jackrabbit379 if you only have 300 horses pulling, you don't need to pack a lunch you have plenty of time to make one.

:wink: :lol: I love pulling hills when I'm empty so I can feel like a big dog!

 

Heck I drove a truck and I knew there was a hill coming up, I had to blind fold the truck so it did not switch to reverse... Going up the mountain going into KY out of Virgina on I64 with 10,000lbs DOwn to 2nd gear. And then had to pull over and let the engine cool. But then again After blind folding it it went up Mount Eagle at 45 with 40K.

 

My 2006 Pete has 475 horses, but it is governed to 65. Company policy is that I can't go over 75 mph, even loaded going down hills. I'm usually one of the slowest out on the road. The only time it bothers me is when I try to pass and just can't quite make it, or it takes me 20 miles to get around another truck. I usually don't try unless I know I can make it easily. Sometimes, the other truck will speed up. I hate being stuck in the hammer lane with a long line of traffic behind me. ops:

 

I hate that too. Solution is to slow them down even more, and get behind the truck you were trying to pass, then wait 10 miles until you have another shot to catch him on the downhill.

However, the better solution is for the guy in the granny lane to be a man and let you over in front of him already. That happened to me today. I was riding behind the slow truck in the granny lane, because there was no point being out in the hammer lane, which just encourages fourwheelers to pass on the right, cut you off, and then run smack into the reason you were going slow.

The slower truck actually hit his brakes and let the other truck over, even though it cost him at least one gear, and probably half a mile.

I was so amazed and pleasantly surprised to see that that I keyed up my mic and thanked him for his courtesy in sacrificing a little speed to break up the logjam and get everything rolling again.

He said he was afraid to slow down because I was behind him, but he figured he would just have to risk me cussing him out in order to do what needed doing.

Instead of cussing him out, I thanked him sincerely, and I could hear in his voice that he was probably smiling broadly.

It was a nice little moment in trucking. After everything got cleared up, I grabbed the hammer lane, and did my thing, and we all lived happily for another day, and we all got where we were going without getting pissed off about anything.

I think little things like this are the embodiment of professional courtesy people.

 

Yeah, that is the decent thing to do, If I see that someone is taking a long time to pass me I will back out of it a bit to let him in. Some drivers are either just oblivious to what is going on or they just don't care,

 

Even worse, you, courteously, move over to allow a driver to enter the highway, then he will speed up not allowing you to move back over.

 

Yeah that's another one that makes me mad, I guess they don't teach these guys common courtesy in these expensive driving schools and CDL mills. As long as they are able to hold on to a steering wheel is all that matters. Newbies take note, look out for your fellow drivers.

 

Well that info on using the sane gear u came up on doesnt apply if you are going down the other side and it has a different grade. One side going up may only be a 4 per cent grade and going down the other maybe an 8 per cent,then you are way out of range.

always err on the side of caution,let the others blow by you and wave at them on the bottom when they are setting ther with there brakes smoking

 

Yep, just like a four wheeler. That's one of my biggest pet peeves. Four wheelers don't really know any better, but for a big truck to pull that crap is just inexcusable. And yeah, if someone else has a few MPH over me and moves out to get by, I back off so he's not hanging out there in the hammer lane too long. Same thing if they begin their pass at the start of a downhill. I've got nothing to prove. Rarely am I extended the same courtesy.

 

More than likely if you go up at a certain % the down side will be the same, or close to it! Take the Grapevine for example, north side is a 6% and the south is a 4% and only a 5mph difference in the truck speed, So let it go!!! Most of you would be in real trouble if you had to cross the Grapevine on old us99, now that road made a man out of YOU!!!!! If the hill is steep enough to worry about there will be signs to alert you as to the speed to descend for trucks. You know before all these good roads they have these days, we had crap to drive on and crap for trucks. What are you guys scared of??? The standard rule of thumb is still and always will be go down at the same speed you came up, PERIOD!!!!!! This rule STILL APLIES, and if you think it doesn’t, go back to the place you got your CDL and punch that son of a bitch right in the mouth because he don’t know JACK!!!! Ask him for your money back also…lol Don’t teach these new guys any different, truck brakes, and trucks have only gotten better these days! So the rest of you YAHOOOS quit putting other variables into the equation!!! YOU guys are making it harder than it really IS!!!!! That’s what you get for listening to this NEW BREED we have on our hwys these days that don’t know their as% from a hole in the ground, but HEY they did it for 3 or 5 years and they now know it all!!!...lol
Now lets talk about mtn pass in CA. No reduced speed limit for a truck and in parts you have 6% and a 17-mile down hill stretch. In other words DONT scare the newbies!!!!! Drive trucks like we had 30 yrs ago, and then worry about how you come down a hill!!!!
Why does this MSG forum make everything HARDER than it really is? I think its to make the newbies think these yahoooos really know what they are talking about, go figure….lol