Runaway Truck Ramps

sonoran_Tj · 08-20-2009, 11:44 PM

Who's ever used one?

I see them a lot, as I drive in the mountains a lot; And I always wonder what it would be like to use one.

**thantos858** · 08-20-2009, 11:49 PM

I have never needed to use one. I have seen them used and they aren't fun looking and some are just plain dangerous even though its supposed to save your life. If they aren't kept up they are unsafe. You should never need one in a properly maintained truck/car if you have even a small clue on how to use brakes properly. If I remember correctly its also illegal to use one unless its a emergency.

**Matt Gertsch** · 08-21-2009, 08:33 AM

That gravel is deeper than it looks. Don't ask how I know.

**mattman8706** · 08-21-2009, 08:38 AM

dang!

YouTube - Runaway Truck Ramp

[YT]Q__9C4-UsE4[/YT]

XJMuscle98 · 08-21-2009, 08:43 AM

Wow, I never even knew they had these things.

Why can't people just hit their brakes?

**NotURMailman** · 08-21-2009, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattEagan

Wow, I never even knew they had these things.

Why can't people just hit their brakes?

I sure hope that was a joke and you're not really that dense!

The ramps are there on long down hill grades for poeple whose brakes fail on said downhill runs.

mavdog32 · 08-21-2009, 08:57 AM

i.e. 18 wheelers for the most part, cant say I have ever seen a truck/car on one

2005X · 08-21-2009, 09:04 AM

saw an RV towing a jet skit on I70 in colorado a few years ago, sucker was about halfway up the ramp

PDX_XJ · 08-21-2009, 09:07 AM

mattman, what is that thing in the video? It's not a ramp. It's flat. That's more like a runaway truck gravel pit.

(cue Crocodile Dundee voice)

That's not a runaway truck ramp. This is a runaway truck ramp:

I've never had to use one, and I don't think I would. They aren't for passenger cars, but for trucks.

I was just up on Mount Hood, and the ramp near Government Camp had basketball-sized rocks that had fallen into it (danger: falling rocks -- just never cleaned up). The last thing I want to do is have one of those come through my window as I sink into deep gravel.

My brakes won't fail down a mountain. I just put it in a lower gear and don't touch 'em.

2005X · 08-21-2009, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PDX_XJ

My brakes won't fail down a mountain. I just put it in a lower gear and don't touch 'em.

thats the key right there, there is no reason no ride the brake down or even push the brake down, just put in lower gear and hover your foot over the brake pedal for the just in case braking needs

**mattman8706** · 08-21-2009, 09:10 AM

I don't know

I just typed it into youtube because I didn't know what a runaway truck ramp was. ....I am from kansas

XJMuscle98 · 08-21-2009, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotURMailman

I sure hope that was a joke and you're not really that dense!

The ramps are there on long down hill grades for poeple whose brakes fail on said downhill runs.

lol not dense, thats what I was figuring, but I've never driven down long downhills, so I didn't know if there's a certain condition when you can't hit your brakes or shouldn't.

2005X · 08-21-2009, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotURMailman

I sure hope that was a joke and you're not really that dense!

The ramps are there on long down hill grades for poeple whose brakes fail on said downhill runs.

the guy is from jersey, they dont have mountains out there

to the original poster in colorado on I70 just outside denver there are are some big %7 grades that last for miles, that when you see the big rigs in the right lane and you can here then with the engine brakes going downhill, also vehicles towing as those grades last for several miles which make it hard on vehicles. in fact 3 weeks ago while out there we saw atleast 10 vehilce on the side of the road from overheating or other problems.

PDX_XJ · 08-21-2009, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattEagan

lol not dense, thats what I was figuring, but I've never driven down long downhills, so I didn't know if there's a certain condition when you can't hit your brakes or shouldn't.

With a passenger car, you can just put it in a lower gear and the resistance from the engine will keep you at a steady speed, even on a really steep hill. If you ride your brakes, the force and heat involved will quickly warp your rotors. If your brakes go out, you lose your ability to stop.

Semi trucks don't have the downshifting luxury. Well, they do downshift, but they still have to use their brakes to slow the trailer. The driveshaft doesn't go all the way back, so the downshifting trick only slows the tractor. You have to use some brakes to slow your load, and losing them is a very real possibility.

LandRover · 08-21-2009, 09:30 AM

I live in the Sierras...we have them everywhere. I've seen trucks in them (because semi trucks are what they are for). Easy to drop a gear and get down a hill in a car without air brakes or a giant trailer. These things are for when a semi looses air pressure in the air brakes because of heat/overuse on big grades. The trucks you see in the truck ramps are from places like Kansas (no offense mattman)... a driver who doesn't know the road or the hill might heat up the brakes way too much way too early on the hill, and run out of options.

I had a buddy who worked for a tow company and used to have to go pull 18 wheelers out of those things. No fun. That gravel is DEEP. Nothing like being sunk up to your 6 axles in pea gravel.

The best ones around here are the ones that are obviously just a little bit too short... they just pile up a mountian of that gravel at the end as a last resort.

No thanks.