need advice on down hill slopes

Thats just them drivers governed at 58 trying to make a little time. Throw it in georgia overdrive on a big hill...#### supertruckers.

 

Cajon isn't that bad.....

But it's in Cali so DOT errs on the side of caution.....Hence the 45 mph speed limit...
An experienced driver can take that grade at 60 mph with 48K on the wagon and Not have problem stopping in and saying hello to DOT.......

 

Ive seen smoking brakes at the bottom of cabbage, also seen the runaway ramp utilized by "supertruckers", or more likely a newbie, or maybe not. Something like cabbage is serious business. Throw confidence out the window on that descent. Its easy, just SLOW DOWN. Slowing down is always a good idea.

 

If it's a hill that you have never been on before and there is a "truckers use lower gear" sign at the top, gear down as many gears as you can before cresting the hill. If, once you are into the hill you find out that you could still be in 1 or 2 gear higher and have the Jake hold, you can grab a gear or two. If you find that you should have been in a gear or two LOWER, NEVER try to drop another gear while descending a steep grade. Use your brakes to assist the jake to maintain control and a safe speed. If you try to drop a gear when your into the hill and you miss it, you may panic and end up stuck in mexican overdrive (neutral) and THEN you have a problem.

 

If you're new and you come to a down grade that's marked "Trucks use low gears" or 6% grade and you're loaded up to max then slow down to 35mph. There's a couple of ways that the board will tell you how to brake going down a hill but the way I've been taught and which works best for me is easy pressure on the brakes to keep the truck at a safe speed. I'll start out at 35mph and then slow the truck down to 25-30mph and let it drift. As long as you don't use a lot of pressure you'll never smoke the brakes and you'll be safe. That's the way it's worked for me even with the larger tankers that weigh over 110,000lbs. And if there's an emergency around the bend I can stop because I have full braking power. If you have an engine brake that's even better.

Allow Me you mentioned the grade into Bullhead City. You should have tried it on the NV side when it was only two lanes. I've seen many vans down by the river with smoke pouring out of the brakes because they thought it was no big deal. I'd just cruise right on by them and wave. At least on the AZ side you had an escape ramp!

If you're new just start out slow and adjust for there. Always side on the safety side and do NOT let anyone push you out of your comfort zone.

 

Ever driven over Lovers Leap in Virginia in snow and fog? Loads of fun!