PRT RaCeR:
I’ve drove some silly 16/17 DAFs with Auto box that WONT let you use “manual” option , you can change to manual BUT as soon as you lift off throttle for any reason it will go auto again and gear up , its utter rubbish…
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New DAF
What you do is: Select Manual - then Auto - then manual again... in reasonably quick succession. Job jobbed.
P.S. The rest of your comments are too blitheringly stupid to warrant any kind of sensible reply… best completely ignored!!!
Heisenberrg:
Here’s the thing I’ve been driving cars for 40 years and many times in the snow, somehow I have always missed on having to drive a truck in the snow…I work in the south mostly …where it looks as if there’s going to be quite a bit of snow at 6 o’clock tomorrow.
Anyone got some sensible tips about driving a truck on snow covered B roads and rural lanes ■■
Good question ! , ive had to drive in snow once in an artic couple of months after passing my test and i just slowed right down and kept every move as smooth as possible and there was a few behind me doing the same (3am on m74 going into glasgow) but there was some passing as if i was standing still , i wasnt sure if they were being suicidal or just old timers and experienced . But never really had a lot of snow to deal with since then .
Heisenberrg:
Here’s the thing I’ve been driving cars for 40 years and many times in the snow, somehow I have always missed on having to drive a truck in the snow…I work in the south mostly …where it looks as if there’s going to be quite a bit of snow at 6 o’clock tomorrow.
Anyone got some sensible tips about driving a truck on snow covered B roads and rural lanes ■■
, personally I would avoid exhaust / retarder brake as much as you can , specially going around corner , make sure you dis activated the button in dash that do the Auto option when you press brake pedal , when slowing down if you feel that tractor unit want to jackknife , 2 options , if you have space ahead smash throttle to correct effect , if you really have to stop , avoid continuous braking , just use an “intermittent “ brake style , this in a way slightly help trailer brake more than unit , don’t do or let an Auto box do arch gear down drops too ,all in one , acceleration you fine , it’s when “braking” that things can go wrong , always remember trailer need to brake even or more than unit , never the other way around ! In some extreme cases ABS trailer suzie should be disconnected to help the intermittent braking going downhills or to stop in the shortest distance possible . Hope this helps [emoji846]
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You appear to have a lot of ideas about driving in snow and ice, I’m assuming you must be one of those Scandinavian types who has driven Artics in these conditions every year for decade.
You really want any hills to be clear to the top before you start driving up. It’s usually possible to keep moving, but if you have to stop, you won’t get any traction to start going again - worse - you will slide sideways and down.
Ok straight line is simple just increase distance from the car ahead and take everything slow and steady.
Roundabouts/corners plenty of power and turn into the corner/bend. Start to straighten when you see the rear going. Loads of fun.
I’m in Essex and this isnt real snow, gonna take my BMW out and have some fun.
adam277:
Ok straight line is simple just increase distance from the car ahead and take everything slow and steady.
Roundabouts/corners plenty of power and turn into the corner/bend. Start to straighten when you see the rear going. Loads of fun.
I’m in Essex and this isnt real snow, gonna take my BMW out and have some fun.
Just blowing a force 9-10 Gale down here in very windy Gosport .so sliding wouldn’t be a problem but keeping it on all wheels would be
Forward plan to the max, tickle her like a virgins ■■■■ and all will be fine.
Forget ABS as I don’t think it will activate in time if at all, use cadence braking if the poop hits the fan, may just give you a few feet extra stopping distance.
If in doubt don’t go out or just get stuck and go back to bed.
High gear low revs, traction is king if you lose it don’t fight for it back gently try and get grip again avoid stopping if possible. Course if your almost at the top of a hill thrash the bugger.
Youl get a feel for the conditions and to do something right first it may be necessary to do it wrong.
Gun it up steep inclines balancing traction with acceleration and hope for the best.
It’s great fun… [emoji6]
Each to their own i suppose, take it as it comes and drive accordingly. Low gear, Low speeds, but without snow chains its out of our control, ice is the real danger, as there is no control, and once you start sliding, there is no stopping, unless there is an obstacle you can aim for. I have driven in some really bad winters, where snow chains were on both drives and the trailer, would have used them on the front too if i had them, but the Northern Turkish routes were a real experience, but not as mild as western europe, where they manage to clear most of it on the main roads at least…in the UK, it seems as though we get the wrong type. But as our top bras say, its not worth spending on good effective equipment as our winters dont last very long.
I cut my lorry driving teeth whilst living in Germany where the winters can be harsh and the “greens” stopped any form of gritting, so I quickly developed and honed my skills. Moving back to the UK in the late 80’s we still got plenty of snow in the winters, but increasingly apart from a light dusting or snow that lasts for one or two days tops I’ve not had chance to practice. Practice is what you need to keep your abilities in top condition.
The last proper snow we had saw me driving a lorry with a clutch thingy, and if I’m gonna be truthful it’s not the auto gearbox that bothers me, it’s the thought of no fine clutch control that would spoil my enjoyment of driving in the snow. That’s right, enjoyment! It’s possible to enjoy it because it’s a challenge and a rare chance to get satisfaction from a job well done.
Alternatively I could just book holidays until the end of March!
TiredAndEmotional:
Take the manual option and use a high gear with low revs. Plan your journey to try and avoid tricky hills. Try to keep plenty of weight over the drive axle. Do not use retarders/exhaust brakes especially when empty. Keep everything smooth as silk, no harsh acceleration or braking. Take it slow,slow,slow going down hills with little touches on the brakes regularly if necessary. Make sure your lights are kept clean. Pull over and park up if you think it’s too risky to continue, that’s YOUR call not some pointy shoe [zb] in the office!
^^^^ This was my approach once upon a time - trouble is now - the bean counters have specc’ed trucks with the stupid electric park brake ( so no trailer brake) and disabled the override on the silly autobox
No manual option?
Nope - last time in the snow had Scania Opticruise - which worked ok as you could drive in manual an control your speed with the trailer brake
We now have FM’s which are quite arse-happy in normal conditions, I dread to think what these will be like tomorrow with no manual option and ridiculous electric park brake
best fr any drivers getting wrecked in snow/ice nowadays is just to state…the truck that my employer issued me is fully automatic with no concept of ice or snow issues,hence it was out of my remit to resume manual control in adverse weather conditions.
perhaps a buck passing lawsuit up the line to daf,volvo,scania might be in order.
obviously itl never apply to renault drivers as no doubt death would be a preferred option to standing in court and openly admitting to have been driving one.
Heisenberrg:
Here’s the thing I’ve been driving cars for 40 years and many times in the snow, somehow I have always missed on having to drive a truck in the snow…I work in the south mostly …where it looks as if there’s going to be quite a bit of snow at 6 o’clock tomorrow.
Anyone got some sensible tips about driving a truck on snow covered B roads and rural lanes ■■
, personally I would avoid exhaust / retarder brake as much as you can , specially going around corner , make sure you dis activated the button in dash that do the Auto option when you press brake pedal , when slowing down if you feel that tractor unit want to jackknife , 2 options , if you have space ahead smash throttle to correct effect , if you really have to stop , avoid continuous braking , just use an “intermittent “ brake style , this in a way slightly help trailer brake more than unit , don’t do or let an Auto box do arch gear down drops too ,all in one , acceleration you fine , it’s when “braking” that things can go wrong , always remember trailer need to brake even or more than unit , never the other way around ! In some extreme cases ABS trailer suzie should be disconnected to help the intermittent braking going downhills or to stop in the shortest distance possible . Hope this helps [emoji846]
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You appear to have a lot of ideas about driving in snow and ice, I’m assuming you must be one of those Scandinavian types who has driven Artics in these conditions every year for decade.
Please give us more of your experience.
I have a fair ammount of experience yes mate , always happy to help ppl out every time I can , unfortunately most times I’m miss understood and called all sort of things by most… hence most times I just keep quiet and don’t get involved ! As your reply seems friendly I will leave you a hint to prove I’m not just talking BS , if you never done it before or never had to , wait for a nice dry day in a quiet road , disconnect ABS Suzie, pretend you are on a stop and go traffic and you will see how jerking your braking will be (trailer speed sensors can’t communicate) so trailer will “smash” brake every time you make a fair pressure on pedal , if you want to go even further , pick up some speed , say from 40mph , apply brake pedal with good constant pressure, trailer wheels will lock after 2 to 3 seconds “air brake lag” all in one means trailer will want to brake more than tractor unit all times , so reduce a lot jackknife effect on poor weather conditions, BUT you need to keep intermittent braking thru your brake pedal at all times with foot so trailer wheels don’t lock or trailer will skid anywhere depending on road camber . Once again hope this helps. Remember a wise person always been a good listener in the past and took his own conclusions. Don’t let yourself down by some uneducated fellow colleagues with Ego and no skill…
Heisenberrg:
Here’s the thing I’ve been driving cars for 40 years and many times in the snow, somehow I have always missed on having to drive a truck in the snow…I work in the south mostly …where it looks as if there’s going to be quite a bit of snow at 6 o’clock tomorrow.
Anyone got some sensible tips about driving a truck on snow covered B roads and rural lanes ■■
, personally I would avoid exhaust / retarder brake as much as you can , specially going around corner , make sure you dis activated the button in dash that do the Auto option when you press brake pedal , when slowing down if you feel that tractor unit want to jackknife , 2 options , if you have space ahead smash throttle to correct effect , if you really have to stop , avoid continuous braking , just use an “intermittent “ brake style , this in a way slightly help trailer brake more than unit , don’t do or let an Auto box do arch gear down drops too ,all in one , acceleration you fine , it’s when “braking” that things can go wrong , always remember trailer need to brake even or more than unit , never the other way around ! In some extreme cases ABS trailer suzie should be disconnected to help the intermittent braking going downhills or to stop in the shortest distance possible . Hope this helps [emoji846]
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Yes but how much snow and ice driving in artics do you have? So I know if your advice is worth listening to.
You appear to have a lot of ideas about driving in snow and ice, I’m assuming you must be one of those Scandinavian types who has driven Artics in these conditions every year for decade.
Please give us more of your experience.
I have a fair ammount of experience yes mate , always happy to help ppl out every time I can , unfortunately most times I’m miss understood and called all sort of things by most… hence most times I just keep quiet and don’t get involved ! As your reply seems friendly I will leave you a hint to prove I’m not just talking BS , if you never done it before or never had to , wait for a nice dry day in a quiet road , disconnect ABS Suzie, pretend you are on a stop and go traffic and you will see how jerking your braking will be (trailer speed sensors can’t communicate) so trailer will “smash” brake every time you make a fair pressure on pedal , if you want to go even further , pick up some speed , say from 40mph , apply brake pedal with good constant pressure, trailer wheels will lock after 2 to 3 seconds “air brake lag” all in one means trailer will want to brake more than tractor unit all times , so reduce a lot jackknife effect on poor weather conditions, BUT you need to keep intermittent braking thru your brake pedal at all times with foot so trailer wheels don’t lock or trailer will skid anywhere depending on road camber . Once again hope this helps. Remember a wise person always been a good listener in the past and took his own conclusions. Don’t let yourself down by some uneducated fellow colleagues with Ego and no skill…
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Please tell us where you got those skills to drive in Snow and ice in an artic?
Heisenberrg:
Here’s the thing I’ve been driving cars for 40 years and many times in the snow, somehow I have always missed on having to drive a truck in the snow…I work in the south mostly …where it looks as if there’s going to be quite a bit of snow at 6 o’clock tomorrow.
Anyone got some sensible tips about driving a truck on snow covered B roads and rural lanes ■■
, personally I would avoid exhaust / retarder brake as much as you can , specially going around corner , make sure you dis activated the button in dash that do the Auto option when you press brake pedal , when slowing down if you feel that tractor unit want to jackknife , 2 options , if you have space ahead smash throttle to correct effect , if you really have to stop , avoid continuous braking , just use an “intermittent “ brake style , this in a way slightly help trailer brake more than unit , don’t do or let an Auto box do arch gear down drops too ,all in one , acceleration you fine , it’s when “braking” that things can go wrong , always remember trailer need to brake even or more than unit , never the other way around ! In some extreme cases ABS trailer suzie should be disconnected to help the intermittent braking going downhills or to stop in the shortest distance possible . Hope this helps [emoji846]
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Where do we start with this?
Dont brake or accelerate when on a corner at all. Dont “smash throttle” at any time.
Don`t disconnect a device designed to stop skids.
From my own limited experience of snow driving, just go slow, steady, avoid any sudden changes of speed or direction. If you feel it slipping in spite of this its time to park up and have a brew. As Hutpik says its the UK: give it five minutes and it`ll thaw out anyway.
well my Post was with intention to help due to experience, clearly you have read the HGV instructor booklet fully … despite I see you miles far from advanced type driving… I must agree with one thing , the safest option is don’t drive at all, take a day off , simples !
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Im not going to say Im an advanced driver. But I hope Im not too many miles from it? But after getting a few million miles under my wheels including winters in the Alps, Swiss, and Bavaria, maybe Im nearer than some? My experience is less than that of Hutpik and many others on this site, so Id say I have limited experience. But I have driven ABS and non-ABS trucks in the "wet" UK and "dry" Alpine snows and am sure its better with ABS than without.
I take it back! As a PAYE employed driver and a recent pass I lack the skill to drive the truck. I guess I’ll just have to wait it out; t’is a shame.
Hope my manager buys it.
adam277:
I take it back! As a PAYE employed driver and a recent pass I lack the skill to drive the truck. I guess I’ll just have to wait it out; t’is a shame.
Hope my manager buys it.
How do you get the skills if you don’t get out there and learn?
adam277:
I take it back! As a PAYE employed driver and a recent pass I lack the skill to drive the truck. I guess I’ll just have to wait it out; t’is a shame.
Hope my manager buys it.
.so sliding wouldn’t be a problem but keeping it on all wheels would be 
