Monteagle

tscottme -Are sure about that advice you gave ???

 

If they do it like you say, about riding their brakes, when they go down a REAL mountain-they most likely will get their name in the newspaper !! Or am I wrong, please inform me........
mountainman 444, that's the correct way, in MY opinion........

And what are the schools teaching on this ?????

 

Any of you folks have an opinion??????

 

That's the way I've done it just like M Man444, let it drift then bring it back down. I've gone down grades with no engine brake and grossing over 119,000lbs and did not smoke the brakes. But I've seen alot of eastcoast trucks at the bottom of grades with lots of smoke. I guess you do what works for you but I'd never stay on the brakes especially with an overloaded truck.

 

The one I attended taught roll it out and stab it down. This is the way I've always come down mountains. Be it in a car, pickup or 80k truck. I started doing this years ago when I crystalized the breaks on a pickup while pulling a camper. Started losing braking power about 2/3 of the way down. Really had to stand on the pedal and downshift to keep it slowed down.

I thought this was the right way but just wanted to make sure.
Joe

 

After much research, the LAST I knew, the STAB method is the best way to go. BUT, I still believe the proper gear useage is the most important factor !!!!!!! You can always grab a higher gear if necessary, but you may never be able to drop a gear.
Be careful ya'll.......

 

I'm sure some of yall remember the old Monteagle before they took out the side of the mountain so they could add a lane and straighten it out some.
Used to be kinda narrow and curvy.(Worse than Black Mountain, I thought)
That runaway ramp wasn't much . Notice the down grade on the ramp? Short too. Don't know how many trucks it actually saved, but I've always heard there were a bunch that went over the side over the years.
Check out the wipers on the truck. That's a giveaway LOL

 

That is basically what I do, using the tachometer more than anything as a guide.
I let it tach out to a safe limit, then brake it down to about 1100 and do it all over again.
I probably got some of that from the manual fuel pump days when you could snap off that shaft if you let it over rev. Then you done screwed the pooch.

 

I always thought monteagle was over rated, but i started driving on the west cost, my first solo load was I5 north over the grapevine, white knuckled and all.

 

It may be overated now, but in the pre-jake brake days, it wasn't anything to play with.
I heard about the Grapevine for years and By the time I got out there I had been driving about 8 years and was worried to death, until I started down it,
What is it, 5% for 6 miles, pretty straight to boot. I always felt going south was more deceiving, with the distance and the letups that let you relax then drop you some more.
I think the drop going north into Nevada on I-15 is a trip. Now that one just drops off seriously.