Richard,If my Jakes kept everything "cool" and i could come down the grapevine grade, 8%, at 70mph....I would probably get in that far. Would service brakes stop me at that speed on that grade in a 9?Thanks,John
John, since so many of the large vehicles coming down the grapevine do not have Jakes, then yes I feel certain that one stop, from 70 mph, with cold brakes would be no problem at all. I know that on my Eagle or 4104 it would have been a piece of cake. Perhaps Russ, with his many years of traversing the grapevine in a seated coach could elaborate on this. Richard
Richard - the majority of 18-wheelers and coaches on the Grapevine today all have Jakes or equivalent. (BTW, the 18-wheelers are restricted to 35 mph on this grade. Buses are not.)
Most coaches have sufficient brakes to completely stop the vehicle on a downhill grade a few times before going away totally due to fade.