Chains or should I say chain
- Thread starter UnderPaidSucka
- Start date
old brown shoe
30 year driver
When the roads get really bad I have put over 100 miles a day on a set of chains. We have some very steep roads and lots of ice. Get a extra set of chains and some repair links. Lots of rubber snubbers to hold chains on really tight. Carry a small shovel to dig snow out from around tires to help putting them on. Don't go over about 35 to 40 MPh in case one comes off. Then hope if one does it doesn't wrap around the axel behind the wheel. Go slow be safe.When in doubt get out and walk it off.
Re-Raise
Well-Known Member
So do you drive 200 miles a day and deliver to 100 diferent places in "all sorts of vehicles"
If all I had to do was get from my house to work I wouldn't get stuck either. I deliver down 1 lane gravel roads and 1/2 mile driveways in 4 counties.
Re-Raise
Well-Known Member
I agree. Sometimes they can't even get the trailers to our doors because the lot is snowed shut. But they still send us out and tell us to 'get to as much as you can safely"
I don't think Drewed delivers for us, I have never been stuck in my personal vehicle either. But a package car doesn't get through a foot of snow like my Silverado.
BigBrownSanta
Well-Known Member
True story. Stuck 8 times in one day. Delivered 15 stops that day. We were called in early and told to be in before dark. Left the delivery area 2 hours before dark. Drove 15 to 20 mph all the way back to the building.
That was the 1 and only time I covered that route.
Re-Raise
Well-Known Member
Back to the original question about chains, I use one chain on each outside tire.
They are great when you are on a slight slope and can't get any traction. The ones I have now have a clamp that screws shut. The ones before just clipped shut and you couldn't go 100 ft without throwing them off.
If they started charging drivers in my center with accidents for getting stuck the PCES tape would run out with all the emergency condition send agains.
They are great when you are on a slight slope and can't get any traction. The ones I have now have a clamp that screws shut. The ones before just clipped shut and you couldn't go 100 ft without throwing them off.
If they started charging drivers in my center with accidents for getting stuck the PCES tape would run out with all the emergency condition send agains.
rod
Retired 22 years
Drewed you would be proud of me. They once sent me out in a blinding snow storm - you know the kind where you have to reach out the door and continuly smack the wipers just to get a little bit of the windshield cleared so you can see where you are going. They told me NOT to get stuck. I put on close to 80 miles around a lake and was the only vehical I saw on the road for almost 4 hours. Didn't get stuck once-----------------but then again I didn't stop once either. Just kept plowing through the snow. Brought back EVERY single stop I had and nothing was said because they were too busy dispatching tow trucks out to the other guys. The only stop I made was at the coffee shop once I got back to town. Gotta take your break you know.
Big Babooba
Well-Known Member
I used to have a 1995 Ford P 1000. The emergency chains got me out of a lot of jams out in the farm country. Once a late season snow storm covered up a patch of mud in a farmer's driveway. I thought I was hopelessly stuck and called for a tow. The shop supervisor asked me if I had chains and told me to put them on. He told me that they would dig down until they found something to grip. I was back on the road in less than 10 minutes.
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
I agree, but around here UPS will still charge us with an avoidable accident for getting stuck.
We are not contractually entitled to any safe driving awards, so UPS is free to "charge" us with anything they want in that regard. Of course, no suspension or termination would be upheld at panel, but we are still "charged" with it.
All of our trucks are equipped with chains here and we are expected to use them when it snows. If you get stuck and arent chained up, you will be charged with an avoidable accident.
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
One trick to use when chaining up a vehicle with dual rear wheels is to place a block of wood in front of the inside wheel and drive up on it. This will bring the outside wheel a few inches up off of the ground and you can wrap the chain around the tire and connect it instead of having to stretch it out and drive over it.
I frequently have to remove and reinstall my chains 2 or 3 times a day when we get bad snow, because it will be raining down on the valley floor but if you go 700 feet up a hill there will be 6" of snow. If you drive for any length of time with chains on bare pavement they will break. I keep a small wooden ramp in my truck that I made from scrap wood that makes the chaining routine a lot quicker.
I frequently have to remove and reinstall my chains 2 or 3 times a day when we get bad snow, because it will be raining down on the valley floor but if you go 700 feet up a hill there will be 6" of snow. If you drive for any length of time with chains on bare pavement they will break. I keep a small wooden ramp in my truck that I made from scrap wood that makes the chaining routine a lot quicker.
1989
Well-Known Member
Nice advice, we are told not to chain up to deliver one or two stops (a steep driveway or steep un-plowed, un-sanded road.) The chains are used to get out of trouble not to get into it. Once I chain up they stay on until I'm done.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
I'm pretty sure this is not a service offered by AAA.
New Englander
Well-Known Member
This past season with all the ice - I was stuck 6 times through out the entire season and towed out on all of them. 4 of the 6 I already had chains installed on the tires.
Every year we have a safety chair driver go around and take a physical inventory of chains - those who need new ones get new ones ordered.
It's that simple here we even get the nice cam lock ones.
It all comes down to how much money your center manager wants to spend from the budget.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Which is in direct ratio to just how serious he/she is about safety.
dannyboy
From the promised LAND
once again, rocket man speaks of his lack of knowledge
pray tell, who's job is it?
drewd, nothing like being the expert when you have never ever driven a package car. big difference between your personal vehicle and a package car.
as for warning letters, your distinguished management team can issue warning letters because you are ugly, stupid, too fat, or because you go to the bathroom during the sort, what ever the heck they get their jollies off on, putting on paper.
but that does not mean they have any bearing or standing. file a letter of protest on each and every one.
one last thing, sober has one type of chain. one piece, covers the whole tire. we used to have them here for the bread trucks, p400 etc. those go on at the first sign of problems, and come off at the end of the day. takes 20+ minutes to put on.
most centers have the strap on twin chain. each "chain" has a strap that goes through the wheel and buckles down. i always kept 4 for each tire. if you only used one, you would grab, then slide while the chain went all the way around again to grab. twisted a drive shaft in two that way.
while i find giving advice on something like this is sometimes helpful, it is very dependent on where you are in the us, what vehicle you are driving, and the terrain you are making deliveries to. every situation is very different.
bottom line, if you have real reason to believe you will get stuck, put it off to tomorrow. no reason to force this stop, get stuck, and miss 20 deliveries later on because of the time you spent on this one.
d
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dilligaf
IN VINO VERITAS
I like TRPL's solution. Fortunately we are in an area that rarely (extremely rarely) gets snow. I think if we ever got a sizable snow storm it would probably shut the center down. There is one truck that I know of that actually has a set of chains in it. From the looks of them I bet they haven't been pulled out of the trash can in years. I'm certain the truck was a hand me down from our other center that does get snow.
