Ice/Snow question regarding an automatic trans down steep grades

What does your manual say?
Do you have one?
Have you read it?

 

Don't ride them. Heating up your brakes is never a good idea. Go even slower if necessary and stab break would be better.

 

Maybe just shut it down before you get in that situation, especially if you plan to stab the brakes in icy/snowy conditions.

 

Slow it down to a very low gear in manual mode so you dont need the jakes... Many moons ago trucks didnt have jake brakes... You just have to go down hill very slow, much slower than you would with a Jake brake.

 

Hold it.

Before anyone gets unnecessarily confused and in too deep over braking, If you have a truck with NO jacobs on or NO retarders and similar devices (Yes Virginia there are several ways...) Consider the following.

Rapid or stab braking. I used it a few times, for example on US 15 south when a car north of Gettysburg in the light rain got impatient because I am doing a slow to stop at the white line on the intersection, it will be a minute. Or even better change to green and I keep moving switching from crawling to skipping gears to get going. Well this car blatantly pulled in front of my lane at my white line sat there too #### long looking at me. Figures I was going to hit the #### thing. (Classic Nova Muscle car early 70's) I was applying a steady 12 pounds air application. (According to one of many gauges all over the cab) I went ahead and added 5 more pounds of steady pressure with intent of stopping.

The tires promptly broke traction with the concrete plated wet surface And tried to fold my 18 wheeler viciously and with violence. (Jackknife tractor kind aggravated by a sliding trailer going straight ahead on a curve to boot... if that does not give you a headache i don' what will.

I immedately hopped off my brakes. Waited two heart beats for all tires to reconnect and start rolling, no power added still in gear almost lugging (Empty anyway, so much horsepower you could walk off in 7th of 9 from a light if you chose)

I transition to rapid application stab braking as fast as I could do it while sawing the cabover wheel back and forth very violently and fast. She would reach halfway through the jack knife get traction then violently jack knife the other with lakes of water under my wheels at 27 degrees. Liquid water mind you over ice below. Not welcome.

I managed to get her stopped all bent and crooked across that intersection which probably has been rebuilt since then.

That is a stab braking incident.

Today's ABS systems replicate that action way faster than any human can do and works well. All you do is put the service brake on the floor and wait. Once the big time buzzing kicks in along with the big light for ABS you can maintain braking pressure and now work on steering you rig away from, through, or around the danger that threatens you the most.

 

I have found that the steer tires do not have much traction in slick snow and ice.
What do you do when you can not steer?

I guess your can either pray for a miracle, or have had the sense to be parked before that happened.



Truck tires are NOT designed for snow and ice.

 

To tell you that ECM settings can’t e changed is not true. There are a lot of parameters that can be adjusted in ECM. It is not hard, just takes a computer, software and a connecting cable. Someone that knows what they are doing can change these in a matter of minutes. They ether can’t or don’t want to do anything.

 

I always have my steers siped, drives too for that matter, gives them much better traction in snow or ice.
Now you will probably laugh at this, but I drive my log truck on one lane woods roads up and down hills with slow speed switch back curves, most driving on these is 25 mph or less, snow or not.
When my front end is sliding on a curve, which is regular as rain, I hit the jake for just a second, it throws more weight on the steer just long enough to get it turned. DO NOT hit the brakes, when the steers are sliding or you need to turn.