Towing in slick conditions

[Twistedlarch]

Hi all

I'll be most likely towing my TT over the pass in slick conditions next week.

Trailer: 3,800 lb single axle
Truck: Toyota Tundra 4x4

While I consider myself to be an expert in Winter conditions I've never had the opportunity to tow a trailer in slick conditions.

My truck is fully equipped for Winter driving and I do have chains for both tow vehicle and trailer. I will not hesitate to chain up the trailer.

A lot of it is common sense but I am looking for some pointers/do's and don'ts of towing in snowy/icy conditions.

Thanks!
Brian

[97chevor]

I disagree with a lot of this. Mainly I have saved myself from jacknife a few times touching the brake pedal in a skid with a camper. The trailer brakes pulled the truck back online. Biggest problem faced on ice is when the rear drive wheels wanna slide towards the ditch on a crowned road. Automatic transmissions when pulling and ice the drive wheels will spin faster even if you just let off the throttle.

I believe Weight distribution on slick roads are trouble. They take weight off the drive wheels. I want those wheels to stay stuck to the ground. The more weight the better.

[carringb]

With my prior Weekend Warrior, I'd dial down the brakes a couple volts, otherwise they could lock up.

Current trailer has 50% less braking, and even under hard braking in the snow, it won't lockup the trailer tires even without chains. The brake controller experiences less deceleration anyways on snow, so it it'll already be sending out less power.

Also be careful engine braking on slippery roads. You effectively has less tires slowing you down, but if you start to lose traction, you have to add throttle to recover and that's not very intuitive.

[ppine]

I used to drive in CO and WY all the time living there and having an outdoor career. I have never liked towing trailers in bad winter conditions. Chains on the rear drive wheels and the trailer help, but on curves the trailer still wants to drag you to the outside of the turn. Speed control is very important.

Timing matters a lot in winter driving. It is always best to avoid the blizzards and wait for plows. Driving across southern Wyoming in winter is a good example of what can happen out there. I was towing a trailer with 4 ATVs on it in a storm coming back from Rock Springs. There were 5 jack knifed semi/trailer rigs off the road. There were cars on their sides. One was upside down. The WHP closed the road about an hour after we passed. That was some difficult driving.

[BobsYourUncle]

Twistedlarch wrote:

All I could afford wrote:
You may need to adjust brake controller settings. It can be tough to modulate gently to avoid lockup on slick surface

This is one of my concerns, should I adjust controller to where I don't feel the trailer brakes? It is a relatively light trailer at just 3800 lbs.

I usually just lock the truck into a low gear and coast to avoid breaking all together.

Brian

Gotta be careful with this one.

Obviously you don't want the trailer brakes locking up and going for a slide...

However, you must maintain braking action in the trailer to slow the rig as a unit.

If you back off the brakes too much, the trailer will be wanting to push the tow vehicle, especially if you need to slow down in a hurry. The tow vehicle will be slowing while the trailer wants to keep going. This action will promote jackknifing. It's important to have both units slow down together without one taking the lions share of the braking.

You have to be the most careful braking in a corner. This is where you have the most potential to jackknife on slick roads. Slow down well before the corner.

If you drop a gear or 2 to avoid braking altogether, it is the same action as applying the brakes in the truck only. Great for dry roads but not for slick conditions. The trailer must be able to participate in the slowing down action.

[profdant139]

Twistedlarch, my guess is that you know ten times more than I do about this subject. But I have heard that if you have sway control, it can make things worse on ice -- it turns the tow vehicle and the trailer into a single sliding unit. So the manufacturers advise loosening the sway bar in icy weather.

Displaying my ignorance, I have no idea if the same reasoning applies to WD hitches.

Good luck!

[All_I_could_aff]

Twistedlarch wrote:

All I could afford wrote:
You may need to adjust brake controller settings. It can be tough to modulate gently to avoid lockup on slick surface

This is one of my concerns, should I adjust controller to where I don't feel the trailer brakes? It is a relatively light trailer at just 3800 lbs.

I usually just lock the truck into a low gear and coast to avoid breaking all together.

Brian

I’m thinking more the adjustment for how abruptly it applies the brakes, but I agree to minimize the need for brakes, especially while turning.

Even though your trailer is only about 3800 pounds, that is spread over just the one axle. Similar weight on each tire as a 7,600 tandem

[Twistedlarch]

Just FYI, My winter driving experience (without trailer) is very high. I worked many years at ski resorts throughout Oregon. I'm currently traveling every Saturday, Sunday, and some Friday evenings to our local ski area. I'm very familiar with most of Oregon's passes.

The soul purpose of this post is to gain knowledge on towing a TT in Winter conditions. What I'm trying to accomplish is spending less time traveling in these conditions by parking our trailer at the ski area so my kids and I have more time to spend on the slopes.

Thank you for all the info you guys have provided so far, it's much appreciated.

Brian

[Twistedlarch]

All I could afford wrote:
You may need to adjust brake controller settings. It can be tough to modulate gently to avoid lockup on slick surface

This is one of my concerns, should I adjust controller to where I don't feel the trailer brakes? It is a relatively light trailer at just 3800 lbs.

I usually just lock the truck into a low gear and coast to avoid breaking all together.

Brian

[All_I_could_aff]

I’ve only had to tow my camper on slick roads twice in eight years of ownership in North Jersey. Neither time was expected. The first time, I was winter camping with my two cousins in the woods and the weather forecast as of Friday was sunny but temperature in the 20s with no precipitation forecast till Monday. We were all quite surprised to wake up Sunday morning to a thick layer of ice everywhere.

[BobsYourUncle]

I've done lots of towing in slick winter conditions.
Good advice above, common sense, slow and easy especially on downhill corners.
About 5 years ago I was towing uphill in winter conditions, in a right hand gradual corner. Didn't see the black ice. I suddenly started to jacknife. Got about 20 degrees into going sideways. First thing I did was get off the throttle right now and leave the brake pedal alone. Brake pedal is your enemy if you are sliding on ice. I instinctively reached down and grabbed the trailer brakes, not real hard but enough to slow the wheels from turning. This action pulled my truck and trailer straight, then I steered out of it until I was back in control.
I was halfway into the opposite lane by then, but fortunately there was nobody there.
Scared the stuffin out of me, and I slowed down even more.
The roads looked bare at the time.

This worked for me when I got into trouble towing.

[All_I_could_aff]

You may need to adjust brake controller settings. It can be tough to modulate gently to avoid lockup on slick surface

[Lwiddis]

I try not to tow when chains for the TV and TT are necessary but when I do it’s SLOW and CAREFUL. Not too worried about me but those chainless speeders are nuts.

[carringb]

I used to tow over Santiam Pass twice a weekend (commuting home when I was building one of the Facebook buildings).

Santiam Pass is well maintained. So is the 126. Highway 20 is not. It's the lowest priority, so if there's an incident on 22, they'll defer snow clearing on 20.

If there's an incident on 126, I'd recommend going all the way north to 22 rather than taking the 20 "shortcut", especially if you haven't towed over it in good weather. It's steeper, and has nearly 20 miles of slow speed corners.

They do patrol Santiam pass for chains violations, so if the signs are up, definitely chain up. It's unfortunately a necessity, because of the number of out-of-state truckers who ignore the signs.

[Twistedlarch]

rhagfo wrote:
If from Cottage Grove is it safe to assume headed over Santiam Pass? I think that is the highest commonly used pass in the state about 4,500’ or so. It can get pretty bad at times, just watch “Trip Check” and plan according.

Headed for Sisters, so it'll be via 126/Santiam. My kids have a 5 day Ski race camp up at Hoodoo ski area 🙂