Stories from the Road: I ain't doing that again

[Tobin S.]

I took the load that I'm under out of Ohio going to Las Vegas for three stops and then the L.A. area for two more. It looked to me like the most direct way out here was across I-70 all the way over to Utah where it dead ended into I-15 south and that into Vegas. It had been a long time since I'd been across that stretch of 70 in Colorado and Utah, about 10 years, and I did remember it as being mountainous. But I took that stretch of road back then in a truck with 100 less horsepower and no engine brake, so I figured I could handle it with the benefit of more experience and a better truck.

And I did handle it, but I don't think I ever will again. :hurts:

My truck talks to me. A lot of people don't know that about trucks. They all have personalities. When I've got the cruise set at 70 and I'm running across Minnesota my truck says, "Damn, I feel good. Crank it up to 75 and let's make some time." On that first mountain grade out of Denver grossing 78,320 pounds my truck said, "What the fuck are you doing to me!? Are you trying to kill me? I'm not a young truck anymore, you know."

After a few more of those grades I started getting veiled threats.

"Hell, it's only a 6 mile 6% down grade. Push in the clutch and let it roll."

"I wonder what would happen if a steer tire blew up going around this curve?"

and

"Here's my check engine light. How you like me now, motherfucker?"

I'll never travel that stretch of road again. Beautiful, beautiful country, but we're talking about 500 miles of mostly mountain grades and sharp curves. I used to drive for a company that forbade its drivers from traveling through there. I think that's a good policy now and I was a better driver than I thought I was back when I took that route with only a couple of years experience and an old junker for a truck. And let me tell you, if you are going to travel that stretch of road in a truck, make sure you come out of Denver with enough fuel. I only saw one fuel stop between Denver and Grand Junction. If you run out of fuel out there, or break down otherwise, it will cost you a fortune.

But I did get some pretty pictures for you guys. These were taken in Eagle, Colorado just west of Vail.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear Tobin!

These are nice pictures! But how scary it must have been, having your truck talk to you like that!:scared:

Now, don't do that ever again, you hear???

Ah, but now and then, it's cool to push the envelope, right? As long as you get through it OK, it is.

:hug:

[lunatica]

2. You and your truck went through a rough patch together

It'll make you better companions now.

[blue neen]

3. Keep the stories coming.

I look forward to your posts. Sorry you had such a hair-raising day! :)

[redwitch]

4. I so love your stories from the road!

Thanks Tobin!

[likesmountains 52]

5. Thanks Tobin! You'll also want to avoid taking a more southern route over Wolf Creek ,

Coal Bank, Molas and especially Red Mountains passes in Colorado.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://ouraylovers.com/red-mountain-pass.htm&usg=__-pU0MvIgUyZzIGznAYiLaX82SGQ=&h=396&w=891&sz=104&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=IOy6Or7ICUksVM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=205&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dred%2Bmountain%2Bpass%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1016%26bih%3D541%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C114&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=557&ei=pending&oei=-7ZxTKqIMYKglAelsMjCDQ&esq=8&page=1&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=104&ty=52&biw=1016&bih=541

[kimi]

6. Very pretty pictures

Thank you, and a nice story.

[kwassa]

7. oh please. I love that stretch of I-70. Prettiest interstate drive in the US.

with the entire city of Glenwood Springs in the middle of it. The Dillon/Breckenridge is nice, too. Both have many gas stations.








What could possibly go wrong on this freeway?

[elleng]

10. OMG!!!

[Tobin S.]

11. I'm in a semi, Kwassa, a 70- foot deal

You don't just pull up to one of the pumps at the corner store in one of those. There was only one place I could get my truck in to get diesel that I saw along 70 and that was in Donniesville at exit 234. Other than that there was nothing accessible to me between Denver and Grand Junction.

[PJPhreak]

8. An easier run...

I-70/I-35/U.S.54/I-25/Hatch Shortcut/I-10/Tucson/Phoenix/L.A

A few miles longer,but the savings on wear and tear on the equpment,plus your nerves will more than make up for the extra fuel. and you get to pull in at the Triple T...LOL!

Colo is a pretty drive tho

[elleng]

9. Been there; didn't do it quite the way YOU did! Thanks for the pics!

[TZ]

12. I love that stretch of I70 its beautiful

But I sure as hell would NOT want to drive a truck through it. When I was out in Denver visiting relatives a few years ago there was a HUGE truck accident right where I70 begins its descent into Denver...a truck full of live horses. It was horrible as the truck caught on fire and many of the horses died.....
You should go back sometime WITHOUT a truck to truly appreciate the beauty though...

[Tobin S.]

13. Yep, I ain't knocking it, but the next time I go through there

it's going to be in something that has 4 wheels. :)

The reason that truck caught on fire likely is because the driver underestimated the down grade or was caught by surprise by it going too fast at the top of the hill- maybe missed a sign.

This is what causes wheels to catch on fire because of the brakes heating up. When you have a heavy load on you have to be particularly careful. If you hit the top of a long, steep, down grade going too fast you may never get slowed down. You have to really lay into the brakes to try to get slowed down and that friction between the drums and the brake pads creates heat. If the drums get too hot they will start expanding causing the brake pads to travel farther and farther out to make contact with the drums. Once that get's to a certain point the brake pads will no longer be able to make contact with the drums and you have a runaway truck. I bet you've seen the runaway truck ramps on mountain grades. They're there to catch trucks that have lost their brakes. If you do manage to get stopped or slowed down, you might still be in trouble because that tremendous heat that's created by excessive braking might catch the wheels on fire. I'd be willing to bet that's what happened to the horse truck.

Either that or he had a flat that he didn't know about and was running on a rim. That will catch the on fire, too. Those would be my two guesses.

[xchrom]

14. Don't do that again.

I don't wanna miss any reports from the road.

[Ikonoklast]

15. Las time I finaled in LA, picked up in Compton, with three drops.

Had a nice, light load of Yamaha four-wheelers; first drop was in N. Las Vegas, second just south of Grand Junction, and it finaled in Denver.

In February.

With a weather front coming in from the ocean, I drove like the devil was chasing me for three days. Dry roads all the way, and just as soon as I hit Denver the snow hit Loveland Pass with a fury, causing a series of accidents with fatalities, closing the pass.


I was lucky.