it got to scary I found parking for the night, continued in the morning, clear skies, clear roads... Many cars and trucks lining the ditches north of where I pulled off.

Murf2u · 02-09-2015, 07:34 PM

Yup, technic is at least as important as equipment when it comes to mud or snow

I routinely drive my coach in some pretty sketchy weather, I'm not blessed with lots of spare time normally.

I must say, loaded to GVWR and with a driver experienced at driving in winter weather, an E350 is pretty impressive for just a 2WD vehicle.

nothermark · 02-10-2015, 06:14 AM

FWIW went out for a drive in the Escape the same day as there was a lot of snow on the road and I wanted some behind the wheel time in low traffic to keep my driving technique in tune. That said when I am following a snowplow in a MH the only thing I am looking for is a good place to park. It's simply not worth the hassle when I can hunker down for a day and let the mess go away. I still think that is the best advice whenever it is practical.

The only reason for the post about chains was the earlier post about snow plows using them. The way they do it strikes me as also applicable. No need on more or less clear road with a little snow where they are keeping it down. When there is a lot of loose stuff then they chain up because traction drops dramatically.

guardrail53 · 02-10-2015, 11:33 PM

In the 35+ years of driving trucks over the road, we were required to carry chains, by law! I never once put them on my truck or trailer, I always pulled off somewhere safe, when it was that bad or they were required. I had a brand new set hanging from the rack under my trailer, and they were still brand new (but rusty) when I sold them! We are talking about MH's, and why would you chance it? Just hunker down, wait it out, and you will see all the (in a hurry) people paying the wrecker to get pulled out, when you do get back out on the road after it clears! JMHO! Rail!