Downgrades east of the Mississippi that really get your attention

You will find many banned to trucks anyway.

The little hills in the east by themselves are not that big of a deal to be honest. Now....

Big Savage is around 7% 5 miles more or less. At the bottom of that one is Cumberland downtown, they build a wall decades ago bigger and stronger and taller than your 18 wheeler should you run off or away downgrade towards that city. It will keep you from flying into the downtown core killing hundreds. That's on I-68.

Most professionals come down at or slower than they came up here in the east. No worries. With that said, there is always a percentage who are very stupid and earn themselves darwin awards on the downgrades for wrecks, accidents, burning out brakes etc.

There ARE however certain hills, I talk about one in particular up in Vermont. A nice quiet journey through the wood and meadowlands until you come around a curve and there you are 25% 3 miles straight down seeing nothing but sky at 60. I actually ran my bobtail away the first time I hit that one. I tossed the jakes on high, threw down my air and got her down to 30 or less and it just held it all the way down.

I spend the morning thinking about getting back up that *&^% thing loaded to the max with a little 350 kitty on a tall 10 speed. That took about a hour and change at less than walking speed in the lowest gear I had.

You essentially waited for something to break or burn all the way up. I took a peek at Mr Pyro at 1550 and ignored it from then on. ALL the gauges present were seriously abnormal for hours after that pull. She didnt feel too good for a few days after. It took 3 hours for coolant and engine oil and all the other oils to cool to normal range. Once I hit the interstate heading southbound I had to nurse her thanking god most of it was downgrade believe it or not.

Hills Certainly. Nothing that bothers you Western Men. But boy howdy watch out for the really special hills here and there hidden.

 

Just go down at a speed your jake does all the work. If you are going slow enough the jake alone can hold you back it means you still have full braking power in case that is the moment the fuse for the jake blows.

 

Again with the fictitious 3 mile 25% grade in Vermont? Don't ever get tired of repeating the same made up story over and over?

 

Was this before they finished the turnpike? 77 has a couple good pulls, but nothing to qualify as dangerous assuming you are smart enough not to try to go down them at 65mph while loaded heavy.

 

Just the other day I was going down I-64 headed East fron Beckley,WV. Pretty steep 7% grade but nothing too bad really. There is a mandatory truck stop at the top there. A truck was moving out just as I was coming in to the stop. A couple miles later that same truck was moving real slow on the shoulder with smoke coming off his driver side trailer tires. Not on fire but couldn't have been far from it. I hope he was stopping to cool his brakes. Must have been riding his brakes the whole way.

 

Yeah unless he was way lost here



I wonder what road he was on?

 

that's partly why I was taught to always run with my engine brake on. Saves your brakes. Well that's in a auto not sure on stick

 

I ran out hot brakes a few times, the last time I did that they were hot enough to burn so I kept her drifting across half of WVa for a few hours. Kept it moving. No one gave me any trouble at all when they saw me doing what I was doing at 30 pouring smoke from everything. That incidentally was the very last time I had trouble with that and it was my own fault.

On the old milk truck we had a three button parking brake system which is older than most all 2 button systems today. One button managed to sneak back on or did not get all the way off leaking air into at least one brake drum set on the tractor drives. She acted like arthritis once that one pad stuck on the drum and I added 300 to 500 RPM to get it moving back at speed limit (Sheesh...) until sniff. sniff. Hot brakes.

Checked my daycab rear window and I had fire under the left forward drive inside.

Well, found me a house. Fired the extinguisher at it and ran in to get 911 going. They deployed 4 firehalls around me to my truck. They used a maxi bolt to back that brake chamber off and get me moving on three brakes left back there on those drives so I can get that fresh milk delivered. (Why I did not drop trailer is because it's a permanent set up, no landing gear period. If it ever came off, it did so onto blocks at the shop.)

But that dry chemical fire extinguisher knocked it out pretty good before it really got big and began to involve the rest of the rig.

 

Good ideal, stop on the shoulder and let your brakes cool....