Advice for mountain/snow trucking

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by arewethereyet1, Mar 2, 2014.

  1. crxdc

    crxdc Road Train Member

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    Smh again if you are in low enough gear you never hit the brakes.. jakes are a great thing but if the go out and you know how to drive without them you are better off.
     
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  3. Raezzor

    Raezzor Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

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    If you are loaded light I would agree with the no-jakes sentiments. I've personally used them before, full on stage 3 down a hill in some ugly snow, but only when I was close to gross and pretty confident in my tires. I also wasn't in 6th gear or lower so I wasn't too worried about the engine over-torquing my drives and breaking loose. The higher the gear the less effect the jakes will have and so the less you need to worry about them breaking your drives loose. Light load and in a low gear, no way I'd use jakes, but then you shouldn't need to either. What alot of folks seem to forget is that when going downhill alot of the weight in the trailer is transferred from your trailer tandems to your drives. Course, some of the weight from the drives is also transferred to your steers. Just remember to take it easy, keep your inter-axle locks on if you are really worried (and are climbing, no sense using em on downhills that I have ever seen... oh and don't go over 35 with em on) and use steady, gradual pressure on your brake pedal. I never agreed much with teaching rookies about stab braking on downhills as a constant steady pressure that maintains the same average speed makes more sense to me in the slippery stuff and keeps the brakes from overheating just the same.
     
  4. gokiddogo

    gokiddogo Road Train Member

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    I guess I've been doing it all wrong for my limited time on the road. Only been at it since march 2007, what do I know. I have gone down a mountain before without a jake brake, I had to do it in FIRST GEAR at about 3 mph, constantly using the brakes and had to pull off to the edge in fear of the brakes quitting before the end of the grade. That was partially my own mistake, it was on 9-10% grades, in PA, US-30 east of Breezewood, these were the directions given to me by the customer ... I never went that way again, I took 70 to 81 and came back up to Greencastle, PA.

    Perhaps someone with 30 years or more can settle this ...
     
  5. crxdc

    crxdc Road Train Member

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    Im not saying never use jakes buy the way. Just not on ice. But it looks like you are a Super trucker so I bet you know best. Go get em.
     
  6. Raezzor

    Raezzor Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

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    Not at all. There are perfectly valid reasons NOT to use jakes in snow/ice. I just don't like to see folks say, "NEVER EVER EVER USE JAKES IN SNOW, NO MATTER WHAT, EVER." There are times you absolutely shouldn't, there are times you surely can, and times that it's 50/50. It's all part of learning and getting used to your equipment, load, road conditions, etc. It's something all of us have had to learn the hard way way, through long years of going TOO slow, trial and error, and using a bit of luck and good advice from our peers/elders. And when I say "TOO slow" I don't mean that to sound negative. But doing 15 mph when it's 38 degrees out and the snow isn't even sticking to the shoulder isn't "playing it safe" imo. :p

    And LOL at US 30 in the snow. I got a lot of respect for any driver that can make that trip in the snow. :)
     
  7. gokiddogo

    gokiddogo Road Train Member

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    I am not arguing that knowing how to drive without them is a bad thing. It is a good thing, HOWEVER - trucks of today almost ALL have jake brakes! Maybe a daycab in a flat part of the country might not be equipped with one, but then what does it matter if it won't ever need them anyway? I am not sure how you see your thinking is better to not use it if there is some ice or snow ... and yes, I would call someone who flys to the bottom of the grade at what I would deem an unsafe speed a "super trucker" also ... however that has never been and never will be me. Maybe it would annoy you to know that the mountains on EB I-90, in ID and MT, some of those hills I am flying down those hills at a whopping 12 mph. Jake brake on full, no foot pedal pressure necessary. Gets me to the bottom every time, and I can't smell my brakes either. I can smell yours, though. The reason I can only do 12 is because the jakes in an old detroit just don't hold you back the way new trucks do. I also use the CB often when going down the mountains - if a truck is coming up fast I will talk ... it hasn't been met with any negative feedback to date. I guess somehow I am still wrong, though.
     
  8. gokiddogo

    gokiddogo Road Train Member

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    Hell that was in the summer time. I had no idea how windy and steep that road was. Will never go back through that stretch of US-30 unless absolutely necessary. Scenery was nice though, haha.
     
  9. Lupus05

    Lupus05 Bobtail Member

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    What works for one doesn't work for others. I for one on ice I just go slow, on snow with good tires you can use the jake to keep her at a safe speed besides you already have to be going slow. And on the hills just use common sense, momentum crest the hill with out having to grab a lower gear if you do you're asking for it. Back to the ice I don't get brave on it I adjust my driving to find the nearest TS or rest area to waited it out. Just saying...
     
  10. xsetra

    xsetra Road Train Member

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    As you know every mile, every hill and every driver is different. Grow your confidence with caution and patience. If you don't know the road go slower. I prefer to downhill using my lower gears with Jake when needed. Snow and Ice I only use Jake when I have to, which means I made a mistake judging the decline. Ice if rough will hold your traction, smooth ice will let your tires break free. As said earlier listen to your truck. Most declines are marked with caution signs, obey them. IF the routes on I-system are the same, I would take the route that keeps out of snow and ice. Good luck and safe travels.
     
  11. mike244

    mike244 Bobtail Member

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    I just went down mount eagle or eagle mountain what its called..My trainer had me put the engine brake on to go down I Started in 5th and and she tells me to up shift one more gear.yeah right I told her no im good she tells me that it's to slow...I told her ### this is my life and if she wants go faster and die that's on her but not while im in the truck
     
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