Mountain/Hill driving question

They have a tachometer, use it. It's even color coded.

Correct gear selection depends on the weight of the load, and the grade of the hill.

No way we can give you a bullet proof answer here, for every hill.

 

1 yes,see it happen.Very scary.Is dangerous for the traffic coming behind as they close the gap between you and then much faster then they expect.If you feel you are losing it.................slam on the brakes before it gets to bad.

2 there is a rule told by oldtimers that you go down a hill in the same gear as you would use if you were to climb it.
That rule works!
Now offcourse as engine brakes have become better over the years ,you can go down faster but............you need experience for that.
As a rookie,i would stick to that rule.
Going down a hill to slow will only cause some people to be annoyed at you.
Going down a hill to fast will kill you and possibly someone else.

Second part off that oldtimers rule is that if you cannot see the road (because off bends) ....................slow down.Signs are a help but a sign might have been knocked down,you might miss a sign,......
Basicly,drive downhill only as fast as you can see.

Start by learning not to use your brakes on a downhill.
I drive major downhills just on enginebrake.
If you have to use your brakes more then 2 times per minute on a downhill............you are in to high a gear!
Brakes are only the last option.
If you use your brakes constantly,they will overheat.
And a hot brake doesn't brake.

 

Ditto above post ... Yes, each hill is different and requires a different tact. Rigs are more aerodynamic today which helps to offset some of the benefits of engine brakes . The main thing is over-confidence. In California and other places you see some heavy trucks going down a major grade at 50-60 MPH because they do it daily and know the hill and their truck. There strategy, I guess, is the faster you get down, the sooner you can be out of danger. The main problem with this is unforeseen accidents or something in the roadway or other incidents that are out of sight and just occurred that may require a stop or near stop, and going down too heavy and too fast, you're not going to get stopped. Then what happens could get very ugly.

Also all hills are not equal on both sides but if they were (and many are more or less) My typical "rule of thumb" (assuming you have a reasonably well tuned engine brake) is one gear HIGHER than what I would have dropped to on the WAY UP the same grade.

When in doubt about is it safe to go up a gear, stay where you are. Nothing more dangerous (and hard on equipment and nerves) than realizing you may have jumped the gun a bit and than trying to DOWnshift back to where you were, in an over-speed condition.

 

Not all tachs are color coded mine doesn't even have a red line mark. But the rest of that is accurate. And the other posts are spot on.

 

I would never back up a hill. 'Cause then you have to back down the other side or find a place to turn around...


you already got good answers, it was time for the funny. Least I hope it was funny...

Mikeeee

 

I have seen that happen before. When going up a hill it slows the truck down when going down a hill it speed it up. Look at your rpm and your speed to determine what gear to shift to then put more pressure on the accelerator until you get up the hill. When going downhill you downshift and brake until it slow down 5mph below whatever your speed is. Do not ride the brakes they will overheat and don't step on and off the brake or you will lose your air. It really does depend on how steep the hill is. You would have to drive in the mountains to get a clear understanding.

 

It all changes when the pavement is wet, slippery or worse, ICE!

Mikeeee