Going down long steep "DOWNGRADE"

You can go too slow many times, but too fast only once. Before the brakes smoke, they will lose grip and require more pressure on the brake pedal to snub to the desired speed. When you feel loss of brake effectiveness, it is time to snub down far enough to downshift and descend the grade at a slower speed. Stretching the time of descent allows more time for the brakes to cool between snubbings.

 

I may just be conservative but are you guys freaking mad?If there is smoke you are way past the 1st bad sign. If you need more then the occasional gentle touch on the breaks to check the speed you are in a to higher gear and going too fast. You should never be in a position where if you pop in to neutral you could not stop on breaks alone.You guys may not agree but this is how I taught and it served me well.

 

Gearing down BEFORE decending is the most important thing. If you're in the right gear, you can decend with very little breaking. You'll be slower, but you'll be safe.
And in the grand scheme of things, if you get to the bottom two minutes slower thatn 'Super Trucker', who cares?

 

that is some great advice i will keep that in mind.

 

Yes a professional driver can go down a steep hill without engine brakes when (s)he has the knowledge of snub braking and downshifting.

 

I recall that entire stretch having more of a rolling feel but deceptively steep. Evidenced by the truck that was smoking his brakes in front of us. He pulled off onto the gravel shoulder eventually with smoke billowing everywhere, first thing he did was pull his air brakes when he stopped.

 

This is one of the very reasons that these idiots that have 2 or 3 years should NOT be training. They have'nt a clue themselves. You need to get yourself a new trainer before he gets you/others hurt or killed.

 

or a year or LESS !!!!

 

I was feeling generous!

 

That is a good way to crack the drums as they cool off. When I had hot brakes, I found level ground and set chock blocks.