I70 Eisenhower smoke fest

i think that from now on, all you guys witnessing this smoke show, ought to video it and put it up for us to vote on, like....... "the most smoke"....."the most flames"......"the most likely to crash"....

you know, sometihing to get our blood flowing..

 

I drove a truck in 2004 that didn't have a jake brake. No idea when it became standard equipment.

 

Or when you are bobtail going thru a residential neighborhood at 3 am. Other than those two examples I'm not sure why anyone would use one.

 

Uhhh tunnels?

I play the song of my people though every tunnel. It’s just what you’re supposed to do.

C12 is actually very loud lol.

 

I've only been a truck driver for 1 year and already mastered mountain/winter driving with 80k. (Hazards always on during grade) Jake 3 (or full), always going slightly slower than posted speed limit for truckers, sometimes Jake can't handle pressure so I squeeze (not push, hit, or slam) brakes for no more than 3 seconds let off for minimum of 10 seconds (only when road is straight, never during curve).

Switching from auto to manual in order to downshift won't work in Eco trucks as they'll gladly save gas by upshifting even if it gets you killed in a wreck. They say never to drive in icey conditions, to trip plan for bad weather, but sometimes you get stuck between a rock and a hard place (like a flash blizzard) and are forced to deal with ice or snow packed roads. Obviously go dead slow 5-15 mph till anywhere safe to pull off where you won't get stuck.

DOT seriously needs to invest more money making all roads in or near mountains safer. I've witnessed so many wrecks this winter, it's ridiculous and terrifying. I don't think I have the balls to do another winter-in-the-Rockies tour, job doesn't pay nearly enough for the risks involved.

My trainer always said "save your brakes for when you REALLY need them" as a result I Jake literally everytime I slow down the truck, even in city since my Jake is muffled. My brake pads/linings/shoes/whatever are always nice and fat

For people that cook their brakes... I don't understand it either... did they actually get a CDL without READING THE MANUAL?? Like seriously, any trucker caught cooking needs to be immediately pulled over and have his/her license suspended for "endangering the public." Harsh but would rather an idiot be unemployed than an idiot crashing and killing minivan/SUV families and children.

 

[QUOTE="QuietStorm, post: 8805973, member

I'm hoping for some re-regulation in this industry to prevent ######### from being on the road with us.[/QUOTE]

Regulation will never fix stupid.
Careful what you wish for.

 

If you have hot brakes as I have, you don't stop. Unless you are a absolute runaway. I once pushed it too much into West Virginia on 68 and she got hot. And came down fast with two more gaps (Passes to go) so I had her at 35 or so and 4 ways on for a couple hours in most of WVa until Jane Lew. She finally quit being hot and cooled enough for the Hurricane 76 to take a look see to see if there was damage on any of them.

However if you were a absolute runaway then you have to find a way to get that thing stopped regardless of the fire that will be the next problem. (Once you are stopped and out of there without killing people like that Colorado Cuban...) You can put one brake fire out with the fire extinguisher but not when it's spread to the tire (You do not need to be near burning tires, they are bombs that can hurt or kill you bad) or under the trailer frame etc.

The foundation of my solution is maintaining that air flow across the drums. It will get cool eventually provided you don't add to the problem.

As far as Eisenhower is concerned there are grades before it. If run badly you are going to have hot brakes. You do not want to have that or any chance of a fire inside a tunnel. I don't think Eisenhower is built with life havens in the middle section but I don't know. (Many large tunnels in the world have certain spots where people can gather and hide to survive even the worst of fires if possible.) Usually in the middle. If you also come in smoking you cause the staff at Eisenhower or any large tunnel to have to take additional steps to ventilate the tube and clear it and keep a eye on you for a fire. You do not want to enter a tube smoking. It's that simple.

Another reason Eisenhower is to be respected is that it is over a earthquake fault far below it. The hexgonal jointing you see for about 900 feet in the walls is the last effort to keep the tube open should there indeed be a quake. With you in it. If the joints fail then thats your grave There would be no point in reopening the bores.

 

I think not.

 

Just want it to be harder to get a license.[/QUOTE]
My statement remains the same....be careful for what you wish for.
Keep an open mind here as well, very short sided to not care about what the license requirements are when you already have a license.
We have enough rules and laws, we just need to enforce what is already on the books.