Indian River

You’ll be fine. Most of the ones you will encounter are on the interstates, not backroads. Like Redtwin said, you will have warning signs and a speed limit drop beforehand to give you a heads up 95% of the time. I don’t think they drop the speed limit on I 40 in Arizona between Williams and Kingman, but there are signs and a brake check area before you drop off going west. That section can sneak up on you at night, and if you aren’t careful, you’ll look down to find yourself doing 85 MPH with a curve at the bottom. Utah and Nevada both have some without a speed drop, too, so don’t always take the advance warning for granted.

You’ve already been running over Monteagle on I 24 between Murfreesboro and Chattanooga, so I assume you know how to descend without roasting your brakes on the way down. The grades on the West Coast are similar, but they’re taller, longer, and in higher elevation. Descend them like you do Monteagle. 4-way flashers on to keep a distracted soccer mom from rear ending you, engine brake, correct gear, not riding your brake pedal all the way down, etc.

I’m not sure what specs or transmission your truck has, but I have 12 gears in mine. 10th gear with level two on the engine brake works pretty good for me on most of the West Coast grades. Sometimes I control my speed by going from level two to level three and vice versa as I’m descending to avoid using the brake pedal anymore than I have to. It also keeps the surge from beating you up so bad.

Get out there this Summer and get some time in. Overcome the insecurity that way you’re willing to run anywhere, anytime. That’s how you will make money.