Coming into a hill too fast, no warning signs

How does air hitting metal heat the pads? Every principle of cooling involves air hitting metal to cool it, it's how a radiator works, it's why there's a fan there or on any type of cooling system.

I think you may be thinking if there's a fire and yeah that'll fan the flames, if you set your brakes and they're already smoking you could cause a fire but at that point if you ain't stopped you're SOL already.

 

Exactly. Could of left a few minutes earlier. I don't feel bad if I have a line of cars behind me and I'm doing the speed limit. In a passing zone I will slow down so they can pass

 

Oh and btw in WA there are so many hills that there is no warning on most of them, you also get a funny effect since trees cover everything like if you were constantly in a tunnel which makes it very hard to tell up and down so you go by feeling, you can feel the effect of gravity and look at your speedometer but you have to be actually paying attention.

There's also a lot of downhill areas with blind curves where traffic is at a standstill as you go around the corner and no warning signs, it's just something that you learn to anticipate as you drive around the area and you know there's a possibility of that being there.

If you think that's bad try driving in WY oilfields, you could be driving up a hill without seeing what's at the stop and your thinking the road is going to keep on going but there's a T right at the summit and you can't keep going straight, lesson here is if you can't see where your going don't assume that everything will be ok when you can actually see the road again. You use the same principle while driving in low visibility weather or at least I do, though I see plenty of people that can somehow see through thick fog keep going the speed limit.

 

I can attest to that also with 10-12 psi. They'll be hot but not smoking. I was 100k with a frac pump and the Jake on the mp8 didn't work at all. De rated and the dash lit up like a Christmas tree Lol. From Ohio, wv, to Williamsport Pa. Lots of steep grades along that route and I didn't once smoke the brakes doing that method and down shifting when that wasn't holding it back

 

Use low enough gear and speed + jake so speed does not increase. Letting speed build, then baking, then let it build, and more braking generates far more heat than just using all the tools, including very light steady break pressure if needed.

 

That traffic is busy watching a movie on their smartphone, eff 'em. Those in traffic behind you are not going to pay your bills or pay for your hospital if you wreck.

 

Its a sure ticket to trouble to use constant pressure on brakes on these long passes here in Colorado if yer very heavy.
Its best to figure 2 gears lower than the gear ya came up in to go down--- ya can always pop it up a couple if ya get tired of the view.
If ya top off a pass and ya think ya need to use the brakes--- ya best use'em and come to a stop and put the unit in a gear ya know ya can make it down in.

And the heck with those 4X's--- I'd go up Wolf Creek with a good load around 12-14 mph--- and down and around at 8-10 mph--- I figured those folks fly'in around me blow'in their horns were just say'in howdy.lol.

 

Most of the trucks I drove didn’t have an engine brake . That was a high dollar option , not so many years ago.

 

Either method is fine as long as you don’t overheat the drums .

I use the step method , when the speed builds up , you get in the brakes pretty hard and drop back down below the speed you want to run , then off the brakes to let them cool

I use this in the mountains in a car .
We visit western NC and north GA frequently and you can see the flatlanders smoking their brakes by riding the brakes all the way down .

if you never let off , the brakes never cool down .