Quote:
Originally Posted by 63burban
Use the engine to slow yourself down, another words downshift and do not ride the brakes but gently apply them periodically. Pay attention to what the truckers do.
Years ago your drum brakes did the trick, they will work now.
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The problem that nearly every "normal" (non professional) driver makes is going downhill too fast to start with. Many feel that they have to do the speed limit downhill and that is what gets most in trouble. On a 9% grade with a relatively heavy load (trailer is ~1/2 that of your truck) you should likely start the hill at half the speed limit. Of course it all depends on weight, length of hill, manual or auto transmission, etc. But I've found that on grades >6% a typical SUV / small truck should cut the speed limit by at least 1/3. Dont worry about holding people up behind you, they can wait or you can pull over at a pull out and let them by later. Its better to slow them down than to not make it down safely. Even if you have disc's instead of drum breaks, makes very little difference. While discs will help stop you better, they can overheat and catch fire just like drums.