Failed Brakes

No wonder there's a traffic jam on the downhill grade!

 

Whuddaya need brakes for? All they do is slow ya down!

 

Got a wonderful idea.......How about picking whatever gear is required to keep the truck under control? Just an idea.

 

If you're jumping two down from what you went up in, y'all must have a pretty piss poor jake!

 

More often than not, I will come down the same grade one or two gears higher than I pulled it or at least in the same gear. Take donner pass for example. My truck is geared low and way underpowered. At 80,000 lbs, I climb it in either direction no lower than 7th gear doing about 28 mph. I will decend it in either direction in 9th gear doing about 45 mph with the jake and hardly touch the brakes. I don't smoke them and i'm about the slowest truck coming down. Alot of the drivers burning brakes don't have it in a low enough gear to hold it back or any gear at all and alot of them are scared to shift on a grade.

 

Ain't nothin scary about shifting on a downgrade...unless you miss.

 

That's why I always wear roller skates when I drive so I can bail at any time. Never had to use them but if Wile E Coyote can us them with a rocket on his back it should work for me!

 

Here is a story of my problem going down hill. My brakes never failed, however you have to take care of them.
I posted this on another thread in this forum.
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My first trip after the speed limiter was set, going through the mountains in West Virginia. During the night in patchy fog areas trying to pass a few “B Trains” for the past mile or so, cruising around 60Mph at 1,400rpm with 80,000 pounds. Next thing I noticed I was doing 65mph. What I did not notice is that I was going downhill. I shifted to a lower gear by splitting my 12 and 13 gear. I applied my Jake brakes to “Full Engine Assist”. Then I noticed a sign “Truck 45MPH”

I knew that I need to get my speed under control I started to “Jab” on my brakes.
By this time my speedometer was reading 70mph in a 45mph zone. I passed another sign with the same warning. I repeatedly jabbed my brakes trying to get down to 60Mph. Finally I scrubbed enough speed to attempt to take the transmission into 12th gear. I pushed the clutch in just enough to release the strain on the transmission. I shifted, I think I turned pale as a ghost, my Jake kicked out and my engine rpm dropped,“I missed my shift”. I looked at my RPM’s “600” I stepped on the accelerator and nothing; the RPM’s would not climb. “Thank you Mr. Politician who never sat behind a wheel of a truck.

I turn on my 4 way flashers and start flashing my high beams. On the CB I hear “Hwy 19N runaway truck clear all lanes”. Just then I realized that they were talking about me. I must have passed 4 or 6 trucks that were pulling over to the shoulder. I looked at my speedometer, needle pointing at 100mph. Kept jabbing the brakes to scrub of some speed, however my air compressor is having a hard time keeping air pressure above 80psi. Now I have to get off the brakes until she builds up pressure over 100psi.

During corners I’m having a hard time keeping my truck in the lanes. I even passed 2 cars that were in the fast lane, I guess flashing high beams and 4 way flashers and blaring air horns means nothing to them. I realize that the brakes are not as affective; I have to hold them longer before I release them. Couple of times I looked at the yellow knob and wondered.

All I kept hearing on the CB was “Did he make it?” After 4 or 5 miles I could see the end of the downhill with a long straight away before you start climbing again. When I hit the straight away my truck was doing 125Mph. I coasted to a stop on the uphill climb. I applied mybrakes and climbed out of the cab. My legs were like rubber, I could barely stand. Few of the trucks that I passed came up behind me came over to me. After 20 min of truck inspection I was back on the road heading home.

I travelled down this highway many times and I knew what was coming up. However with the fog and driving during the night I did not see the first few warning signs. I don’t know how I could miss these signs. I think they were blocked by those “B Trains” I was passing.
This was 100% my fault, I made a mistake, we all have. If I was not governed I could have brought the rpm’s over 2000 easily and grab a lower gear. Problems solved.
However by limiting my truck they took away my tool to slow down the truck. The new law is absurd; it endangers people in the trucks and those around us. They should enforce the law by penalizing drivers that break the speed limit laws. In Ohio if you go over by 2mph in the truck they fine you, I speak from experience.
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Crawling undearneath for a look is great advice since most drivers don't.
Having said that, even if you look at the shoes and they have plenty of life left in them and no cracks the best advice is every 50,000 miles take the drums off and have a good look.
Every 50,000 miles we inspect our brakes, on one occasion I took off the drums on a perfectly good looking shoes with about 60% life left in them from outside.
When I removed the drum there was no life in them at all. The brake shoe had cracks everywhere, in some places there were gaps the size of a 1/4 coin.