mountains

Take it slow your first time. Hopefully you can pop your cherry during decent weather and road conditions. They are different eastbound and westbound. For example cabbage is worse going west. East it really isn't much to worry over. Donner isn't bad really. Homestake in Montana just east of butte on 90 is steep both ways. Parleys I think it's called on 80 in Utah just east of slc is another one where westbound decline is steeper than eastbound decline. Wyoming has a few good ones where also it's worse going west.

When I say worse going west I mean it like this. Say you are driving east you come up to a 6% climb and continuing east the other side is a gradual 4% or so. So westbound the climb is easier however the downhill feels steeper.

As for the worst they are all about the same to me. They all have character. Take your time you'll be fine

 

Mountains in the east generally are steeper but shorter .
Mountains in the west are less steep but longer lulling the unaware into a false sence of security...

 

Just keep it slow and safe to the right so the super truckers will fly by you on the left. I've been driving for a while now and still am hesitant to go beyond 7th gear with the jakes on a steep downhill. Take my time and know I'm doing it right.

 

The mountain grades are pretty much the same out west, take it slow and steady and obey the speed limit signs. The main difference is altitude... The grades are much higher up, but the climb up and the fall down are not as steep. And there's only a handful of grades like that. Most of the time you drive on flat ground between the mountains.

Donner pass is about 7200' high but it takes about 30 miles to descend to the mainland, if you're heading west to Sac-town. It's a mixed bag of marginally steep downgrades, then flat-ish roads to give your brakes (here's a bad pun) a break. The Eisenhower tunnel in Colorado is just over 11000' high, the tallest point on the interstate highway system. Being that high up means you'll be dealing with snow, so make sure you've got your chains.

I'd say cabbage hill in Oregon is the most hair raising, especially when you're fully loaded heading toward Portland. But otherwise, driving out west is amazing. Make sure you bring a camera.

 

Donner is 44 miles of downgrade westbound. You will have a huge number of signs installed to help new people like you. When you are half way down you will see some of them saying "Let er drift driver" meaning to stay in whatever gear you are, stay off the hammer and let gravity do the work. The resulting speed is around 35 to 41 mph in whatever gear you are in. For a while. Let her drift. Literally let the gravity take her.

Mountain work for me is this.

You use your jake to balance in physics whatever the grade is imposing on your entire tractor trailer. Mount Eagle is a good training ground.

It's just that you are crossing into the 9 thousand feet, 12,000 feet and potentially 14,000 in some passes.

Winter time out west is much more raw and savage than you will see in the appalacians. You will enjoy the hell out of the intermountain west because you will live or you will die by the mistakes you make out there.

Keep your brakes cool at all times out west on that jake, find a gear in which you balance that jake against the load. You will be fine all the way to the bottom. Ignore anyone who gives you a hard time and especially stay right and avoid anyone booming by on the left.

I cannot tell you too much without getting into particular mountains. One is called Spotted Wolf east of San Diego for Yuma. That road is a grade restricting you to 30 or less. If you look over the gaurd rail you will see wreckage of trucks who failed to stay at 30 or less on that mountain that has been there since the 60's in some cases. Don't let yourself be the next truck crumpled into a crushed can on that mountain.

Cabbage is fun. For me. But your first few times you will be challenge. Just be good and easy with er and you will be fine.

There are other mountains out west. All of them have joy for me. If it is not a tilted world Im a bored person on the flatland.

There is one mountain though that has my name on it and Ive about had enough of that one. Called Babcock Ridge in Pennsylvania near Altoona. I have to come down that thing with a empty flatbed on ice too slippery to walk on for a couple of miles straight down. I do alright but there is a 200 degree switch back curve at the bottom which requires 15 mph or less to make it around without killing people in their cars. And they know it too.

 

Heavy is right ...if there is something to be worried about there will be signage as far as the interstate goes and follow it ...not much different than 322 from 80 down to Milroy .

 

Thank you kindly.

I know that 322 like the back of my hand. I call it 7 mountains grade. It might have a proper name. I had a good trainer who had me going up that thing in winter storm with a foot and no jake in sight while schnider and several others were being towed out of the ditch to the right upgrade. Dunno how they got there because there is like a final 45 mph turn before you hit the upgrade.

There is a pad about a few miles west of 15 by the river you used to be able to spend the night on that gravel pad without being bothered by anyone. It's on the downgrade eastbound.

We drifted down 322 eastbound over 7 mountains with no jake, literally slow enough to stay in a gear and let her float to the bottom with very occasional use of the brakes which were determined to keep cool at all costs.

I would not mind going over that thing again some day for the hell of it. But You tube will have to suffice.

 

Enjoy the west. USE the brake check areas to check everything out, take pictures, and psyche yourself for the grades. You'll get used to them just obey the speed limits on the declines and if your in a tanker go a little slower- I do. Let the morons blow past you bc it'll catch up to them in the long run.