Are Rookies taught how to use a clutch brake anymore?

Oh, boy........

 

Shame on me!!!! I should know better than that...ya know....having confidence in my abilities. Maybe I should be like a lot Of these hacks that are very unsure of themselves, we all know those types are the safest of em all.

 

I wasn't taught about it in school or orientation, had to learn on my own...

 

Maybe not the guy who fuels and go, but the guy who parks in the island, goes inside, bull*****, comes back out, fuels, goes back in without pulling up, bull***** some more. Oh wait, that supposed to be in the supertrucker thread.

 

That's a funny read....but makes me see red when I'm actually in the situation.

 

Self taught here as well....I gotta admit though I had that truck hoppin and jumpin in my early days though. It took me a couple of weeks to where I was fairly smooth with it.

 

Service brakes and wrong gear? How do you connect the two?

Please explain....you really lost me on this one!

You can't be serious! One side of a grade is generally not the same as the other side....
Where do you guys get this "rule of thumb" pucky? When a driver is taught to drive the road, not the reputation of the road...maybe he/she will become a real driver. If you don't know the road (have never driven it) then yes keep it a bit slower to maintain control and driver comfort (stress level)...but don't gauge the road on another drivers comments and the possibility of that information being BS.

I'll assume you are talking about up being East...Sacramento to Reno...if you are heavy, yes there are sections where you could drop 3 or 4 gears (9 or 10 speed)...so the down is from Donner Summit (please note no "s" in this name Donner) to Truckee....you really going to be in 5th gear for that grade? I drive a 9 speed (Cummins engine so excellent jakes), at 79,000 I might be in 7th going down to Truckee and never touch the brakes.

Can we stop the exaggerations and "horror stories" and learn to teach others how to really drive?

I hope this a sarcastic comment!

The engine brakes will bring you to a complete stop? Really?

Engine brakes "cut out" at a certain RPM...I won't estimate what that RPM is since I never let them "fade out" to that point.

Even down Donner West bound after the summit is not the real grade...try after Nyack and the brake check (required) pull out....now you are coming to a long down grade....but 5th(?)...same comments as above!

The good driver doesn't "launch" off the crest and into the down slope...the good driver eases over the crest and drives the road not the reputation, maintaining optimal RPM, gear, and speed for the conditions.

You know what is missing from all this....the "rule of thumb" about never attempt a down shift on a down grade. More #### and bull!

 

OK you forced me to find agreement with you on this one!

 

Same here, a painful(for the truck) trial and error regiment...

 

I feel the same way. Some of the tractors at my work have no clutch brake. Some of the trucks are only a few years old and have had the same drivers since day one, and they are all veterans. Not knocking all of you but it seems that some might not know how to use it.

At the school that I went to the instructors mentioned it but never said exactly what it does and what you can do to prevent destroying it. Being that my father has been driving for about 30 years now I went into the school already knowing about a clutch brake and how it works and also what not to do. Where I work now my first truck had no clutch brake at all and still doesnt to this day however we have 2 senior drivers and 1 quit so I got his truck. The clutch brake still works and I plan on keeping it that way for as long as I can.