Climbing

Going down if u miss ur gear thats when its important to understand road speed and ur gears. Get on the breaks and know how fast ur going and which gear u need to be in, rev the rpms up to match the gear speed and it will fall right into gear.

 

Going downhill you slow the truck to 300rpm BELOW the shift point to allow for an increase in speed. I had a trainee one time who I was trying to teach this to. He argued that he was 'told' to never try to downshift when going downhill. "Listen, dummy, (not quite the word I used) you might need to know this someday, so do as you're told." After a couple tries, he was able to complete a downhill downshift without problems (in Virgin River Canyon).

 

Yep i downshift going downhill all the time. Once u get good at it it is just like shifting normal

 

Its not too often.

Off the US Interstate system however you get into the 12-13's on up to 24% in a variety of places. Those kinds of grades will have you in one gear in the bottom of your box all the way to the top which might take up to two hours.

As long your tractor is settled in the sweet spot you DO NOT WANT TO SHIFT FOR ANYTHING. Never. Wait until you get up top and over.

 

I'd say the worst I've done is 92000 over Wolf Creek going from Denver to Farmington, NM. learn your gearing and speed well on the flats and minor hills, you'll need to know it instinctively on real passes.