TForce | Feeder School Mountain driving

Started feeder school last week. Very intense week. On day 4 we did mountain driving. I'm doing school in Denver, so my instructor drove up I-70 to the Eisenhower tunnel and then pulled over and handed it to me. I got to drive back down the mountain. As you come into Denver you have to run down a 6% grade for about 6 miles. Intense.

I was a little surprised by the braking technique they teach. The way you do it is to get into a low gear and then instead of stabbing brakes they want you to lightly ride brakes all the way down. My instructor did it on a steep grade on the way up the mountain and pulled over to smell the brakes. They were just fine. I did it on the way down and while I didn't smoke the brakes, I could smell them a little. Instructor wasn't to worried. Needed to come down one more gear and ride the brakes a little lighter. Is this a new way to brake?

Not really new, just a different technique. When I first started driving I worked for a company that ran the lower 48 and Canada and none of their trucks had jakes. We were taught this method and the explanation was that with a light brake application constantly you were easier on the brakes overall than stabbing repeatedly to keep the truck under control. It also keeps air from being introduced into the equation which is the third factor needed for a brake fire. We had a brake application air-pressure gauge and it seems like with proper gear selection, the engine fan switched on, and 4 or 5 lbs. of application pressure the steep grades out west were no trouble at all.

Just remember at the top when you start your decent the easiest way to keep a truck under control on a mountain grade is to not let it get out of control in the first place and you'll do fine. Congratulations on your new job and I wish you the best of luck with Big Brown.

Good luck on your feeder job Brown67. These two brake techniques have pros and cons. The stabbing method I think is the "new" way but at times I do not feel comfortable with it. The thinking is if you have one wheel braking more than all the others then the old method will overheat the one brake and you have a fire. While stabbing will cause all the brakes to work hard for a short period and won't over work one. Like dinosaur said we were always tought that you did not want air to get in between the linning and the drum. I think that's how I read it. ANYWAY just remember, do not let the cowboy that runs up on your bumper cause you to change your down hill descent. Like they say in racing you drive the track not the guy behind you. You can go too slow a hundred times but you can only go too fast once.
I drive on hills here in VA and WV and use both techniques that work well while you guys in Colorado drive real mountians! Good Luck.

I learned the hard way about stabbing coming in to Cumberland Md. As far as real moutians what some of them western states take 6 mile to come down West Va cuts it down to 2 mile.

I went through mountain driving training for C-F in early 60s and they taught the hold 10psi brake pressure all the way down with right gear also. Passes in Mt. and Id. then were all two lane so they also taught to chain right front steering tire which is unheard of now I would think. Chained drives and rear pup also to keep unit straight supposedly ???

Pigman 440 said:

I went through mountain driving training for C-F in early 60s and they taught the hold 10psi brake pressure all the way down with right gear also. Passes in Mt. and Id. then were all two lane so they also taught to chain right front steering tire which is unheard of now I would think. Chained drives and rear pup also to keep unit straight supposedly ???

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Them wedge brakes got hot real fast.

Hey Brown67 - I sometimes run to Trinidad Co via the Raton Pass, 13 miles of slick this time of year. I prefer the method you were taught, drop a gear or 2 and lightly apply the brakes on the way down. Much better than stabbing especially on ice or snow. You tend to pick up speed between stabs ...