Full load, grades, no engine brake

I see you have a photo of a super size load,is that you hauling those pipes?

 

Reading the some of the posts here makes me nervous to be out here running around some of the steeper grades with these mindsets running behind me ... In regards to driving without an engine retarder ... The "descend a gear lower than it took to climb" has a lot of problems with it. Number #1 and foremost the eastbound down grade side of a mountain isn't always like the eastbound up grade side. #2, by the time the driver runs the hill in the opposite direction, he's probably forgotten how he pulled that same grade a year ago.

Also, that rule was "written" when trucks were not at all aerodynamic and the sheer wind drag contributed enough to aid in slowing the vehicle to an extent. Today's ultra-sleek trucks can cut through the air much easier and as such don't offer much in the way of drag. And if you have a substantial wind pushing you DOWNhill, that needs to be taken into account, too.

The other point is that new drivers need to know, I don't care if you're grossing 100k lbs, there is a gear/speed you can descend any grade where you will never need to touch the brakes on the way down to maintain speed. I'm not saying to drive that slow, I'm trying to make the simple point, that slow[er] technique NEVER FAILS and is 100% dependable, especially on an unfamiliar grade.

Also, if one or 2 brakes are even slightly out of spec/adjustment, that WILL cause you serious problems if you're peaked out and on a long, steep grade with no engine brake assistance and relying on a stabbing or constant light pressure technique, so if you're in doubt about the hill or the reliability of at least one of your brakes, better err on the side of caution and slow down some more.

 

So you have no jake. You go down it slow..
If you think 5th gear is right. Then go down to 4th.. When I started I did not have a jake. Back then we all learned how to get down the hills with out jakes.
Even today I still go down real slow with the weight I carry. In Nov. I had my jakes quit going down Mt. Eagle east bound. Was grossing 135,000
Never burned up my brakes and I ran the trk. untill Christmas without jakes. No bigge. I knew I had no jakes and just went back to the old way of doing things...
I have ran I68 in Md. W.Va. with no jakes. I have also run Black Mountain and Fancy Gap with no jakes. No bigge.
Take it slow and easy...

 

The newbie jman ask a QUESTION about what he should do and i am afraid hes leaving with more questions than answers!

 

^^^you do that stupid idea you won't make it to the bottom without a fire. To start with if you are in the us. On a main highway you aren't going down 10% grades and very very few 7's most are between 3-6 the old school rule of thumb is go down in the same gear you topped over in. With the new aerodynamic trucks I drop one gear. If you know the road go down it so you don't have to apply a lot of brake if you have a sharp curve. You start out over the top and apply JUST enough brake to keep you at the right speed for the gear you are in. Steady brake pressure to the bottom. When you can see the bottom start slowly letting her roll and shift up accordingly. It takes some practice. I like to go down at about 35 mph if there are no sharp curves if there are then I go down at that curves speed limit so I don't have to rely on hot brakes to make a panic slow down.

Fire needs three things to be fire. Heat, fuel and air. If you take one of those away you have no fire mabe smoke but no fire. Just to clarify I have driven every pass in the US and a few in Canada without jake brakes or retarders. My first truck with Jakes was in 94 I started driving in 81. To recap. Get in a hole that lets you stay around 30-35 unless you know of sharp curves. Put your foot lightly on the brake. Control the pressure of the brakes so there is lite drag and you maintain you choicen. Speed to the bottom. I hope this is fairly clear.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, part of the problem on this thread is that some people are using precise terms incorrectly. The only current accepted proper braking technique for use on steep or long down grades is Snub braking. Snub braking starts when you have reached your safe speed. You brake hard enough to feel a definite slowing down. Kind of like when you see a light changing up ahead. You should slowdown 5mph in about 3 seconds. When you are 5 mph under your safe speed you release your brakes.
.
.As already posted, the old method of one gear lower than was used to climb the incline is no longer accurate.
.
.Snub braking is more brake pressure than light steady braking which is no longer an accepted braking technique on steep grades. Stab braking and controlled braking are emergency braking techniques that are not routinely acceptable on steep or long downgrades.
.
.For those who learned light steady pressure many years ago, Snub braking has lower brake temperatures. Thermal imaging has proven that to be true.

 

Same way I was taught many moons ago. Additionally new drivers need to be aware that what they think is the bottom of the hill may be further away than they think, they need to not get too ambitious to get back on the throttle.

 

I went down wolfe creek pass in Colorado there was 2 back to back escape ramps.I did'nt have my jakes on and did fine.I kept an eye on the tack and did'nt let it go no higher then 1000 to 1200 rpms only then I would gently brk.I did'nt stab brk,it does'nt take much down a mountain to lose air.Just keep it in low gear and don't be in a hurry.When you see a mountain coming start planning.Rule of thumb is use the same gear going down a mountain as you did up the mountain.

 

You mean this one?

Nice in the fall ... not so much in the middle of winter

 

yep sure looks like it.Spose to be the steepest mountain in CO.Sure beautiful in this picture but having to drive thru it,not so much,lol.It's been yrs ago when I went thru wolfe creek but I did'nt even for a second know what I was about to face.The road was 4 lanes flat and just a nice drive.Then the road changed to 2 lanes narrower steeper and windier.Then when I seen those 2 escape ramps I knew it was going to be challenging.But did it without jakes because I forgot I did'nt have them on,lol.