What Happens When You Don’t Do A Brake Check In California

By the time you get to the Nyack brake check you've had enough downhill to heat your brakes a little. Not much, but some. Enough that when you're out doing your brake check if you have brakes that are out of adjustment you'll be able to tell. You can smell them and they'll be hot to the touch.
The next downhill after the brake check is called Blue Canyon, or "Airport" by the locals. It's the one that almost always catches the dumb drivers or lazy drivers that won't take the time to check their brakes. If you can make it down to Baxter without any visible smoke or fading you'll probably be alright. It's fairly easy running from there on down to Colfax and into Auburn.

Question,,,Every driver I have knows how to adjust brakes. Do some of you just not know or is it something you refuse to do or are you not allowed by your company to adjust your own brakes?

 

I hear ya. Evidently the proper way to come down a hill is now to keep less than 10 psi in application, or (not to start this argument again) stab braking and letting off.

So I'm an old fart, and I learned on a 1970 Pete with an 8V71 (with a Jake) and a 5 X 4. The owner that I worked for told me when descending a hill to always stay at a speed that I didn't need any brakes, because if something comes apart you have like one chance to get things stopped with the brakes. Equipment has improved a lot since then, but it wasn't a bad way to learn.

 

I'd say that may been the best way to learn.

That's my thought also. Let my jakes slow roll me down the hill, and if something goes wrong there, I'm not going so fast I cant stop pretty easy, and my brakes are cool.

 

Ask, read, investigate, learn. What a novel Idea!
It seems we have the experiance of the world at our fingertips. We can watch how to video, read how to articles with colored step by step pictures call almost anyone we want at anytime and from anyplace but we still have a world full of dumb #####!

I commend you on not allowing yourself to get put on that list!

 

I LIKE THESE VIDEOS regardless of AGE! I Dig The Mexican Driver w/Policia Escort!
They all have the SAME MESSAGE: USE YOUR COMMON FOR KING SENSE:
Here are 6 of the wildest runaway truck ramp videos

 

CLASSIC BUILD, FAULTY NON UPGRADED BRAKES, CITY TRAFFIC.
Narrated by Passenger:

 

That is/was my drive home almost daily. I all the time I stop at Nyack 90% of the trucks that actually stop there only do to pee. Sure some check most don't even walk to the back of the trailer. Donner is an easy hill if you think. There are a few places that don't look that steep but go for a long way, and there are usually curves near the end of them.
That is where it normally catches the too fast brakes riders. There is 3 places that most brakes fires happen funny thing it is the refers that like to light up.
Oh and that down hill before Nyack is steep and long enough that braking wrong will have your brakes needing a stop to cool down