[newbieTrucker]

can anybody send me a post about hill driving such , as proper techniques for
ascending and descending on hills.

[terrylamar]

Originally Posted by newbieTrucker

can anybody send me a post about hill driving such , as proper techniques for
ascending and descending on hills.

Every hill is different. You have to keep it in the proper gear. Only experience will tell you what is the proper gear. Always err on the side of caution. The worst that will happen going up hill is you will stall out, just turn on your 4-ways and start over. Hopefully, no one will run into you. Down hill is a different story. You can kill yourself and wreck your truck easily. Down shift before you need to, it is much easier than after you need to. Watch other truck around you, just remember there are supertruckers out there, or others watching you to see how they should do it.

[Skywalker]

General rule of thumb is that you descend a hill in the same gear you climbed it, or 1 gear lower. If you are coming off of a plateau and see downhill warning signs that indicate a percentage of slope....say 6%, you should be decelerating quickly and downshifting to a safe speed and gear to descend that slope. Often times there will be truck speed limits on down slopes posted and will even be posted according to truck gross weight amounts.

Never treat climbing or descending hills or mountains in a cavalier manner.... that can lead to a lot of trouble. When climbing a hill....do not allow your rpm to drop too much that you will not be able to downshift and maintain momentum. Stalling on an upgrade with a real heavy load "sucks" bad, and if you do.....your main goal at that point is to get moving with 4 ways on and heading for the shoulder because you are at that point little more than a stationary target until you can get up to some decent speed.

There is much to this subject.

[Roadhog]

General rule of thumb is..whatever gear you needed going up...is the gear you need going down. Be extra careful on your hills and off ramps. As a beginner...it's better you be too slow than too fast. You will do just fine..if you follow the signs...like speed limits. Those signs are mainly for commercial traffic. How many times have you seen a sign on the corner that said 45 mph....but in your car...it seemed too slow. Well...it may not be too slow for a big top heavy Truck. With some loads...that posted speed limit might be a tad bit fast. It's still up to you the Driver to know your limitations.

Off ramps can be very deceiving....a posted 25 mph...MEANS 25 mph. :shock: Even if you do negotiate the ramp faster...what is it doing to the product you are hauling? You might open your doors one day and find a big mess. You might remember that off ramp then. :lol:

On the mountain grades...I down-shift and up-shift as I am going. I use my Jake brake on full...and sometimes ass the downgrade changes...I flip to 2/3 or even 1/3 Jake...and back....instead of changing gears.

But when I first got acquainted with hill travel...I was a real slug. Other Driver's will fly around you maybe...but so what. They all took it easy at first too. Even still...it depends on you, your truck, your load. I've seen seasoned Driver's going real slow. There are no rules. :? ....except the general rule of thumb. :lol:

[Roadhog]

:lol: Awwah...Skywalker...you beat me to the post. I type in a lower gear than you. :evil: :lol:

[Jackrabbit379]

Well, it all depends. I always drool when a cow truck in a shiny, lit up Pete blows my doors off. If youre like them, and you got a 550 kitty,18 speed, aint no hill for a high stepper :P
On the other hand, if youre a poor feller like me in a SYSCO truck with a 300(if that many horses)come-apart, pack a lunch. :P

[Roadhog]

Originally Posted by Jackrabbit379

Well, it all depends. I always drool when a cow truck in a shiny, lit up Pete blows my doors off.

Isn't that how hamburger got invented? :?


I don't wait until Friday night (or a full moon) to start in with the BS. :lol:

[Jackrabbit379]

Originally Posted by Jackrabbit379

Well, it all depends. I always drool when a cow truck in a shiny, lit up Pete blows my doors off.

Originally Posted by roadhog

Isn't that how hamburger got invented? :?

roadhog, ya lost me on that one. :|

[terrylamar]

Originally Posted by Jackrabbit379

roadhog, ya lost me on that one. :|

These speed demon wrecking and the cows being torn to shreds, in other words, hamburger.

[Jackrabbit379]

Originally Posted by terrylamar

These speed demon wrecking and the cows being torn to shreds, in other words, hamburger.

Thank ya Terry for the come back.
I got it. In other words, DUH! :? :lol: