I70 Eisenhower smoke fest

Especially with an automatic transmission there is no reason to be smoking ur breaks anymore. I could see why companies use them becsuse they are about as close to idiot proof as u can get but obviously still not quite there.. Ive never had a break fire but i would think pulling over would be a bad idea, i always thought if that happened to me i would ride it out , wouldnt the air blowing by eventually kill the fire or would it add to it?

 

With technology on newer trucks and the fact that almost every truck anymore has a good jake, I don’t get it either. Almost have to go out of your way in some cases to screw it up...

 

Crete’s truck probably decided that it wanted to go into eco drive and coast down the hill in neutral.

 

I have a suspicion there are a lot of drivers out here that have never been taught how to use a Jake brake. What really drives me nuts is some of the mountain passes they give you a speed limit for going down a grade and it is assuming that I’m driving something from 1985 that doesn’t have a Jake break. One pass in Montana insists I do 25mph when I could safely do 60.

 

They're not using their engine brakes. Just plain stupid.
I used to take a Volvo back and forth on I70. Loaded one way. Empty the other.
Loaded I used the brakes minimally. Empty, I could go from Eisenhower, to Denver and hardly use the brakes at all. It reminded me of playing a piano duet with a partner who really knew what he was doing. Sheer pleasure.
These people don't realize. The more they use their brakes. The hotter they get.

On that Volvo. I hit the engine brake hard once. That thing shifted and upped the rpm to 2900 and braked hard. This Pete starts crying out that the engine is over revved at 2000.

 

On 470 coming out of Ohio into Wheeling today. Old century class barely moving up the hill. Come down the big hill past the ballfields he takes off and is riding the brakes. Smoke billowing. I’m at 78,000. Never touched mine. Just another airheaded driver.


Hmmmm. Is it airhead driver or airheaded driver?

 

I’m guessing it is part training, and part stupidity. Auto trucks like to upshift where there is little engine braking action.

If you are new and were never properly trained here is how you go down a grade:

Slow to the proper down hill speed before you start down and use the manual gear mode. If you went up in 8 you probably need that to go down or lower depending on conditions and grade.

Turn the jake on and select the full position. Modulate the amount of jake as you go down to keep RPM around 1500-1600. If your RPM is going past 1600 with full engine brake your gear is too high. Read the signs! If it says 35 MPH you need to gear down to 7.

If it is wet or snowing you don’t want to use much or any jake or you could lose traction and jack knife. This means you must go much slower. Don’t use jakes in a turn if it is slippery.

Too slow and you’ll lose at most a few minutes on your trip. Too fast, you and other drivers sharing the road may not make it home.

**These are examples only. Your transmission or weights and conditions may require a lower gear to stay off the brakes.

Here is a link to a flat land driver that didn’t make it home.

https://cdllife.com/2018/trucker-killed-after-plunging-more-than-100-feet-off-wolf-creek-pass/

Drive safely!

 

Duh everyone knows the proper time to use the jake is when you hit the truckstop exit ramp with your 8 inch straight stacks!