Great tips guys.
I’ve battled my way through 1cm of snow,only to find the site is shut.
Oh well…back to base we go.
Juddian:
Icee:
Just lay back and enojy the ride, it’s so nice and smoooth on the snow
Ooops, abit over the limiter, but hey it’s uphill aheadand if you want to use the retarder, just do some weight transfer from the tag or it will just slip, I usually am at around 13-14t on the driveaxel going downhill in the winter with the reatarder.
Just love the snow and winter
Edit: If you live on the great island you proably shouldn’t take this post seriously
I get the impression you aint on the usual lorry tyres that we’re stuck with, that wheelspin in 11th on a damp road
note Icee is in Manual mode
Can you transfer weight off the mid/tag axle at speed on your MAN Icee? on mine its below 30k’s or it simply won’t happen, the only mid lift i’ve driven that the driver had full control of the mid lifter at any speed was a square Axor, which despite all the slagging those working motors come in for here was a bloody good lorry that would go anywhere in the snow and its manual gearbox coupled to an engine that would pug right down to 800rpm and still pull strongly made it the perfect arduous conditions motor.
Most important thing i’ve learned over the years for snow driving is to have learned intimately how your lorry behaves and how exactly to drive it with all the electronic ■■■■■■■■ turned off, driving the auto gearbox in manual mode and knowing at what speed you have access to the tag air dump valve…this last point is very important as it can make all the difference to climbing a hill you managed to get a run at.
No good trying to learn all that stuff now mind, its something you practice when conditions are right…and this is where the agency lads who probably drive a different lorry every day are at a disadvantage.
By the way artic lads, we had a chat some months ago about weight transferring onto the drive axle, some may recall, i did in fact work out how much weight could be transferred onto the drive axle and the weight on my 6 axle motor increased from about 9.5 ton to something like around an extra 4/5 tons imposed, maybe more depending on your vehicle design.
So to recap (as i recall it was Captain Caveman who gave us the heads up on this so all credit where its due)…if you find yourselves completely stuck, try dropping the trailer air suspension fully, then on tractor lift or if it doesn’t fully lift then transfer the air from the tag/mid lift to the drive axle via the little umbrella over the axle button (bad luck if you have a modern Merc you haven’t got one, well done Merc
), and finally raise the tractor unit suspension fully…you will now have increased the weight on the drive axle by more than you might imagine, obviously once you are out of the mire stop when safe where you can restart normally and re-inflate the trailer because not only will the rear trailer axle now be up to about 15 tons but it doesn’t do the airbags any good to be driven flat.
I don’t drive a ■■■■■■■ Man and it will never happen (just abowe those crapy volvo ■■■■■■■ To weak engines. Thats a tuned r620 with a bit over 700hp tag (seriously midlift? I’m not that stupid, rather stay home then) and only reason I’m in manual is so it doesn’t change down when I’m to climb upwards since it can take the hill in top gear but it will fall to just under 1000rpm, grossing a bit over 50t there
I can do what ever I wan’t with the weight transfer, even lift it to the air with 22t driveaxel presure doing 90km/h (not that I would do it but it can 
), it’s built to be driven in the snow
Michelin Ice Grip on the steer axel
Bridgestone W990 on the drive axel
A home made special on the trailer axels, even the guys at continental test facilty has been impressed with it. It’s a retreaded tire twith two car retreads side by side, forged toghteter, gives you a sick grip (uploaded an image)
Quite agree about the preference for a tag axle, unfortunately here in the UK vehicles get ordered by cost, capability rarely comes into it unless on specialised or smaller operators, the rest of us are stuck with whatever we get given and little difference between all the makes now in the usual UK specs.
Thanks for the info on tyres, i’m currently on standard Bridgestone drive axle jobbies which have recently been recut so grip as expected, bugger all.
Dunno why i thought that was an MAN, i did wonder how you managed to clean up the dash display to give what was needed 
In defence of the MANs, never had one let me down yet (my current one has been more reliable than any almost all the Scannies on the fleet), their biggest failing currently being arsetronic gearboxes which to be fair are very reliable if bloody near useless as a driver’s box, plus fragile exterior trims and interiors not tough enough for fleet vehicle (steering wheel operative) standards.
Some years ago,after complaining about the Dutch ‘‘Winter tyres’’ i had to drive all winter to North Norway.After i slid off the road and had about €20000 of damage i was told ‘‘get whatever tyres you think are best’’.After dicussion with some Norwegians we decided to get Michelin Ice Grip.The Company in Holland had to order them from France as they could only find 2 in the whole of Holland.
Really different mentality regarding Winter in Europe than Scandinavia.
the maoster:
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!
Germany in the Winter is amazing but like you said it’s just very treacherous to drive.
Isn’t it law to have M+S rated tyres in Germany now?
I know there’s a huge difference with a proper winter tyre, my wife’s Focus with winter tyres will leave my F150 for dead, even with 4wd selected and the diff lock engaged thanks to its all season tyres. You can almost drive it in snow and ice like the roads are bone dry.
The pick up is a nightmare on packed snow or ice tbh, can’t pull away, can’t accelerate, doesn’t want to go around corners and trying to stop is scary. So much so that I’ve just ordered a set of Michelin Ice tyres for it.
The lorry is a different story though, I’ve got M+S tyres on one, but the one I drive came with an eco friendly tyre, so the folks in California don’t get upset, even though my lorry is banned from California due to its lack of tree hugging friendly exhaust system. There’s a definite difference between the two when trying to move off the line, the M+S tyres definitely have an advantage, the only visible difference between the two is that the M+S has open shoulders, but it’s the compound of the rubber itself that makes the difference.
I’m seriously considering a set of full on winter tyres for the one I drive, switching between them and the California specials when the weather changes, but I do run around in the snow for half the year, so it makes sense. In the UK, I can’t see how you could justify the expense, unless you were running to places with a lot of snow.
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One more thing to think about when driving in snowy conditions on country roads is that the weight of the snow will bend tree branches downwards, so what may have once cleared your mirrors is now waiting to relieve you of your mirror backs.
Go play in the snow is the only way to learn.
And UK doesnt really get that much snow in MY opinion.
3 winter tours of the Former Yugoslavia driving a Scammel Commander tank transporter in the mid 90s was where I learned, nowt like a 115+ tonne sledge down a mountain road for 30 kms to get the buttocks twitching n learning how not to use the brake pedal!!
Juddian:
Quite agree about the preference for a tag axle, unfortunately here in the UK vehicles get ordered by cost, capability rarely comes into it unless on specialised or smaller operators, the rest of us are stuck with whatever we get given and little difference between all the makes now in the usual UK specs.Thanks for the info on tyres, i’m currently on standard Bridgestone drive axle jobbies which have recently been recut so grip as expected, bugger all.
Dunno why i thought that was an MAN, i did wonder how you managed to clean up the dash display to give what was needed
In defence of the MANs, never had one let me down yet (my current one has been more reliable than any almost all the Scannies on the fleet), their biggest failing currently being arsetronic gearboxes which to be fair are very reliable if bloody near useless as a driver’s box, plus fragile exterior trims and interiors not tough enough for fleet vehicle (steering wheel operative) standards.
Was bored and decided to record a short video how it works Just picking up speed before the hill starts, got on the scale at the off loading place and grossed in just over 52t
Ice Grip is a wounderfull tire for light loads and also why the do wonders on the steer axle. Sadly they tend to stop working at higher gross weights. Bridgestone is the complet oposite and start work beter and beter the more weight you put on the axel, w990 and the even more extreme w970
Sad thing with most trucks liked in the south is ther tiny engines, come one 13l, no thanks. Also Mb tend to have tones of problems with theire engines when the gross weight goes up. Still to hear of a v6 that has lasted over 600 000km and sadly the new stragiht 6 seam to have the same problem 
. MAN is just so so rear over here that there are no reliable information to go on
Best way to learn to drive in snow is an old e30 or any other BMW with traction control OFF, when you know how to use them you will have FUN, tones of it. (no crappy audi the plows just straight forward in the snow) and not be scared when it lets go under normal condtions
Two small bits of advice,
1, Have plenty of patience
2, If you do get stuck going up a hill, do not stand behind your trailer for any reason
Have fun out there guys, Dave…
newmercman:
Isn’t it law to have M+S rated tyres in Germany now?I know there’s a huge difference with a proper winter tyre, my wife’s Focus with winter tyres will leave my F150 for dead, even with 4wd selected and the diff lock engaged thanks to its all season tyres. You can almost drive it in snow and ice like the roads are bone dry.
The pick up is a nightmare on packed snow or ice tbh, can’t pull away, can’t accelerate, doesn’t want to go around corners and trying to stop is scary. So much so that I’ve just ordered a set of Michelin Ice tyres for it.
The lorry is a different story though, I’ve got M+S tyres on one, but the one I drive came with an eco friendly tyre, so the folks in California don’t get upset, even though my lorry is banned from California due to its lack of tree hugging friendly exhaust system. There’s a definite difference between the two when trying to move off the line, the M+S tyres definitely have an advantage, the only visible difference between the two is that the M+S has open shoulders, but it’s the compound of the rubber itself that makes the difference
I’m seriously considering a set of full on winter tyres for the one I drive, switching between them and the California specials when the weather changes, but I do run around in the snow for half the year, so it makes sense. In the UK, I can’t see how you could justify the expense, unless you were running to places with a lot of snow.Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk
Got General Grabbers on mine , good wearing tire with no noise . Rarely use 4wd and just 6 bags of salt in the bed seems to work . You’re not trying hard enough
Pirelli Scorpions on mine, as you can see, not a very aggressive tread. They’re a strange choice of OEM fitment really considering the climate here, but I’ve only put 25,000km on it since I bought it 3yrs ago, so there’s plenty of life in them, with a set of winter tyres too, I should get 10yrs out of them. Pretty decent I reckon, especially as I would tell you to poke it if you gave me a set of Pirelli lorry tyres for free.
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Mitchelin Cross Climate
ideal for cars in the UK
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LostSomeWhere:
Mitchelin Cross Climate
ideal for cars in the UKSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have these on my car and they are the best tyres I have ever had. The difference compared to the Pirellis on my girlfriends car is huge. She has said she will get them when is time to replace hers.
Funny,i’ve just been looking on internet and thesetyres are sold in Sweden as summer tyres.Just goes to show the difference between countries.
hutpik:
Funny,i’ve just been looking on internet and thesetyres are sold in Sweden as summer tyres.Just goes to show the difference between countries.
Summer tyres with winter properties
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Well I came home to a winter tyred pick up, OMG what a difference, in the interests of research I did a bit of looning around, a full throttle start on snow in 4wd and it took off with no wheelspin at all, which is better than the Pirelli tyres do on dry tarmac, on polished ice there was some wheelspin and stopping was compromised, but no more than it would be on summer tyres and a wet road. From a safety perspective they are amazing, but there is a downside, no more Colin McRae style fun for me now I’ve got grown ups tyres.
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Think i’l put me fur coat on x