Going downhills advice needed.

The key is to use steady, light pressure...I usually never apply more than 10 PSI to the pedal. The brakes will get warm but not hot. If you can smell them when you stop then you were on them too heavy.

 

Myself I am a relatively new driver. The company i drive for VERY well mainatained and new tractors (5 year leases and new ones come in). Right now i am in a 2007 Freightliner Culumbia with the mercedes engine and a 10 sp auto box, with a manual mode and a padle shifter. Now, the mercedes engine in this one anyway, is gutless and the jakes are 2 position and very quiet, (can be used in slightly more dense neighborhoods then others). However what mercedes did to make the jakes quieter is put a pressure release valve on each engine cylinder which takes away compression, but intern makes the jakes practicaly useless when i am loaded with more than 30 000lbs (i'm usuallu around 42000 to 45000lbs load). Now i run northeast US, the steepest grade i encounter is 6% less than 3 miles long with obviously snow and ice uring the winter. If i crest the top at 60 mph i have to brake about 6 times on the way down...not cool. Last week, blowing snow and patchy ice. I put it in manual mode jakes on high (again really not strong at all on this model), drop it down to a medium 6th gear or low rpm 7th, four ways, and ride her down i might slow with the brakes once near ish' the bottom with smooth steedy brake pressure and no longer than 5 sec. which in my application drops me down about 5 mph. On clear roads jakes on high drop 1 gear to 9th, 5 sec rule smooth brake once or twice to keep from going over 70 mph (if we go over 70 we get a violation from our company, besides it's just not safe!!!). Learn your rig not comfortable slow down more next time, forget what he truckers say on ch 19 lot's of cb rambos when they are behind you. Like i said for you to be comfortable. Don't wanna read about you!

 

Last I heard, you were better off with steady light pressure, since the brakes get hotter faster with intermittent harder applications, and don't cool off appreciably during the brief periods of release.
Also - 4-ways on a moving vehicle are illegal in California (officer discretion). I know, mandatory in some other states under certain speeds . . .

 

Methinks that to err on the side of caution is the way to go. Tis true ... you can go too slow many times but too fast only once. The last time I saw a big truck take it too fast ... the truck and drivers and cargo were spread out over more than a quarter mile of highway ... didn't even look like a truck anymore ... and the smell of diesel was everywhere ... he couldn't make it to the runaway ramp ... not pretty!

 

I had a driver behind me going through the gorge in NC complain I was going too slow with my tanker . I was going a steady 40 m.p.h. You don't keep braking and accelerating with a tanker . I told him he could watch me take curves 2 m.p.h. too slow and get through 5 minutes later than he wanted or watch me take one 2 m.p.h. too fast and be there all night .

 

You're right Rick ... the only safety out here is the safety that YOU make!

BTW ... love that Bible verse. It was true way back when and it's still as true today as yesterday. Guess the truth just don't change that much, no matter how hard some folks try to put a spin on it.

 

Why is it that i figured this out with no problem?

 

Don't forget the patchy ice and blowing snow .......................................

 

Or the 0-1 Year experience ............................................

I think I know this guy!!!!