Going down long steep "DOWNGRADE"

Oh dear Shesus.. Really??

You people are gonna scare the living poo out of every new driver going down a hill..lol.. They'll go down knolls at 20 MPH now..lol..

 

Usually you will climb one side of it before you can go down the other so you'll have some kind of idea of what gear you would climb it in cause you just did even though going down may be slightly steeper or slightly less steep. Lots of them will tell you what the safe speed is for the hill and this is where learning your truck and rpm ranges for shifting become very useful. My rule of thumb is if it says 55mph then I pick the gear that will be 1 lower than i would normally run 55 on flat ground if i'm heavy or the same as flat ground if I'm light. It's always better to pick a gear that too low and upshift going down or simply go down in that gear slowly, then it is pick one to high and smoke your brakes.

Old saying is you can go down a hill too slow a million times but you can only go down too fast once.

 

Yeah man downshift at the top of a long downgrade.Let your engine keep you slower and safer.Nothing worse than a runaway rig in the mountains.Not trying to be a ########,but didnt anyone ever tell you that during training?

 

awesome post, i came to basically say the same thing as i dont have jakes in my truck, but this was way more thought out! .

i wanna add one more thing though, dont be afraid to go slow, if you're on a hill or anything for that matter and the speed limit is 45 and going 45 scares you, slow down until you're comfortable! let traffic slow down behind you, let people get mad cuz the big truck is in their way of getting a latte from starbucks. if you're not comfortable, slow it down.

 

sounds like he was teaching you to drive like he does, instead of letting you learn how to drive your own way and doing it safely. maybe he likes flying down hills, i dont, i like to feel like i'm going slow so i'm in complete control. not too long ago there was a massive rain storm, could barely see 50 yards in front of my truck when all of a sudden i saw a wall of brake lights, i was going 45 in a 65 on the highway, i hit my brakes, i know theres no way in hell i can stop, i push them down harder, my wheels lock up my truck spins sideways (i drive a straight truck). my truck is in the fast lane, the slow lane, im slidding almost completely sideways down the highway. i managed to straight it out and not flip it over, or get into any accident THANK GOD. and the reason was because i slowed down to a speed where i felt 100% comfortable with what was going on. had i been going any faster i dont think i would of been able to react like i did.

 

Drive at a speed you are comfortable with. Don't listen to anybody else. Slow down at the top and control your speed going down. The slower you go the easier it is to slow down. That is, if you let the truck roll down and gain speed you will eventually have to slow that down, and if you are screaming down the hill, good luck getting it slowed down enough to remain in control all the way down.

Wait til you head down a big hill like that in the snow. Slow and gentle on the brake.

 

When you see the steep grade sign, try to get any other rigs to pass you up.

That way, they will slide out before you do and you can gauge what speed you should be doing. Just start out slow before you hit the downgrade and keep it slow all the way down, until you get your experience levels up.

 

uhhhh....walstib actually is in agreement with you if you go back and read his posts....

the first time you quote him, he was quoting another poster without using the quote button....hence his <<.......>>

walstib was taught how to shift on the downside....so he's arguing it can be done....