Towing down a steep grade without burning up the brakes

[ericpeltier]

I live in CO. I have a 5.6L gasser Nissan Armada, so, not the engine-braking capability of a diesel.

I park it in 2nd gear and top out at 40mph. Then I watch the world go by.

Eric

[B00merang]

Good advice, above. Here is one more...learned from ugly experience...whenever you stop for whatever check the connection between the TV and AS. Mine came loose on a steep downhill section of PA. It was ugly...once the umbilical is disconnected you have no trailer brakes. Not fun. Safe travels. jon

[Larry C]

I'm sure some on here will disagree with me, but the formula I use (I drive a manual 6 speed tranny, and Cummins diesel)...... when I get to the top of the hill and start the descent, I engage the exhaust brake and start in the same gear that I used to climb the hill.
Very seldom do I have to downshift, and very seldom do I have too use either the trailer or truck brake.
For whatever it's worth.
Larry

[HoffmanP]

Originally Posted by Moflash

As mentioned above travel at a comfortable and safe speed.Use the transmission as your brake down shifting to reduce speed.Stay in the slow lane.Your engine will make some noise but do not panic as long as you do not go into the redline on your tach you will be fine.Keep a eye on the traffic behind you as Semi's have been known to loose their brakes on steep grades.50-55mph should be your target speed in most cases.Use just your trailer brakes if needed by squeezing the two levers together on your brake controller a brief couple of intermittent light squeezes will slow you down on steep grades.Just keep calm and you will do fine.

There are plenty of roads in the Rocky Mountains that you would surely die on if you went down them at 50-55 mph. Why is everybody in such a hurry anyway?

[Climber]

Like Blevi said, definitely get a copy of the Mountain Directory West if traveling anywhere from the Rockies to the Pacific. (I understand there's now an East version as well.) It covers and "reviews" just about every mountain pass and steep grade you'd ever encounter.

Cheers,

Climber

[kdickinson]

We have seen RV's that had their brakes literally smoking from over use. Using brakes going down a grade will quickly overheat brakes which reduces braking effectiveness and eventually renders the brakes useless. You will see "run away truck ramps" along the major highways in Colorado and other mountain states that are to be used specifically for trucks and other vehicles to pull safely off the highway and be slowed down by deep sand in the case their brakes fail. It's been rare but I've seen trucks that have used these ramps.

The good news is you can avoid over heating your brakes even towing a trailer. The transmission combined with the engine can be used as for braking action. The driver downshifts their transmission one gear at a time to maintain a safe speed. Most of us have automatic transmissions now and one thing to keep in mind is that as you shift into the lower gears there is a safety feature which will keep the engine from over-revving and the request for a downshift is denied until RPM's are brought down. A quick pump of the brakes to slow down is completely okay. When I'm coming down the north side of Raton Pass there is a tight turn associated to an off-ramp. I will already be in a lower gear by that point but will give the brakes a good push and take 10 mph off my speed and then let off the brakes and let the gears do the rest. It takes some practice but you'll be fine - enjoy your trip!

[Adventure.AS]

I discovered that using cruise control on my 2015 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited seemed to control the downhill speed. This was observed on several long hills in the Appalachians this spring. Not sure how, but it must control the rpm and the transmission. I wasn't towing my new AS, but a T@B which weighed about 2,000# and had surge brakes. Perhaps with the weight of the trailer pushing into the Jeep the surge brakes engaged.

[rmkrum]

Toyota Tacoma cruise control in my 4x4 does the same thing. Tranny downshifts to limit speed.


Sent from my pocket Internet using Airstream Forums

[cando]

We have driven a 2007 and now a 2012 Tundra and have been in the mountains a lot with our 25' AS. All of what was said above is good advice however we have found that using the transmission in the manual mode and utilizing the lower gears early, both up and down mountains and hilly areas. One thing we have found is that the Tundra has the hold back of a runaway train. Shift early and utilize the transmission like a manual. We had no transmission problems or even new brake pads on either Tundra. The 07 was traded with over 120,000 miles pn it
Even on amything but perfectly flat road we drive in the manual mode in 5. Works for us and gets the same mileage and better performance than running in D or 6. Good luck

[OTRA15]

Be sure your emergency flashers also work on the back of the trailer, and use them religiously going downhill, even if you are doing the speed limit.

You want to make sure vehicles approaching from behind are awakened to your presence.



...... is the message you want to send to those behind you!

[Rolltop]

Best advice I have is: use the same gear going down as climbing, stay below 45 mph on 7&8 grades breaking back to 35. Break hard to reduce speed and get off break. SLOW!
You can go down too slow many times but too fast only once!

[gecko]

Wulfrat has it just right, but a couple of additional thoughts:

If you do go under 40, don't forget to turn on your hazard lights to warn vehicles behind you.

Anticipate strong downgrades and learn where a comfortable top speed in each gear (comfortably below redline) is and plan accordingly. On grades over 6%, you may have to keep it very slow to stay in the lower gears.

A great way to start over the crest preceding a steep grade is to downshift in advance to third and see if that will provide enough engine drag to hold you in a comfortable range (below redline.) if not, use a combination of firm braking with gentle controller application for a short time to bring you slow enough that you can safely downshift into 2nd. Let the engine determine your speed and stay off the brakes as much as possible. Avoid prolonged braking periods. If third provides too much slowing, you can upshift.

For the steepest grades, you might actually start at 30-35 mph in second and see if that holds or you can safely upshift. Every now and then, we've had to slow further and drop into first, but that's very unusual. (2009 28' International: 2013 Sprinter 3500.)

We don't use the active controller mechanism often, but rather change the overall setting while underway (with our digital controller, easy to feel the up/down buttons and count # of pushes without taking eyes off road.) Need to remember to reduce that aggressive setting when you fine out if the mountainous driving, particularly if you inti the other extreme extreme--city stop and go traffic.

Set your brake controller to be more aggressive in mountainous country at highway speeds. This will let your trailer brakes do a lot of the work, holding your TV brakes in reserve, and also allowing the trailer to act as a "sea anchor", keeping your rig straight should you have to brake hard.

Err on the side of too slow until you learn the right shift pint let gear and which gear suits which grade.

[mojo]

Downshift,
Go slow,
Feather the brakes,
If you smell something burning, pull over and enjoy the view and let things cool!

[guskmg]

Braking is braking. It does not matter if you use light, moderate, or heavy braking if you are slowing down from one given speed to another given speed. The heat produced is a function of kinetic energy dissipated only. That is, energy converted to heat. Most of the advise here is good stuff, but don't think light braking, other than checking your brakes, will save your brakes. When you think about it, multiple activations put more wear on the mechanical parts of the brakes than one single application.
If the brakes fail where will you end up? To sum it all up: The best setup is a diesel with grade braking, tow/haul mode, and trailer disc brakes. However, some are forced to live with injected gas engines, some even with low displacement (compression braking), no tow/haul, and freewheeling trannies. Be sure you know what gears your tranny has direct drive (lock up) through the drive train. Even with the latest equipment you should know that. Now, before you start down hill, remember it going up hill in the reverse mode. Know the grade steepness, max speeds, and curves ahead. Drive the slow lane, start slow in lower gears that lock up the tranny, until you know what's up ahead. If speeds can't be held down with down shifting the tranny, hit the brakes. Use one long application to get back down to a safe speed. If you use a lot of light applications to just barely keep the speed under the max, then when you need them in an emergency, you will be in for a big surprise. Usually, brakes either work or the don't. Rarely fail slowly except for drum brake fade out. Be careful out there!
guskmg

[MacPDX]

Originally Posted by cando

We have driven a 2007 and now a 2012 Tundra and have been in the mountains a lot with our 25' AS. All of what was said above is good advice however we have found that using the transmission in the manual mode and utilizing the lower gears early, both up and down mountains and hilly areas. One thing we have found is that the Tundra has the hold back of a runaway train. Shift early and utilize the transmission like a manual. We had no transmission problems or even new brake pads on either Tundra. The 07 was traded with over 120,000 miles pn it
Even on amything but perfectly flat road we drive in the manual mode in 5. Works for us and gets the same mileage and better performance than running in D or 6. Good luck

Yes, my 2014 Tundra could be like a runaway train. Downshift early before the descent. The cruise control would NOT hold the speed in check; manual shifting was the way to go.

[OTRA15]

Preparation, anticipation, forethought, downshifting early in manual mode, slowing speed, emergency flashers on . . .

Pretty much of a non-event if done right.

[graysailor]

Always start your descent at a slow speed. Start out slow and you will be good.

[Rocinante]

Alternatively, you could just head downhill while listening to this tune by Harry Chapin.

https://youtu.be/ODMye94wMfk

[nickclifford]

I'm a novice at this but my 2010 Tundra has a haul mode which works great downhill, hardly needed to brake. The trailer brake control could stop the truck and trailer by itself too!! Not kidding, very powerful. Just my 2 cents worth

[nickclifford]

Ps .., my trailer weighs about 5,000lbs .. Only grade I've used on was the 101 south in California headed to Pismo, so nothing too crazy. I would imagine brakes would get a serious work out when I take to the Sierras in August.