Less than a week training headed to the Rockies

A word on PA, the grades could be run without a jake (And for many years were... my truck that I learned or was taught on 7 mountains did not have a jake.) so it's a real basic thermal battle between airflow, heat transfer and loss versus brake fade and how much you got until the bottom. If you go slow enough, you get down every time without smoking.

Milesburg on 80 (*A 10 mile drop that starts roughly snow shoe) that one fools people, it starts off pretty easy next thing you know two miles is gone and there you are at 70 with a need to slow that thing down now. It's going to smoke on you probably. You have had signs even my my time about 5 miles prior to milesburg that you have a grade coming up and to slow down and make ready for it.

The OP I think made a comment that he understood jakes in theory, well here is where you learn what they can do and cannot do. They are not super brake. (To coin a bad pun...) stay within it's limits where the truck does not pick up enough to need another gear up nor does it slow down enough to need a downshift but rather drift back and forth on the tach rather high rpm. That is where you want to be all day long at one speed all the way down whatever it may be.

If that tractor noses down and bucks like a horse wanting you off, you got way too much jake for the gear you are in and that's not good. Come off it a while. Speed and RPM's will follow you up and you might find a smoother happy ride with the jake on the next gear up.

Donner is the one grade that seems to scare kids in school. Its only 44 miles westbound down all the way. With places where you are actually told by signs to turn off the jake, stop your fuel for speed and just let her drift to gravity in that area. Gravity gives a chance to hold a reasonably stable speed with a bonus of cooling the brakes if any used prior to then. You will see signs let her drift on that particular grade, that is exactly what it means, give the rig over to gravity itself and enjoy your coffee or something.

One other thing no one has spoken about. If this is your first trip into the rockies going to say 12000 feet, be prepared for mountain sickness and also sleep apnea or oxygen starvation. All humans who have never been on a mountain high enough will need a period of time to adjust. If you start getting mountain sick, then it's needs medical care that will help you very much. There are some even higher than that.

I can sit here and type all night and day, but your first mountain will have to be done right. And then every mountain you ever cross in trucking will also have to be run right. What will work on Donner or perhaps Eisenhower or mount eagle will not work on some that are in excess of 12 to 24% downgrade. 12% is steep enough to make most people think twice about walking down. And anything beyond say 20 towards 30... or even greater extremes off road are possible. Ive encountered them all without being flipped over or rolled.

If you are given a automatic? Oh boy. Let's see. Find the manual for that particular transmission and learn the best input process to do to set up for a downgrade. The ones we had had a manual mode via a paddle where you can select a particular gear and stay in it all day if necessary. (And did...) or a mode where you selected L and allowed the truck to decide it's own jake, speed etc coming down. Somewhere between too #### fast and too slow is a sweet spot in which you are balanced.

The key is never having to use your brakes ever. That way if something does come up, break loose burn up or whatever and you have to stop right now, she'll do it for you.

And finally fear itself, you are going to have to reach deep, for a bit of moxie, and accept that fear will not control you. You will be rational and you will get down that ####### mountain one way or another.

 

You have given some really good advice hopefully op took notes.

 

Just use common sense and do it. I drove thru mountains my first week in the dark and rain. I had a trainer with me but he just let me drive. It was a little scary but not too bad. Youll be fine -

 

1991.... 8 weeks truck driving school, 2 weeks with a so called trainer and was sent to the northwest. I made it back alive no problems. For some reason I felt as if I have always been driving for a while .not over confident,it just felt natural for me. And this was in nothing more then a 1985 international cabover.... trucking is one of those things you either have it in you or you don't.

 

I agree,you either have it or you don't and having the confidence makes a huge difference..The mountains are nothing to play with.You need to know what to do in every situation and if the op does not then I reccomend not taking the load.

 

@bluguitar89 still alive?

 

hmm