8% grade descent
Newbie Here. F350 and 37' fifth wheel. Yesterday I went down an 8 degree slope and left it in Tow Haul while using the breaks on trailer and truck to slow me down. I was thinking I might have been ...
Forum Discussion
Gdetrailer wrote:enblethen wrote:
You should come to a near stop before descending. Then put the transmission in a lower gear. You may even need to be in low.
Rule of thumb in previous post is a good place to start.
Do not use the brakes them selves. You may not have any left at the bottom.
I have been on a lot of highways with 65mph-70mph speeds where "nearly stopping" will result in someone rearending you.. Not sure if you could really apply this to all roads, perhaps a very remote mountain road with no traffic..
A near stop is not needed for an 8% descent. Don't slam on the brakes, but gradually slow to 50 mph before the descent and put your flashers on. If you can't hold that speed with engine braking then brake until the transmission downshifts to a gear that will hold the speed. The thing is to never let the speed start to get away from you.
