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Charlie Tango lives in Florence, OR now


Ed Cesnalis

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  • 3 weeks later...

My introduction to Mt. Hood was about 1978 or so in a long-nosed Peterbilt with a 1693 Cat engine (this means no Jake brake) and 13 speed RoadRanger transmission.  I approached from the south or east or wherever and started down to the west at 50 mph and soon came to regret that speed.  Trying to be careful with the brakes I still got them smoking.  I finally got to a pull-off with lots of smoke from the trailer brakes.  

When this happens, you need to try to let the brakes off to cool so they don't cool egg-shaped due to pressure from the drums when they are so hot.  If you have to use brakes, alternate between tractor and trailer about every 15 minutes and give the wheels a 1/4 turn each time so they have a chance to get the pressure distributed over time.

When I got to the bottom I found I had one cracked brake drum and two that got so hot they needed work.  Not my best day running the mountains.  I've run nearly all the passes except Wolf Creek but my first trip down Hood, while it should have been no big deal, remains a sharp memory because of my ignorance of how to run it with no Jake brake.

Sorry for the distraction, some old memories are pretty strong.  :)

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I got my CDL with one of the earlier 13 speed roadranger transmissions.  Not my favorite as it had a ton of play even when in gear and it was unforgiving if you missed a change.  Although I never drove it as much as my old man, he was able to finesse it back in if he missed.  Just worked on the air valve for the range selector, after 40 years it was corroded and finally needed replaced.

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