I64 West through WV KY IN MO at night?

All I have left to tell you is this. Uphill....

There is a speed at which you can pull between say 1200 and 1600 call it 1450-1500 in a given gear. You can if you choose, put your foot down to the floor and gain speed while going uphill to try and get that next gear? (You might not have enough to stay in that next gear without lugging.... or bucking) You do not want to go upgrade at full rpm tilt unless you have no choice in the lowest gear.

Your truck should have a Pyrometer, that is your manifold temperature where the engine exhaust comes out usually it's made of steel which can take around 1400 degrees roughly. Sometimes it's aluminum that wont take much more than 900 degrees. or something else.

When you pull upgrade, you want to do it at a steady pace where you are not flat out in a given gear somewhere at a certain pace and speed and not bucking or lugging in too high of a gear. You want to roll easy up where you have power to spare. That way you are going to stay cool all the way to the top.

If you start to get too hot working too hard against a uphill, your engine oil pressure will drop first. Followed by a second gauge telling you the engine oil temperature beginning to rise above normal. Then your coolant radiator temp will start rising followed by your transmission oil temp and finally your rear axle temps rising. It's 5 or 6 different gauges in my time but they all work together in a logical systematic way to warn you there is a problem before it becomes a problem.

Solution one, take the next gear down and get between torque and horse on your RPM's and try to ease your way uphill while accepting the penalty in speed loss. The reduction will improve and make it less work for that engine, hence generating less temperature. Backing off your power will cool your pyro from 1200 down to about 800 best case scenario. You might have to go down another gear, take off the air conditioning and other hotel loads not essential to moving forward for a while and sweat a bit. Worse case scenario would be to open all your windows and shift your cab to full heat full blast. That helps cool your engine in a roundabout way, maybe enough to preserve the fluid before your computer decides things are too hot and shut you down.

It can be in the Himalayas for 9 miles up or whatever it does not matter how high and steep once you find that one gear where you can cruise uphill easy without struggling on either end of that RPM gauge. It depends on your weight and so many other factors such as altitude. You wont have the pull at 14000 feet that you will have at sea level, however today's trucks with computer support knows how to make the most of the situation around it.

The eastern mountains and the Ozarks have certain hills that are pretty dangerous here and there. As long you respect it you will live out your life in the mountains with no trouble. Now the Rockies are something else. Enjoy them when you get that far west. Some people live lives never seeing them. (And they should....)

Regarding Maryland... they did improve the western part by building and finishing I-68 interstate. Before there was a I-68 you had 40/48 and then there is Luke Maryland. Google map that little town and take a look at some of the hills around that one. At the bottom of one where there is a T intersection near there is a set of crosses covering a large house size boulder from those who were never able to make the stop at the bottom there.

 

A word on I-26. If you take it from say east of Spartansburg off I-85 going north, you really need to be careful and watch what you are doing on that one. I forget the particulars but to me I-26 in that has a cut through the mountains that a way where it's essential not to be stupid as you thread the road...

I keep thinking of another mountain in VA, I forget exactly where it is but it is above 64 and below 68 where it's two lanes squeezed together for 7 miles westbound. You cannot screw up going over that one. I'll spend some time to google map that area and see of I can locate that one. I spent a awful lot of time on several winters on that one daily in the ice and had some trouble because people around me screwed up...

Finally there is a section of mountains in Far eastern TN and far western VA, as a child that road was open to travel with it's tunnels back then. Now it's completely closed to all traffic and essentially a national park slowly rotting away with those tunnels still in place. You do NOT want to take a big truck onto that particular patch at any time. There is no room or reason to. You will find signage near there warning you away from that particular routing. I think they actually physically removed the direct interchanges connecting that one so no one can go through that area now.

 

They sound pretty green, so I actually thought it was a viable option.

What would your advice be?

Today - Joplin to Fulton, AR. Do I run I49 S to US71? No. I'll run to Fort Smith, over to Little Rock, and back west on I30. More miles, less time, no little towns, stop lights, intersections, wear on my equipment, potential load shifts, and on and on.

 

My only thought is. Might as well get on the steep hill now and get a feel for it before the slippery stuff comes down.

 

Actually it'll be 6.75 x2.

 

Trailer brake. Only useful for checking bake lights and tug testing the fifth wheel and sliding tandems. Brakes are designed to work together. Just activating the trailer brakes is a good way for therm to get hot and no longer work.

Another rule of thumb: anyone suggesting to use the trolley going down a hill is a freaking idiot and you should ignore any "advice" they have to offer.

 

Really not that dont listen to people's bull! Run that road all the time aint nothung to it ! Judt use coomon sense!

 

Might be thinking 77 !

 

Yeah you only hit 2 toll booths on I64.... I64 comes in about 15 miles north of 1st toll.

 

It is nothing to it yes. For you and me. But for newbies, you never know if they have any mountain experience. and Usually when that 40 ton comes over the top too fast due to inexperience trouble follows.

I remember my very first time on Savage. And that was during trucking school. The instructors learned all they needed then and went to work on me.