So , almost a month out on the road I'm a little better with the 10 speed now and downshifting is getting easier , BUT I had a scary turn yesterday so I need help .. In curves or really tight curves for example a lot of truck stop (pilot , loves , etc) exits are curves some are actually pretty tight what's the best way to approach?? I almost flipped the #### thing yesterday for going to fast /: should I downshift way before going in or how should I go through it ?
Just take your good old time. The speed limits on curves is set for cars Drop 10 or 15 mph down from that to get your truck safely thru the turn. Screw whoever is behind you they can wait
I would say depending on how heavy you are loaded and how tight those turns are to keep it in either 3rd or 4th gear. Please just don't lug that engine. I'm not kidding. When you lug an engine you might as well take a large hammer and beat the internal parts of that engine with it. Get used to this. If you have not already seen it you will soon see these smaller truck stops have horrible damage all around these area's. Some have placed large rocks etc to stop trucks from damaging them further. WATCH THAT TACH! WATCH THAT TRAILER BACK TANDEM and as has been said keep it smooth. Take your time don't let that supertrucker behind you bother you.
You want to pull the trailer in curves. So that means you have to downshift before the turn. Remember the truck is only 20,000 lbs and the trailer can be 60,000. A 60,000lbs trailer on slippery road will alway want to go straight. So unless you pull it will try to go straight. I'm just saying in the winter and on ice or snow if YOU don't pull the trailer it will push YOU out of the way and keep going straight. That's a jackknife because you let the trailer push you instead of pulling it around a truck stop or curve. So be in the correct gear so you are always in control pulling the trailer
There's always a yellow sign with an advisory speed on it. Scrub that speed down before hitting the exit. You want to get the braking done BEFORE the curve in order to pull the trailer through. Theres a tremendous difference between the trailer pushing you in a curve and pulling the trailer.
I say this as it sounds like you are 100% slowing by downshifting... If you are still going to fast don't be afraid to use the brakes to slow down. If you manage to stall out simply toss on the 4-ways, come to a full stop, restart the truck and remember what happened wrong so you can prevent it from happening again. You should not ever stall out though as you can throw it in neutral before RPM's get that low, and find the gear after the speed is down. Again, you can never go too slow taking a turn. Go as slow as needed, using 4 ways if you are really slow, and still in the road. Ignore anyone that may get annoyed behind you. Even at the slowest speed you'll be out of the turn in less than a minute. As an example I normally (in a 10 speed) downshift (and break) to 6th and just break the rest of the way, either a full stop or 3-5th depending on turn
On a 10 speed transmission, get down to 8 right at split of the exit which you ll be doing 35. If its a sharp curve break and get down to 7. If there is a heavy rain, snow and ice, its a whole different story.
