Can You Shed Some Light On Mountain Driving In Slippery Conditions?
Topic 864 | Page 1
Just wanted some valuable advice from experienced truckers on some procedures for keeping the tractor trailer under control in bad conditions going down hills and grades. Rain, ice, sleet, snow etc. I know you can't use the jake brake but it's tempting at times when you start going faster than you're comfortable with. If so, can you provide and example or two just so I can get an idea of what to do and what not to do in downhill situations where the weather is unfavorable. Thanks.
For one,no matter the weather condition, you should never ever go faster than you comfortable with. The key to driving in bad weather is to slow down if you must drive at all. In a perfect world if the weather is really bad you shutdown but you can not always do that for one reason or another. Take your time and manage the space around your truck.
I know this is just general advice but really its hard to say do this and do that cause no two situations are ever the same.
The procedures for going down mountains on slick roads as opposed to dry roads aren't radically different. The main two differences are to take it more slowly on slick roads and use your foot brake for most, if not all of the braking instead of the jake brakes.
The jake brake restricts the engine exhaust which puts back pressure into the cylinders and pushes against the pistons, slowing the speed of the engine. Therefore, the braking force to the tires only goes to your drives and not your steer or trailer tandems. Putting too much braking force on a limited set of tires makes them more prone to breaking loose from the pavement which is why you want to be careful using jakes on slick roads.
So just slow down further and rely on your foot brake for most, if not all braking on slick descents.
Tandems:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
New Reply:
New! Check out our help videos for a better understanding of our forum features
Preview:
This topic has the following tags:
Safe Driving Tips
Why Join Trucking Truth?
- The High Road Training Program
- The High Road Article Series
- The Friendliest Trucker's Forum Ever!
- Email Updates When New Articles Are Posted
Apply For Paid CDL Training Through TruckingTruth
Did you know you can fill out one quick form here on TruckingTruth and apply to several companies at once for paid CDL training? Seriously! The application only takes one minute. You will speak with recruiters today. There is no obligation whatsoever. Learn more and apply here:
TT On Facebook
Just wanted some valuable advice from experienced truckers on some procedures for keeping the tractor trailer under control in bad conditions going down hills and grades. Rain, ice, sleet, snow etc. I know you can't use the jake brake but it's tempting at times when you start going faster than you're comfortable with. If so, can you provide and example or two just so I can get an idea of what to do and what not to do in downhill situations where the weather is unfavorable. Thanks.