Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/44411
SMART DRIVING MAX KVIDERA Mountain high Steep grades require patience, judicious use of brakes and proper gearing T he old trucking say- ing is you can go down a hill a million times too slow but you can only do it once too fast. Speed is one key factor driving professionals say you must keep in mind to successfully pull loads Kurt Grote Nate McCarty up and down steep grades. Driving slowly might get you some dirty looks from motorists — but you vastly im- prove your chances of making your delivery every time and reducing the wear and tear on your rig. Four truckers who have experienced wheeling through Western mountain passes offer their suggestions on stay- ing safe when elevations rise and fall. They are Kurt Grote, an owner-operator leased to John Christner Truck- ing and one of the participants in Freightliner's Truck- er Slice of Life program (http://sliceoftruckerlife.com); Fred Jones, an owner-operator leased to Davis Transport; Nate McCarty, a driver for ABF in Denver and a captain of America's Road Team; and Brett Tobin, an owner-opera- tor with his own authority from Medford, Ore. 30 TRUCKERS NEWS NOVEMBER 2011 Brett Tobin If your truck is struggling to pull a heavy load uphill, veteran truckers advise shifting down a gear to reduce strain on the engine and fuel use. GEARING Jones: If my truck is struggling to pull the load uphill, I'll drop down a gear. It pulls easier and you use less fuel. You're pulling a little slower but you're not maxing out the engine on horsepower. You have a little leeway if you come to a steeper climb, because you have more power to pull without shifting gears. When I top the hill, I don't continue the power and let it coast over the top of the hill. You want to shift down a gear so that your engine brake will hold you back com- fortably and you're barely applying your brakes, if at all. McCarty (In a slip-seat operation, McCarty drives dif- ferent trucks, all 3 years old and newer.): You want to be in the right gear before you start down the grade. The rule of thumb used to be with older trucks you would de- scend in the same gear you ascended in. With the newer trucks, it's a little different with the aerodynamics and the more powerful engines. Now you'll want to use at COURTESY KURT GROTE COURTESY ABF TODD DILLS COURTESY OREGON DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION