Mountain Driving Tips

yup I can believe it ...there are alot of drivers that still do that crap too.....the jake breaks are your friend!!!!!

 

That is a death wish is what that is.

Yeah, you are going to have to slow way down, expecially if you are heavy.

What company is running trucks with out a jake?

 

YOU DONT HAVE JAKES WTF no engine brake or nuthin wow yeah use your engine hell find a way around it I dont know, jut make sure you start at the top very slowly and I mean VERY slowly and put your 4 ways on too. without jakes you are gonna heat up the rpms pretty #### quick going down any kinda grade be careful

 

I am with a small company right now. We have three columbia's with no jakes and I have been in one for almost a year. But I usually slow way the heck down and go down in 4th or 5th gear. I hope to go with another company soon after I get my year in OTR.

 

yeah man get out of there when you can, there is no excuse for not having a critical safety device on a truck like that and sending you out to the mountains to play

 

no doubt driver...I mean my century had some crappy jakes on it ...they didnt hold for love nor money...I always took Mt Eagle in 9th gear so I could keep the rpms from smoking the engine but I cooked my brakes a couple of times

 

I agree with the slow approach answer. Go down the mountain and low gear and don't worry about the other guy's passing you up, you're building your confidence and knowledge of what your truck can handle. Then next time you go through there if you feel comfortable use the next higher gear for that posted speed.

I've gone down so many hills a little too slow and been passed with extreme malice by super truckers who only 200 yards past me are riding their brakes trying to slow enough to grab a lower gear, at the bottom of the hill you can smell the burning brakes hanging in the air from all the trucks speeding down in the wrong gear.

Saw a truck at the agriculture/point of entry I-5 northern California parked on the side with all his brakes smoking away... Saw a truck burning after his brakes caught fire coming down Donner into California I-80W. Saw another one burned to the ground eastern Oregon.

There's that 3 second trick they teach for going downhill. Like if you want to go down at 45 miles per hour, you would let it get to 45 then apply the brakes for about 3 seconds to get it down to 40 then let it build up to 45 again and repeat.

Most of the time you will be offered a clue as to when to shift to a lower gear before the downgrade. It will be a sign showing a picture of a truck pointing downhill on top of a hypotenuse triangle.

If you were sleeping and missed that sign as you went by and you're still in high gear, start working your brakes sooner rather than later to get your speed under control. There's that old saying never shift on the downhill. I don't recommend it either unless you KNOW what you are doing. And that is simply getting the speed lower than the next gear requires to be put in. I have an 8 speed so I know I could get it in 7th at 55 but for downhill I wouldn't try it until less than 50. So if somehow the truck is approaching 60 downhill and I'm like oops I forgot to downshift back there, I would use the 3 second trick to get it down to about 55 let it ride up to like 58 and reapply to get down to 53 now, let it ride up to 56 then brake down to 51 let it ride to 54 then brake to 49 and so you see try to create a net loss in speed without overheating the brakes so I could safely shift to 7th and breathe a sigh of relief. Occasionally really steep hills might require one or two more downshifts so you just keep doing that til you get the gear you want. Let the brakes cool before setting them with the tractor control valves in the cab.I've heard of them seizing up when they've been set and allowed to cool.

 

My first time into denver the jakes were acting up and not staying on. I slowed way down at one point the signs said 45 I was at 25 a bear pulled in behind me and I thought I was toast he went all the way down and followed me to the truck stop I needed to dry my pants. he came up asked if I was ok and said he realized what was goin on and just wanted to commend me for being extra careful. so slow is the way to go.

 

I saw someone saying their carrier suggested top gear minus grade percentage for selecting a gear to go down without a jake. Say a 10-speed on a 7% grade... 10-7=3. Go down in 3rd gear. Hey... before the 60's there was no such thing as a jake!

BTW... get geared down BEFORE you start down the grade. Once you're past the flat before the grade, its too late. At that point you're committed - you need to ride it down in the gear you have. Yeah, folks with some experience can downshift - but it's dangerous. If you miss the gear, you're on a rocketship ride down!

Definitely watch your speed coming down. Many passes are long (Vail, Eisenhower, Mt. Vernon Canyon) - and some have sharp curves at the bottom. If you're on your brakes all the way down they can fade, leaving you with nothing at the bottom. Watched Western Express roll one day coming down the north side of Monteagle too fast with a load of Bud - they're usually 45,000 lbs - hit a curve toward the bottom, came off of the hammer lane crash wall, and ended up on his side on the next reverse curve.

Don't be afeared of using one of those "runaway truck ramps." It means a ticket, but it will save your life.

 

RaiderFan --

Back when trucks were less mechanically reliable, compression brakes had yet to be invented, and county and state highways were it, steep descents were definitely an adventure.

Between the maximum grade limit of Interstates and modern trucks there isn't too much to worry about anymore, though. It is definitely POSSIBLE to get into trouble, but you almost have to try. Just slow down BEFORE you START down, and never---ever---let your speed increase too much during the descent. Energy increases as the *square* of velocity, and every excess joule of it will have to be dissipated by mechanical means to bring your speed back under control. (Graphed, it looks like a population growth curve... a gentle rise, then an "elbow" and a near-vertical line. Stay on the gentle rise and below the elbow, and you'll be fine.)

Mechanical problems can always happen during a descent, of course, but with well maintained & inspected equipment are rare.