Stopping on Hills/Inclines

When you say sliding, I'm guessing you mean rolling a bit? Areas which get winter with snow and ice, dictate some different procedures, and experience will be the best teacher for you. Nobody will advise you to break the law, however, some of us older drivers who have hauled in the bush, on hills, etc. may "occasionally" employ procedures that are not exactly by the book, but, that's because the books weren't written for those cases. If you are pulling a load up a hill, the only way to up shift is going to be using your engine brake to quickly drop engine rpms for that next gear. This procedure typically works best with "no clutch" shifting. It is something you learn as you go on, but needs to be done right, or you will either do some driveline damage, or come to a quick stop. Same idea if you are in soft terrain, such as coming out of a gravel pit with a load in the summer. I think that trucking has always been, and will continue to be a balance of common sense procedures vs "by the book" procedures, and you will learn what works for you, depending on your level of experience and what kind of trucking you are engaged in. Hope this helps. Good luck in your career.

 

Nothing special about the exits ... just a raised ramp for the overpass. OP either has a really screwed up truck or needs a refresher course.

 

I was thinking the same thing.Not saying he's a bad driver or anything,he's probably a real good driver.But he drives for Werner which most the drivers there are fairly new and with more exp he'll know what to do in all situations.

 

I usually do ease up on the stop sign, but other posters have said that's not legal to just ease up.. until it's safe to go.

 

They said, "It's not legal". They didn't say, "NEVER do it". This is trucking and thers no such thing as NEVER and ALWAYS.

First off, that is a little grade. I don't use the hand brake to prevent from rolling backwards because some of the trailers I pull are stretch trailers. Stretch trailers, wiggle wagons and other other trailers that have exceptionally long air lines will take longer to release. Use the hand brake and you chance stalling your motor when you let off the clutch.

Secondly, if that WAS a slick road, you sure as heck do not want to come to a dead stop on an incline as you will never get her rolling again without backing down the grade to flat ground or worse, slide backwards and jack knife (that will give you a whole new religion, "OH GOD! OH GOD! OH GOD!"), so do work on your slow roll through too.

Third, 2000 rpms? You don't want to do that either. You want to use the torque of the motor, not the horsepower. That's WAY too high of an rpm. In slick conditions, high rpms will cause the wheels to spin. Best case scenario, you slide backwards downhill. Worst case scenario, you grenade your drivetrain. Refer to Guntoter's post about grenading drive trains and glazing clutches.

Not trying to be a prick, amigo...just trying to help you better your craft. Guntoter's said that it doesn't matter what engine, tranny, rear ends...whatever....and he's right. The weakest motor on the road, in granny gear will prevent an 80000 lb load from rolling backwards. Short of grenading drive trains and sliding downhill, the other bad thing that you want to avoid is slipping the clutch. Glaze your clutch over on an incline and you're done. There won't be enough friction material to make the clutch grab on a hill and you will be calling a wrecker.

(This is also why so many recommend that new drivers get quite a few years under their belts as company drivers before attempting to become an owner operator. Had an instance last year where there was a hazmat spill on interstate 81 in Virginia. The bigroad got shut down both sides. I was grossing 100000 with an 11-6 wide load. They routed all of us across US 11. I was stepping south when I came to a hill. There was a sign that said, "Trucks Use Right Lane". Unfortunately, near the top of the steep grade, some driver smoked his clutch. We all had to go around him from a dig. I dropped to my lowest gear and eased off the clutch. The clutch pulled me up. Gave her some throttle and she started climbing. Kept the rpms down around 1250-1300 and worked my way through the gears. It was slow go from a dig, but no loaded truck is going to be a rocket from a dig up a steep grade. The main thing was I didn't add to the cluster ____. And I didn't damage anything either.)

 

No think you misunderstood me.Ease up to the stop sign then stop.When taking an exit you can't exspect to keep it at a slow pace if you start slowing down after you enter the exit ramp.Some exits you have to start slowing down long before you enter the ramp.

 

This exit is not bad at all. I go there all the time from Eastbound and Westbound as the Loves is my fuel stop. You just need some more practice is all.

 

i didn't read the entire thread but modern trucks with computer controlled engine no throttle input is needed nor recommended when letting the clutch out. just go to low or 1st gear hold the break let the clutch out slowly as it starts to grab let your foot off the brake once the clutch is all the way out give it some throttle.

if i can ill just downshift to low without stopping and let it creep till its safe to go, or i run out of room to creep then i stop. its legal to do this at a stop light intersection if you slow early enough creep up till it turns green then go without coming to a complete stop, this however is illegal at stop sign intersection. but if you go to low gear its much slower than a walking pace probably less than 1mph and much easier on the truck to roll it. but as stated its not legal at a stop sign intersection. use your judgment on whats safe and acceptable.