down shifting on a downgrade

The student does this to the teacher/trainer so the teacher/trainer knows what the student is doing.

I think if the teacher/trainer knew anything and was doing their job they can tell what the student was doing just by watching them. Just like you can tell who knows how to drive and who does not.

And no I did not need to do that when I went thru school last year. The teachers knew I could drive would make me the last driver so they could do grading of paper work.
Dave ----

 

Thanks driver, I needed a good laugh tonight ha

 

You ever been down highway 24 from 100 Mile into Little Fort. Fully loaded its about a 30 minute trip down in low gear, 3rd stage jake.

 

What about jake brakes? Use them along with being in the right gear?

 

In my car on a holiday I have, but not in a truck.
But I did load at Jim's Poles a couple of miles south of Rossland, then have him push me out with his loader, chained up, grossed out super b, then climb 11% up to Rossland and drop back down into Trail followed by the Salmo-Creston. 52 miles took three hours.

 

Absolutely.

 

The right gear is different based on whether you use the jake or not, not many reasons to not use jake so that'll be your 'right' one most of the time..."use the jake, save a brake"

Make sure you know where the jake switch is and how it's activated, I learned about the foot button (in a 'different than my normal truck which was in shop)heading down Monteagle in TN with 44,200 in can, couldn't understand why right gear, usual braking and jake weren't holding it, duh, jake switch was on, just not activated without pushing button...I actually pulled over as soon as I realized the jake wasn't activating, called shop, learned about button, finished down hill...I ASSumed the switch on the dash was enough as it was on my other truck...Learn from my lesson, if you didn't know about that either...

 

Left foot braking is your friend. Just squeeze a 5-lbs brake app with ur left while ur right foot blips your shift up the 200rpm, keeps ur speed stable and relax and u shouldn't have any problem finding ur gear as long as you're splitting. I'm sure a thousand highway guys will tell me I'm wrong but that's the best way if you dont want to wreck stuff...

 

I don't mean this with any hate, but this is like asking "when I make a left turn, should I turn on my turn signal?" Clessie Cummins, along with 2 other drivers was trying to set a trans-continental speed record in 1931. They were doing great until they got to Cajon Pass. They lost control, and almost wrecked the truck. 20 plus years later, Clessie began in earnest to develop his compression brake. He wound up using the injector lobe on the cam to activate the exhaust valve. Both his engine and Detroit's injectors are activated by the cam. He had Jacobs Manufacturing Company build it, and it was first marketed in 1961.

You see, it was for this very reason that Cummins invented the Jake Brake. Use it in good health.

 

I agree. Best to keep the RPM gap small by splitting. The truck'll take off pretty quick on a downgrade if you're not on the ball with the shifting.