Jacknifed today when using the Jake Brake!

Engine brake locked up the drives! Welcome

It’s called ice it’s formed when roads are wet and it’s below 32 degrees out! It’s people like you that I worry about when I’m out in the winter!

 

Probably had their phone out recording you hoping for a YouTube worthy wreck.

 

Here is your mistake. Never apply jb on slick road if your tractor-trailer not perfectly strait. Always slow down before taking off ramp and slightly accelerate on curve.

 

I HATE this. I linehaul LTL freight and at both terminals this happens. Everything is fine and good until they realize they’re running out of room then they start stacking and decking the last 12 feet. Glad you’re ok though man, could’ve been a lot worse. Have a safe and happy New Year.

 

Not necessarily. There are 2 types of Jackknifes a tractor jackknife and a trailer jackknife. Being light on either set of axles can cause a jackknife.

 

My general rule is no Jake brake on slick roads, rain or snow. Slow and steady braking. Lots of coasting to slow down before braking.

 

When you use the service brake you're braking with (in most trucks) 5 axles when you use the jakes you're braking only 2. This is why the service brakes slowed you better. When there's not alot of grip do you think you're better off asking 2 axles to do the job or 5?

With only 2 pallets you should have NOT being jaking at all let alone on a ramp. In poor weather off/on ramps are far slicker than the travel lane since they are not plowed as well.

Jakes are for speed control on downhill moutain grades to aviod overheating the brakes. There was no benifit to using jakes on a ramp in this situation none because physics.

When we talk about going straight before applying the jakes especially as light you were there are 2 axis's to worry about in a high profile vehicle. One axis is the tractor being straight with the trailer and the second axis is the vehicle being level on the ground it's driving on. If the road is not level (ramps often aren't) and the right or left side of the truck sits higher/lower significantly enough is causes the truck to lean while going down the road I would not use the jake in this situation especially while I'm light.

A crosswind is another consideration. Crosswind applies a load of side force to the vehicle you then jake which applies braking force to only the drives this causes the drives to slip and the side load of force gets distributed to the drives which acts likes a pivot point giving that side load of force some place to go. Once that pivot point bends even slightly the side load of force is applied to it and with leverage as well causing a tractor jackknife.