Feet 'n Inches
Out of the rat-race at last
- Messages
- 544
- Location
- Devon, GB
Down my way, Telegraph Hill (A380 to and fro Exeter) has an gravel trap escape lane half-way down on the Exeter-bound carriageway. I've seen it used on a number of occasions, mainly HGVs and coaches but sometimes caravans. Big warning sign at the top of the hill advising the use of a lower gear on the descent, but of course most people don't see that. I always took a lower gear before the descent and let the engine do a larger portion of the work, supplementing with occasional braking to maintain a constant speed. Different, IMO, to using the gears to reduce speed as quoted above - that's what brakes are for. Just beyond the escape lane, the road bears fairly sharply to the right. If caravanners are descending too fast, and they don't manage to make the escape lane, you could guarantee they'd come to grief on the bend! Seeing a caravan burst apart at close quarters is not a pretty sight.
There was an occasion when I used the gears to slow a truck that was heading back to the scrap yard I worked in. The engine was all but kaput so I had to retain what little air pressure remained in the reservoir so that the wheels didn't lock up solid. Luckily it was all down hill so a low gear was engaged and the clutch used as a brake. By the time I got to within a few yards of the yard entrance, I'd burned the clutch out completely but still had enough air to bring the truck safely to a halt. The cab stank to high heaven. We recovered a lot of aluminium from the body work plus four decent tyres and some other bits and pieces - quite a nice little earner.
There was an occasion when I used the gears to slow a truck that was heading back to the scrap yard I worked in. The engine was all but kaput so I had to retain what little air pressure remained in the reservoir so that the wheels didn't lock up solid. Luckily it was all down hill so a low gear was engaged and the clutch used as a brake. By the time I got to within a few yards of the yard entrance, I'd burned the clutch out completely but still had enough air to bring the truck safely to a halt. The cab stank to high heaven. We recovered a lot of aluminium from the body work plus four decent tyres and some other bits and pieces - quite a nice little earner.