Thanks for the help... Dealer recognized that the ABS was not "helpful" in stopping in th conditions .. Told me how to temporally deactivate. They understood the issue... Here in NH & VT with snow and loose gravel it is not as helpful as it is out of the snow belt.

Come up and try your ABS here and see how it works for you. All I can say is try it.

After doing a search and reading two mega threads on ABS, all of which turned into debates on Pro and Anti ABS posts.. I wanted to prevent this from happening in this thread. *I* wanted to avoid that rat hole debate.

That's the reason I asked for only the specific info... I did not want to start another dead horse beating thread. ...

Sorry If that was perceived as an attitude..

This is my 3rd CTD the previous 2 had over 300K on them . They are not even my primary mode of transportation. I have had a CDL for close to 30 years. I have driven in New England winters for 40 years. I appreciate you concern for my safety, but I know my limitations and my car's trucks and multiple motorcycles limitations... ABS may be good for you and even for me on dry pavement.. I still have my safe drivers credit for no accidents... But for today... in the blizzard I needed a quick answer.

After the dealer told me how to shut it off I can stop now w/o a problem. I am talking a dramatic difference in stopping distance.


Festus... I appreciate you help..

 

No problem! Ummm.......PM me these dealer instructions on the new trucks please - if you think you get snow, try here right now........for off-road pruposes of course.

 

Call any personal injury lawyer and tell him you disabled the ABS safety feature on your vehicle and ask him what will happen if you have an accident.

 

We will not go there! Don't even start. Put an end to it now. I don't want to hear it. Thanks. I mean no offense, but I'll decide what, when, who, where, and if I will do something or not.



Btw, krieger, I see your first post......welcome to the DTR!

 

Why not just drive to conditions so you don't have to rely on ABS? I'm pretty sure Edmonton is in the snowbelt and I've had no trouble. Besides as you skid while "digging" to traction there is no guarantee you'll find it, plus you won't be able to steer.

 

Exactly, I haven't had any trouble with mine yet either.........I'm just curious as to the dealer instructions.......call it further knowledge on the electronics of these fandangled things.

I will share that my '98 stopped better with the ABS disabled. But, that of course is a whole entire different animal in itself - rear drums instead of discs and front wheel ABS only.

Also, I have found myself many times on a bush / mountain road where I could give rat's ptooty if I could steer while braking - I needed to get stopped for whatever reason. There are situations where ABS is not desirable. In traffic in the city, sure, I agree ABS may be beneficial. In the bush, no.

We have to keep an open mind. Not everything is cut and dry.

 

Sounds like you people don't know how to drive in snow. More like an accident waiting to happen. Wouldn't give my ABS up for nothing

 

I'm with festus and johninnh--ABS sucks in snow and ice; especially going down hill and trying to stop. scares the hell out of me.

 

Nothing wrong with a little knowledge. Are you on days off, or in the sticks these days?

 

I do hold an SCCA racing licence as well as PCA and CMRA. While ABS has it's place (soccor moms on damp roads, retirees on all roads, people with no reflexes and/or poor driving skills) it is not the end all be all of safe driving.

Take a class on threshold braking, learn to steer and brake on your own and you too will find ABS to be annoying and unsafe in heavy snow. Sure, in the hands of the average american, a vehicle without ABS may be less safe..but if you are one of those slamming this guy for disabling his ABS...more than likely you are simply a lessor driver than he is. Stomping your pedal to the floor and praying is not the fastest way to stop..even if you are turning as well. A bit of training and you too can learn to turn AND stop while on the edge of traction...and do so as a reflex without thought or panic. It really isn't that hard.

If you can not drive your truck safely without ABS...well...don't disconnect yours. But you can put that personal injury lawyer in any car with ABS, sit him next to me on a frozen lake road course..and I'll spank his butt every time and twice on sunday...with my abs fuse in the ashtray.

Bill

 

Been in and out of the sticks this hitch - ususally not in for very long - fix an issue and leave in a couple hours. Mostly around civilization and staying in Airdrie - go figure - they sure know how to completely flip things around on a guy - not sure what's going on. Last hitch I was doing some training for middle mngt up in GP until a nasty job come up and I was one of few qualified, and now, civilization work near head office ("The Temple of Secrets"). I can't figure it out.

Who knows what next hitch.

 

Nice analogy.

Now, about threshold braking........forgot what to call it. Thanks.

Maybe lesser driver is not the way I'd put it though, but varying degree of experience is argueable. Now, I may not have as much life experience (as old) as some other OTR drivers on the site, but with well over a million miles OTR until I got out of a truck, I can confidently say I've backed up more miles than alot of city folk have driven in forward gears.

Whoops...........said that out loud.

 

Can't say Ive had any issues with abs in the snow. But on a loose gravel road I think they do increase my stopping distance. What I found is using the ebrake to break down to the hard pan. We Canucks do know a thing or two about snow and have around 200 hundred names to describe the different types .

 

I'm curious for you guys that think that ABS causes you to be less safe on ice or in snow what do you think is the problem? I'm from California so I don't see much of either but I know that ABS absolutely works in rain and of course dry pavement. I don't understand what is wrong with a system that stops locked wheel skid but stops a vehicle faster and under more control. I understand that with driving ability and experience comes better driver performance but to say that a proven system is flawed in X Y or Z situation does not make sense. And yes I do use threshold braking, accelerate out of the apex, and know the difference between understeer and oversteer, blah blah blah. I'm just wondering what causes this failure of a proven safety device.

 

As billindenver said, ABS has its place. When discussing a loose surface like snow or gravel, a vehicle will stop quicker if the tires are locked up and plowing into the surface. Plowing accumulates a mass of material ahead of the tires which aids in slowing the vehicle. Of course, when plowing, steering is lost.

While marketed as such, ABS is not a safety system in and of itself. It is just another tool which the driver can use to try to be a better driver. Sometimes its the right tool, sometimes not.