Cooling your brakes
Being from the east coast I've yet to encounter my brakes heating up enough to require pulling over to let them cool down, at least not that I know of. This summer/fall we're doing our first trip out ...
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If you're doing it right, you won't have to worry about whether to stab the brakes or ride 'em! Use your gears to control your speed, pay attention to the curve speeds indicated on the yellow signs, and use your engine compression to get to that speed before you enter the turn, and you'll be fine. Don't worry, your truck won't let you over-rev the engine, and you'll often need 5-6k rpms to keep speed under control, but it works like a charm.
Interstate grades out here are long, but not really THAT steep. I can drive down pretty much any interstate grade in the West without touching my brakes just by gearing down and keeping constant control of speed. Curvy backroads grades are often much steeper and have more corners, but if you're paying attention and looking ahead, you'll only need the brakes occasionally as you set up for a curve. Foresight and paying attention is the name of the game.
Interstate grades out here are long, but not really THAT steep. I can drive down pretty much any interstate grade in the West without touching my brakes just by gearing down and keeping constant control of speed. Curvy backroads grades are often much steeper and have more corners, but if you're paying attention and looking ahead, you'll only need the brakes occasionally as you set up for a curve. Foresight and paying attention is the name of the game.
