Downgrades with no Jake. Best way to handle it?

I generally run places I am familiar with. Falling off Fancy Gap, for instance, I start off about 45 mph and lightly touch the pedal...just enough to light the brake lights. When I get to about 10 mph over the limit, I get on the brake to bring it back to about 10 mph below the limit. I continue that cycle almost to the bottom. We have some exhaust brakes, a few jake brakes, and no hand valves.

If I were on an unfamiliar hill, I'd try to stay at or under the posted limit, braking firmly to bring it to 10 below, etc. back to the posted limit.

Most importantly, make sure your brakes are in good adjustment before you need them then suddenly find out they aren't. Even self-adjusting slack adjusters can benefit from manually adjusting them occasionally. To adjust your trailer brakes, park on a level surface, set your tractor parking brake, and release the trailer brakes. Yellow knob out, red knob in. Then adjust each slack adjuster so that it has about 1/2 inch free play. To do your tractor brakes, same thing except: yellow knob in, red knob out. Chock your wheels before getting under your truck!

 

That's the way I've done it for years. I'd go a little slower but I'd let it drift and brake repeat all the way down. I've had some trucks without jake-brakes and loaded up to almost 110,000lbs with a specialized D-8 dozer for the military. Coming down into Salt Lake City from the east on I80 & I84 is a long drop but the only way the state would route me. No problems and never smoked the brakes. The trick is to know your truck and brakes and take it slow. Don't let anyone ever push you into doing something out of your comfort zone

 

Um NO....first off, 3000 is way to high on the rpms. If you do that you risk blowing your engine. Red line on most is 2000 rpm. Also, do not use the trolly valve. You are a lot more likely to lock up 8 wheels then if you brake with all 18. Using the trolly valve could even cause a jack knife if the wheels start to skid or lock up.

if your rpms get close to 2000, brake using the peddle for 3 seconds. You should brake, light, med, hard, med, off. get through all of those in 3 seconds or less. brake hard enough to reduce speed by 5 mph.

 

Georgia Overdrive !!!

 

WE took our time and used the steady even pressure method. Best to start down a grade in at least 1 gear lower than you were in pulling the grade, let the engine and transmission do most of the work , and you'll never heat up the brakes...I know that some frown on the "old "steady even pressure method now , but that's the way I was taught back in the '60's now I think the preferred method is "snubbing" , but I never learned how to use the brakes that way...It's already been said but worth repeating "you can go too slow down a grade many times , but only go too fast once"

 

Todays engines don't help nearly as much as they used to,

compression isn't the same perhaps.


And that steady pressure system, worked great,

primarily because we adjusted our own brakes.

 

For general information about braking on steep downgrades, the first article I will suggest is www.overdriveonline.com/smart-driving-2
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.There is one additional online article; however, it is poorly edited. In this article, they use the term stab braking, which is an emergency braking technique, where they should have used snub braking technique. www.overdriveonline.com/smart-driving-21.
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.When descending a steep or long grade, the engine braking effect is your primary control over your speed. The engine brake is a secondary control over your speed. Your service brakes are your last control over your speed. Choosing a reasonable safe speed and appropriate gear for that safe speed is imperative. Therefore, if you are using your service brakes excessively to control your speed during the descent, that usually indicates that your choosen safe speed is set to high or your selected gear is to high or both.

 

less than ten years ago almost every big fleet didn't have Jake brakes. engine brakes are a luxury item, not safety equipment. your good friend isn't as experienced as you think he is.

op, if you go slow and use the drive train, you will be fine. find out what the safe rpm limit is on that engine so you don't over rev it. start of in a low gear, And no matter what, do not get caught out of gear. That can kill ya.

 

Stevens <ducking the insults> taught us to use steady LIGHT pressure on the brakes the entire downgrade. Using LIGHT pressure wont smoke the brakes. I dont remember the exact number but 5-7 PSI comes to mind.

They also had a certain gear to be in too use that method but again, that escapes me but that wouldnt do you any good anyway since you are in an automatic.

One thing that they streesed was to NEVER change gears while going down a steep grade. If anything was to happen and you cant get back into a gear you will be going down a mountain in neutral. The end results probably wouldnt be good.

One thing that my trainer told me was to crack the window and if the brakes start smoking you should be able to smell it. There are times that the sun may be just right or whatever and you wont be able to see light smoke in the mirrors.

At Stevens we had to prove that we could go down mountains without using the Jake and without smoking the brakes. Once this was demonstrated were were allowed to use the Jake.

Using Stevens methods, I have never smoked my brakes. Luckily I run local/regional nowadays with Ranger Hill on I-20 in Texas as the steepest downgrade.

 

As many have stated before,including me............go slow,take your time.
With experience comes the judgement to go faster the correct way.


Ps if you do smoke the brakes badly,pls put the trailer out off service.
Otherwise you will set the next driver up for a accident.
A badly smoked pads are glaced and have not effective brakes.
Glaced brakes just glide over the drumsurface without any real brakingpower.