dodge brakes
coming down a 25% grade dirt road the brakes started to smoke and fade.truck in low gear o/d locked out speed kept to 10 mph .we had to stop and let them cool at 1/2 way point ,dirt road 4 miles long...
Forum Discussion
Just for clarification, a 25% grade means there is 25 feet of vertical for every 100 feet of horizontal road. Road grade is in terms of length of rise(or drop) per length of horizontal distance.
Degrees, however, are a trig calculation.
A 25% grade is a 14 degree slope.
A 100% grade is a 45 degree slope.
Try this; draw two lines perpendicular, a right angle as it were, of the same lengths. Now connect the ends. This triangle has three sides; X is the horizontal, Y is the vertical and the slope is the gradient.
If both sides, vertical and horizontal are the same length and at 90 degrees to each other, then you have a 45 degree slope and a 100% grade.
For the 25% grade, the horizontal road would be 100 feet and the vertical rise would be 25 feet. See? Not so steep when you look at it actually.
Degrees, however, are a trig calculation.
A 25% grade is a 14 degree slope.
A 100% grade is a 45 degree slope.
Try this; draw two lines perpendicular, a right angle as it were, of the same lengths. Now connect the ends. This triangle has three sides; X is the horizontal, Y is the vertical and the slope is the gradient.
If both sides, vertical and horizontal are the same length and at 90 degrees to each other, then you have a 45 degree slope and a 100% grade.
For the 25% grade, the horizontal road would be 100 feet and the vertical rise would be 25 feet. See? Not so steep when you look at it actually.
