Brake!

The longer I drive my new truck the most stuff becomes apparent that it's been used and abused by previous drivers. Last night I was laying in the bed reading and kept hearing a drip drip drip. It WAS raining and I just figured there must've been a power line or light pole over my rig that was dripping onto the top of the cab.

Then I felt a little splash of moisture upon my neck. I turned around to find that the vent window on the left side of my bunk, right above my head was the leaky culprit. I knew it was a little busted and would need to be fixed but I didn't think it was bad enough to leak. I was wrong. So after cleaning up a little bit of the wet mess I stuffed as many paper towels as I could into the vents nooks and crannies and then shuffled a little further down into the bed to avoid any future drips that might get past the barrier I'd created.

I woke up dry but chilly, since the vent was still cracked open a little all night. Whatever, at least I was dry. Right?

After getting prepped for my day and getting my logbook started I fired up the truck and let it warm up a little while I ate a little breakfast. Thanks to the telephone nurse I talked to the other day for recommending the Fiber One Oat and Chocolate bar and a cup of yogurt for a small but filling breakfast. It did the trick and left me feeling full for a good three hours.

Finally it was time to hit the road. It was a little damp out still, a fine mist falling from the low hung clouds. And there was a fair amount of sporadic dense fog about the area. Things got off to a good start despite the gloomy morning. I was enjoying my peaceful ride and laughing along with my favorite morning show on Cosmo Radio when I came to the warning signs advising truckers to gear down and prepare for a steep downgrade ahead. I slowed down a little and shifted from 10th to 9th gear, waiting it out as the engine slowed me down a little further and I then shifted into 8th gear as I came to the top of the hill where the down grade began.

I turned on my hazard lights and proceeded down hill. The truck has an issue with cruise control and the engine brake at the moment, something I've been told that will not be fixed until the truck comes in for it's first PM (preventative maintenance). Sometimes the jake (engine brake) works and sometimes it doesn't. This time, it didn't. So being in a lower gear while using the snub braking method was the best option I had to get down the mountain safely.

As I had said before there was still quite a bit of dampness and moisture around, even though the rains has moved out of the area. Mist from fog clouds can be just as bad, leaving a thin layer of moisture on the road surface, which can be dangerous as it raises up any oils and slick substances but doesn't wash them away.

I was doing great until about halfway down the mountain. Traffic was light and I was traveling solo. Most of the traffic I saw was ahead of me, having passed me on the uphill side of the mountain. The snub braking was working well, considering the amount of weight that I have in my trailer and the fact that I don't have a working jake brake.

Until... yep... I over did it. Or well... my brakes over did it. No I didn't smoke my breaks, no that would have been way more desirable than having one of them lock up. My steer tire brakes, the ones on the very front of the truck, locked up for a short period of time and sent me into a slight skid which had my adrenaline pumping in no time. As soon as I felt the truck start to skid a little I released the brake pedal and held onto the steering wheel with a ten finger death grip, just in case.

Thankfully the brakes released shortly after I took my foot off of the brake pedal and all was well with the world. But had that not been the case, I'd likely have ended up in a really bad place, possibly jackknifed or worse. It was the first time I've ever really been scared and thankfully it only lasted for a brief instant. But it was enough to make me realize how lucky I had just been.

I am now sitting at our company terminal in Charlotte, NC waiting for my brakes to be repaired, as apparently the pads were unevenly worn and one side had a crack on one pad, both of which may have combined to be the reason for the lock up in the first place. I was routed here for fuel but figured I'd swing by the shop and have them take a look at them and explain what happened. I'm glad I did.