Question:
After getting unloaded this morning, I had the pleasure(?) of watching a driver try to make a u-turn in a snow & ice covered lot. ***NOTE*** Rain slicked muddy lots are good for this also)
It can be done, but ya gotta do it slowly!
He made his mistake when he started cranking the wheel at about 15 mph.
The trailer, the weight of the load and the ice/snow WILL WORK AGAINST YOU!
If you're going too fast, the laws of physics take over. Yeah, you got the wheels cranked, but the weight of your load & trailer will push your trailer straight! You WILL jack knife!
This is one reason that you see so many crinkled sleeper fairing extensions and corners of sleepers messed up.
If you're going too slow, you may just get stuck and feel embarrassed.
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"Got the bird dog on...
Dodgin' the scales...
80 miles an hour and a step outta jail..." From "Rollin' Home, Pirates of the Mississippi)
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"I've always been different with one foot over the line.
Winding up somewhere, one step ahead or behind.
It ain't been so easy, but I guess I shouldn't complain.
I've always been crazy, but it's kept me from going insane." (from Waylon Jennings)
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Member: Happy Dweller Society
Owner Operator Division

Answer:
Originally posted by Hoss:
This is one reason that you see so many crinkled sleeper fairing extensions and corners of sleepers messed up.
I was warned of the imminent danger to sleeper fairing during tight parking lot manuevers in both directions. I believe that I have been cautious enough to avoid crunching it, but I may not have been had my trainer not had the wisdom to mention it.
My first backing on ice lesson was learned in a parking lot where I had to do a blindside alley dock on a sheet of glare ice, with four wheelers parked everywhere. As much as I was sliding around, he coached me through a series of short gentle pullups and backs that rotated the trailer right into place. Right as it was lined up they changed our door asignment to one that would have been much easier to get into in the first place.
After that we got to laugh at some helpful schmuck, dressed like a gym teacher, that tried to run down the ramp on the ice.

Answer:
I have the same problem in our terminal in Ontario, CA.
The lot gets wet, we come thru, make a Uturn, crank it hard with some speed and there we go....sliding towards parked trailers (WARNING! Children, get your parents permission before trying this at home)

Answer:
You should try it with a loaded tanker with no baffles. 48,000 to 50,000lbs of liquid pushing the tractor. Interesting.
I was delivering up in Wi last week, about 3 inches of snow on the ground. I came off the scale to park, set the brakes on a slight incline. The liquid kept pushing the tractor forward while parked. I watched it travel about 2 feet foward before the liquid settled down.
Tankers will slide a tractor all over the place.
This is one of the reasons you give yourself more room while turning on ice/snow, the trailer will push you right into something if your too close. Like in a truck stop for instance. It can push you into someone else's truck, or you "could" run over another driver walking. So be carefull and give yourself more turning room and don't get too close to anything.
It's a good idea to practice ice/snow maneuvers on an empty lot or part of a lot where you won't hit anything.
This is how many learn to drive on ice/snow. When I was younger, we'd take the car out in a big parking lot and spin the hell out of it, doing 360's and learning to recover the spin. It was fun, but also a valuable learning experience.
DON'T DO/PRACTICE 360's IN A SEMI, OK!!

Answer:
I should also mention this. If you make a real tight turn on dry pavement, the rear of the trailer will go "backwards" about 2 to 3 inches.
You can be going forward and the rear of the trailer will go backwards and possibly hit something. You want to keep this in mind when making very tight u-turns in a semi.