Runaway Ramp...

you all gotta realize the advance in equipment and especially Jakes today. Far more control than in the past with older equipment. You got alot better stuff to work with now days than just a few years ago. Saw the guy on Fancy Gap too. Lesters road svc was there when I came by. Who knows what was what. Seen drive shafts let go. Output shafts on transmissions snap . Bout a million things coulda gone wrong. Hand was by the side of the rig when I saw him. Thats all that matters. Things go wrong but he got to go home. Thats all that counts in the end.

 

Hi plow boy, good point. Modern engine brakes , that actually work, and better brake material, even disc brakes, make it a different world now. Think in the old days, no jakes, no piggy back brakes. It took real skill not to have your brakes fade from under you, (drums get so hot, they expand, and the travel of the brake shoes doesn't contact the drum) and they rode it out, if they were lucky.

 

i "heard" DOT fines you for using the runaway ramp and its not cheap ($2,000 or more)

 

There's more governed rigs on the road today but a hill is a hill

 

Hi EZX, doesn't surprise me, there is no free lunch. Considering the alternatives, that $2000 (plus the towing bill, I'm sure) would be pretty cheap.

 

Hey if the driver is still alive to pay the fine, he has no complaint coming. Let's face it, if a truck has to use that ramp, 99% of the time, (or better,) it is because the driver made a mistake, somewhere along the line. Of course there can be equipment failure, but a good pretrip at the start of is drive, and a brake check at the top of the hill will eliminate the majority of that.

 

Yet mechanical failures can happen no matter how well a truck is inspected. I would imagine most problems on step grades comes for lack of experience. I always hated that 1st trip down a steep grade, after that I was comfortable with it for I knew what I was facing. Of course to day with most having jakes that makes it much easier and safer.



dca spoke about governed rigs, I recall years ago another hand & I were going up I-5 and a 4 wheeler had just passed asked us on the CB, "I though all truck were governed and could not run those MPH."


I replied to him, "I though governors were head of the states not 18 wheelers. Yet my truck does have a governor, yet it only effect the RPM's, not the MPH."

 

Exactly. I can run 70+ in my rig, but I gotta have a hill. Your speed isn't restricted, just how much fuel you can give the engine.

 

hey semi, you mighty right about the drums expanding out. Been along time since I had that happen and thats a good thing. On the long side of Buckner Gap over on I-26, I had one about get away one time. I got stooped by the NC DOT at the top of Sams Gap and weighed but I wasnt heavy ( for once). I was in a spare truck with a little Detroit in it. I rolled off Sams Gap checked around the curve at the bottom and let her roll to get up to the top of Buckner. Started down grade and put it in the same gear I always used with the Jake on high. I got along fair but it wasnt holding back the best. Time I got most of the way down I got worried it was gonna overspeed. Man that thing was screamin. Some reason or another she didnt have a Johnny bar . I got her slowed down and saw a little brake smoke comin off the trailer. I let off and made one more application and the tractor brakes showed some smoke too. I knew I could ride it out I didnt want to damamge the engine. About that time the ol DOT officer come up in the left lane beside me got even with the cab, looked up at me with a big grin and shook his head. He eased on by me and I got to the bottom without incident. The brakes had gotten warm enough to fade a little but it wasnt really that bad. I put on a real show for that DOT. Bet he thought what an idiot. I saw pretty quick why none of the other boys ever took that rig acroos there. It probably hadnt had an overhead in 200,000 miles and they were afraid it would run away. After that I abandoned the one gear lower than the gear you came to the top in rule and used at least two gears lower to drop down grade in that ol trap.

 

Out in California once going down a step grade a CHP was coming up the other side and I was holding it back to keep from getting a speeding ticket going faster than California's stupid 55 MPH and some smoke was coming from my trailer brakes.

The CHP got on his CB telling me. "Hey trucker, get off those brakes and go on down that mountain," I did and all was well.