Why do trucks fail on an uphill climb?

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by DavidInPuyallup, Sep 28, 2023.

  1. DavidInPuyallup

    DavidInPuyallup Bobtail Member

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    Hello everyone,

    I live in Washington State and on my commute to work drive through an area called Tiger Mountain. If you search the internet for "semi truck tiger mountain" or similar terms you'll see some pretty gnarly stuff.

    Today on my way up to the summit (1,477ft) there was a stalled semi truck in the right lane with it's hood popped open. I'd say this happens once a week or at least a few times a month, though I don't always see it.

    What kind of things do trucks need to be aware of on the uphill and what kind of things fail? What kind of experiences have some of you had on hills?

    I could see he had plenty of transmission fluid and coolant. Sometimes the trucks are run down O/O's but today's actually looked in pretty good shape running a Walmart trailer.

    Hope this isn't a dumb question. Just looking to hear from experienced drivers on this topic.
     
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  2. DUNE-T

    DUNE-T Road Train Member

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    Hoses fail, pipes, clamps, engine overheats, turbos fail, fan clutches brake, AC pipes burst, all kinds of failures
     
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  3. Star Rider

    Star Rider Road Train Member

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  4. Last Call

    Last Call Road Train Member

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    I'am trying to figure out how you know the trans fluid level was ok just by driving by
    Even if if you stopped and looked with the hood open ??
     
  5. Last Call

    Last Call Road Train Member

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  6. Big Road Skateboard

    Big Road Skateboard Road Train Member

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    All good dude, we're used to dumb questions
     
  7. Star Rider

    Star Rider Road Train Member

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    Same way some outfits do their inspections and fill out the paperwork, from the break room.
     
  8. Phoenix Heavy Haul

    Phoenix Heavy Haul Medium Load Member

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    Because of the weight they are carrying. It places a large strain on all the moving parts having to pull those long grades hence failure happens.
     
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  9. DavidInPuyallup

    DavidInPuyallup Bobtail Member

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    Good point. I think you're right. I'm not very mechanically inclined and believe I was mistaking one of the reservoirs as transmission but it's not.

    So before you're going up hill or as you're going up hill are there certain things you worry about?
     
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  10. Big Road Skateboard

    Big Road Skateboard Road Train Member

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    Definitely. Taxes are due in a couple weeks. Been worried about them