What are your thoughts on automatic vs manual transmissions?

How do I measure my brake usage to know I'm only giving them 10PSI?

That's a new concept on me.

 

A lot of trucks have brake application gauges. I have truck and trailer in this one.

 

I'm not sure, but I believe that @Hammer166 spends the majority of his time in and out of the Rockies and has been doing so a long time. That doesn't make him automatically correct, but it should make one want to read what he writes carefully and ponder what he is saying.

I will run the engine up to 2100 on occasion, and my engines are rated to do so. I much prefer to run in the 1800 to 2000 range - road conditions permitting - so that I have some room to play with prior to the engine being at rated rpm.

I will use brakes to control speed and keep my speed higher on short hills where I can see the bottom and if there is much likelihood of having to come to a complete stop or drastic slowdown.

When loaded we are usually in the 95K to 140K weight range on seven axles. I have a retarder as well as Jakes which allows faster decent speeds as well as some insurance should the Jakes quit, and I try not to run quite as fast as the engine will hold without using brakes on longer hills.

A couple of years ago I was hauling an excavator off of Togwotee Pass coming down the west side. Not terribly steep or long for that matter, but long enough. I was proceeding at a speed in which I needed no brakes to maintain that speed. About a 1/4 mile from the bottom after coming around a corner there was a construction sign indicating a flagman ahead. I started slowing down and downshifting using as little brake as possible to come to a complete stop prior to the bottom of the hill. I had no problems stopping, but my brakes were heating quite a bit (and I cringed having to sit there holding the brakes while hot until we were allowed to go). Had I been going down the entire hill with 10 psi of brake pressure my speed would have been faster and I would likely have had all brakes smoking by the time I got stopped. Now granted, on an 80K gross load this would not have been as much of an issue, but the thought process here is the same:

It is not wise to be using all the engine braking power you have AND what you believe is an acceptable amount of brakes (10 psi) for long durations on long grades, because you have then already consumed a portion of your available braking power (the heat created during braking at 10 psi despite not being overheated), and your total stopping distance (oh #### moment) will be considerably longer, if you can stop at all.

I believe that is what @Hammer166 was getting at, but thought I would add an experience of mine to help provide additional input.

 

It's an optional gauge on the truck. The trucking company that trained me runs out west. Every truck had this Applied Brake Pressure gauge. The more pressure you put on the brake pedal the more pressure the gauge would show. That's how they trained all the drivers. It nice to have because you know if your at top of mountain and have 15 PSI on the brakes. Then you need to go slower because You are making more heat then the drums can handle.

 

Oh. That explains my "you're too poor to have a gauge here" blanks.

 

Thanks for explaining it. I have never driven a truck with such a gauge, so I was unaware such a thing existed.

 

This thread went s.i.d e.w.a.y.s fast.

 

You are correct in snow and ice it will to the same thing and that would be very bad. It probably would cause a jackknife. The another part of my training was when on snow and ice or slippery roads. We turn off the cruise control and the engine brakes. We have to drive down the mountain with just the regular brakes.

 

We can still keep the thread about automatic and manual transmission. I like the automatic transmissions. I think the technology will benefit more drivers. Some drivers will always like manual transmissions, and not much that can fail on manual transmission.

 

Back in the olden days when engine brakes were almost unheard of and the interstate hwy, system wasn,t quite as developed as now you were just as likely to be crossing tall mountains on narrow state or county roads as an interstate hwy, which meant you were likely to be going down that grade at a much slower speed than you would be nowadays. The method usually used was to slow the truck down to five mph or slower depending on circumstances, choose a gear that would keep the rpm in the middle to high range, apply 10psi to trailer brakes with the trolley valve, and use the foot brake lightly occasionally to prevent over speeding the engine. This was often done at about the speed that a person could walk down that mountain. With modern equipment and roads I don,t think anyone teaches these methods anymore.