Steepest grade you ever pulled or went down.....

you ain't gonna believe this --it! i was totally kidding.

 

Okay, I got that outta the way... ya know, I used to run from CA to GA ("The Big A") all the time, and the steepest grade I ever pulled was right here in Dago County. Check yer atlas, it ain't no lie... would I lie to ya??? Now, don't be too harsh with that comeback, because I hafta go do some f_____ dishes (dinner was f_____ killer, so I ain't complainin', yeah?). I do all the cookin' around here, and the grinds don't suck, "10-F______-FO'?????" ####, my gut hurts from too much positive abuse...

 

one my actual steepest grades was along us12 between some small town in montana and helena. the first time i went down it, it had been snowing all #### day. the chain law was NOT in effect, and i was NOT prepared for that long, curvy downgrade. i shat bricks when i saw the 8 1/2% warning. i made it down without incident.

another one that made me pucker in my seat was wolf creek pass for the first time. like the that one in montana, it was icy all the way down. only this time i was loaded with beer that was going to farmington, nm.

 

Okay, I don't drive an OTR truck, I run a Freightshaker, Detroit 470hp, 13 spd, 4:33 rear end, we haul logs out of pig trails. I don't know the exact grade on these but I would venture to say some are 100% or more. I have had a few I was scared my front bumper was gonna hit. I don't think that would have been fun at 15mph. I love it, it is way more fun than OTR, way more exciting. I have been through a few mud pits that weren't steep just so deep it took two skidders to get me out, one pushing and one pulling. Some days it's not worth the money, but where else can you have that much fun.

 

I'm a bit fuzzy on how that system works but this comes to mind.

 

I was trying to dodge the I-95 toll in Perryville, MD. I thought I would cut over to US-40. The road between the two was a 13% grade. Turns out US-40 was a toll too.

I been on some roads in SE Kentucky and SW Virginia that the grades were unknown but steeper than any interstate/ US highway mountain I been on. And I been on most of them. You crawl on some of them mountain roads.

 

3.14

thats Mcdonald pass........headed west it aint too bad, but coming east from elliston to helena it can be a bear

ive had to do it empty with ice and snowpack (hey, i wasn't waiting a day 20 miles form home)

o, and our chain law......if you need chains, they shut it down.....otherwise its a do as you please deal

 

I'm a student driver now, the other day we were on the way to a shipper 4 miles away. My trainer's gps said to go straight up this road. I looked at the sign which said No Trucks Over 10,000 Empty. Trainer says "we're empty, good to go" (he's got the TND Rand McNally Truck). Raining, and the hill is 21%. He says get 'er in 3rd and scream up there! About halfway up the drives started slipping and the tach was dying a fast death. He engaged the diff lock but it didn't help so I popped the brakes. He says calm down and put her in granny we're going up this hill. I was freaking out cuz I didn't want to let go of the service brake for fear of rolling back.

You guessed it, it didn't work. So I had to back all the way down the hill and make a left at intersection which caused gps to recalculate and take us to an easier route.
My whole body was shaking from that experience, he just laughed and said "welcome to truck driving".

 

That's what those 3:55 gears will do for you, 3:90 or 4:11 rear end and 13, 15, or 18 speed tranny.

 

even easier.....next time trust your first instinct

the sign should have been all you needed to know to NOT attempt it
yer dummy of a trainer could have gotten you or someone else hurt or killed
the tractor alone wieghs over 10k, and you could have, potentionaly gotton a rather large fine, a bunch of CSA2010 points and a great big, black mark on your DAC