Mountain Driving Tips

When I first started I had to team with a guy in a T-2000 until they were confident enough to send me out on my own.

He and I almost got into a fist fight over his refusal to clean out the cab or take a shower. I wound up pulling the keys out of the ignition at the Pilot in Salem Oregon, told him the truck would move when it was clean.

It is kind of funny but pulling that stunt got me into a truck of my own.

 

It's called pride man...in the ride and in yourself!!!! Good for you man!

 

gear down, brake and release to keep rpms in normal operating range. About 20 yrs ago a company I worked for taught that you should gear down and apply steady light brake pressure. Bad advice. seeing smoke pouring out of the brakes and feelin the brakes starting to fade's a sick feeling. You don't wanna know!

 

if you bothered to read everything else mr.goat you would have seen that we had already covered that little gem you posted and were referring to the fact that this driver's company doesnt have trucks with jakes loosen up before you give yourself a heartattack.... and we did answer his question slow down and get a truck or a trucking company that does have jakes in the trucks

 

oh yeah in my century with the "crappy jakes" I found out they wouldnt hold a kid on a skateboard the hard way. I'm not one of those guys that leaves his jakes on all the time so when I hit Monteagle heading to Florida with 45000 in the box I was a bit sick feeling when I found out my jakes worth worth a plugged nickle. I was in 6th gear and the engine started to get WAY HIGH in the RPM's I was like WTF the jakes were on the highest setting and there was nothing....I mean nada talk about a wake up call my brakes didnt start smoking but you could smell em ...they were at the point when they were gonna flame when I hit the bottom I tried all the tricks but the weight was a pushing me. I started out of the brake check area slow too like I said 6th gear....it was not a fun ride

But I made it down safe the freight was ok the brakes a bit glazed for sure but all in all safe and sound

 

It was funny, we both got called into the dispatchers office, when the company owner walks in and asks "So whats the problem?" the guy im riding with starts whining about how I took the keys and made him clean the truck.

I let him go off and then told him the deal. I said "Look, we had been on the road for 7 days, after every time I got done driving, I cleaned all of my trash out of the truck, I washed all the windows, fueled the truck checked the oil and the tires, Every day except for 1 I took a shower and I put on clean clothes.

He on the other hand didnt shower once, didnt wash windows, didnt check oil, didnt check tires, he left his garbage all over the truck, spit sunflowers seeds on the floor, didnt clean up his spit cup when it tipped over.

Now I didnt hire on here to be his maid mechanic or mother, I hired on to drive a truck!"

The company owner got on the guys case then, and the guy wound up getting mad and quitting.

About a month and a half later I bought my own truck, they wound up hiring the guy back to drive it. He was so mad when he saw my pretty red KW.



They fired him about a month later after he came whizing down an exit when there was standing slush on the road, rolled into his house, set up the brakes on the truck and trailer, then went in went to bed.

Next morning he gets up, pulls out and gets to going down the road with the center axle on the trailer frose up and proceded to tear up 4 brand spankin new tires.

That was a big boo boo, I was really mad because he was under the trailer I had been towing, and I was under the POS he had been towing and tore all up.

 

Nice ride Beast and a good story!!!

 

I would have to say take all the previous advise which is good advice. I have been driving only two years niow, but have had the pleasure of doing cabbage patch, TN NC gorge, Fancy Gap, and ol Lord Colorado mountains and I was scared, but I do know the safest way is like the others have said SLOW DOWN even if the other experienced drivers behind you are hollowering about how slow you are going you tune them out and concentrate on being safe for you and most important safest way of handling your rig.....cause with a heavy load you need all your attention on maintaining your safety going down atleast 2gears down 3if needed....Good luck

 

Nice post majik lady!!!!!

 

Thank you. I will say this too, selling that truck was one of the dumbest things I ever did...