Steepest grade you ever pulled or went down.....

18% grade heading to pickle lake in the winter, road covered with ice. I have the picture of the sign if I can figure out how to post it.

 

Not the steepest but one of the more interesting, was Pine mountain in KY. 1998 379 / 63" bunk pulling a triaxle talbert beam trailer with a 32 ft well, had a truck mounted rotary drilling rig on going to Harlan, KY. Definitely want to have your CB on and paying attention.

 

Know it well, use to live in Harlan. Married into a coal company. The Harlan Hillbillies!

 

Not the steepest, yet it was scary. I was going to the top of Petit Jean State Park here in Arkansas in an old conventional KW pulling a flat bed loaded with sack cement. It had a 13 over, 4:33 rear axles, & a 220 Cummings, just before I reached the top I got down to grandma & my RPM's kept slowly dropping. I opened my drivers door holding it open with my left foot. I could see the crest of the mountain not far ahead, my RPM was at 1800 & still dropping. All I could think of if this truck stalls will the brakes hold it or will I have to jump! The RPM was down to 1600 & I was near the crest of this mountain yet it was still pulling down & as it broke over the crest of the mountain my RPM was setting on 1300 RPM!. That's the closest call I ever had & there was no enjoyment in it as all.

 

don't know the grade but HWY 117 certainly is steep enough to have a runaway truck ramp which i went into during the mid 90's.here is a picture that i took yesterday as i was out that way for a completely different run.It is between Ider,Al. and Stevenson,Al.I was cutting through enroute to HWY 72.

I actually drove out of it and delivered the huge hardwood load that day.I had adjusted the brakes on the Mack backwards,they were designed to snug up opposite from other truck types plus had the mud guardswhich truly blocked the sight process.Could i have seen what i was adjusting,i would not have left out in that one truck.brakes were metal to metal regardless.

there is enough gravel to stop you although it did not seem like it at the time.I question myself often as to why i somehow drove out of the gravel and made it the rest of the way down the hill and delivered.

 

cool flashback.did you not worry about getting down once you topped it? HA! you got down to a crawl to open the door yet that ol'cummins was still pulling.bet there was lots of noise man.drivers of today shudder at that or will call a driver a liar.if their trainer said it couldn't happen,it didn't.

 

NO, I unloaded on top of the mountain & was empty going back down. Now it I had to go down the other side I might have homesteaded on top of that mountain! Since that time I have gone down mountains with my brakes smoking yet I've never had that much fear in me again.

 

you know,now that you phrased it in that manner,i am not fearful of downgrades.perhaps it was my runaway truck ramp experience,the one i pictured,that instilled/built confidence.


I recall in my early days using the trailer brake to slow me down going down mount eagle.yeah the brakes were smoking to say the least. drivers were getting on the cb making fun of me.THAT was the best teacher i could have had other than years of driving down the long grades of various roads. of course i di not have an engine brake back then so one learns from having to truly ease down the grade by that fact alone imo.

let's not forget the grease fires that happen on trls from when i'd adjust the brakes before a long downgrade! those always caused excitement on the cb!

 

Oh, coming from Bledsoe?