Advice for Getting up Steep Gradients (1 Viewer)

[chaser]

This is true, my father had an Austin seven, and when we got to anything above flat road we had to get out and push it.
Probably unbelievable to most folks now.
Good times

Talking 70 years ago but seems like yesterday.

 

[Nirvanauk]

yep been up Sutton bank with a 4x2 113M 360bhp at 38ton , made me sweat a bit but I stopped at the wee layby half way up and selected 2nd and just kept her singing .
Didn't attempt to change up until it levelled out near the top

I live near Sutton bank, stick it in manual second gear on approach and hope the prat’s behind keep back. It’s a 25% gradient and I get a lot of scarey wheel spin from the front tyres in the wet so take the diversion if it’s rainy. Not tried Chimney Bank yet as its more than 30%

 

[Riverbankannie]

This is true, my father had an Austin seven, and when we got to anything above flat road we had to get out and push it.

I have had to get out and push hubby’s minivan up Tog Hill.

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[miklin]

I have similar problem with my handbrake. Hated thought of a hill start. But not any more. I had a brake lock fitted into the rear brake line ( also known as a hill holder). It's operated by pressing a button when foot brake is full on and released the same way. There is a flashing warning light to remind me. I only put handbrake on when I am stationery for a while, pulling hard to the last notch.

 

[2657]

And only a 150 brake horse Gardener under the bonnet.BUSBY

I had the luxury of a 180 bhp Gardner in a Mk 2 Atki Borderer with a six speed David Brown box.
In the mid seventies I did a few casual night trunks for Wilkinsons Transport in Rochdale.
I had held a Class1 licence for a few years but did not not have that much experience.
One night I was following another driver down to a depot in Abingdon and the route took us past Gaydon towards Banbury.
There is a quite steep hill on the old road, Edge Hill?
I was trundling along behind this other guy, in the dark, when all of a sudden his tail lights seemed to grow wings as he climbed the hill.
This was a bit of a shock and much rapid double de clutching ensued, luckily I didn't miss a gear and successfully reached the top of the hill.
An experience never forgotten.........obviously

 

[Itsmcb]

Thanks Busby - the van is 1997 so may not come under the description of modern. Can the van take high revs without any problem when getting it up a steep hill?

No need for high revs, go at a steady speed. Be kind to your machine

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[Silver-Fox]

Get in the low gear early, even if it seems silly at first and high revs, as changing down on a steep gradient is daunting at the best of times and our handbrakes just aren't up to the job.

Agreed, I always start off in a lower gear and higher revs.

Try to look ahead and drop down a gear.

It’s actually better for the engine as well.
Higher gears and lower revs puts mucho strain on the big ends.

 

[Podney]

As somebody has said already,be more careful coming down, gravity is very powerful!!!

Maybe get you handbrake checked out…….although if you engage low gear first and plod up you won’t need it.
The handbrake on my 56plate ducats is extremely effective.

 

[Burgo]

Hi jopparocks its all about predicting the correct lower gear early enough on steep hills, especially when you come across a few blind sharp bends that knock off your speed very quickly. Luckily we have synchromesh on 1st gears these days, it would have been a lot harder with much gear crunching in the old day.
I just google earthed the road over Cairn o Mount, and yes it is steep with many potholes due to the winter snow, which sometimes are impossible to miss.
I have found you the best tool to have another go at this trip, with the wife safely strapped in I am sure she would love the experience, I know I would, so enjoy.
LES

Gorgeous! A bit of wheel spin at 2:11??

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[stevewagner]

Seems then that the advice is to get the gear right before getting on the hill and then stick with it and never try changing down.

Sorry I don't agree with that. What if the incline was a mile or so, you wouldn't want to do the whole thing in first gear would you? Diesels are made to rev high when needed. Just change up in good time and keep the revs high that way you should be able to keep it moving fine.

 

[Grummyb]

Good fun going up those sort of gradients with 32 tons and a crash box

I think you may have to explain a crash box to some of the funsters

 

[Itsmcb]

If you listen to the engine it will tell you when to change up or down the box.

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[Burgo]

Talking 70 years ago but seems like yesterday.

Manys the vehicle that had to go up Porlock Hill, or the old Telegraph Hill by Exeter before it was levelled out, in reverse. And that was only in the 60s.

 

[2657]

Sorry I don't agree with that. What if the incline was a mile or so, you wouldn't want to do the whole thing in first gear would you? Diesels are made to rev high when needed. Just change up in good time and keep the revs high that way you should be able to keep it moving fine.

Every hill is different, lots of factors to take into consideration regarding changing gears on a steep hill.
No one solution fits all situations.
Changing gear up or down can be difficult, on very steep sections it may not be possible to change gear fast enough and the result is becoming stationary with a difficult, or sometimes impossible, hill start.
With the crash boxes, wrong term really I think constant mesh is the correct term, double de clutching on a downward change was easier if the timing and revs were right.
Upward changes nigh on impossible, clutch brake helped, by the time the engine revs had died enough to synchronise with the gears the vehicle had slowed too much or even stopped.

 

[Ian Bosman]

Nowadays everyone thinks that everyone should go at the speed limit, but the roads were built for all sorts of traffic even horses and walkers and God forgive even people on bikes, if you have to go up a hill in first gear that's your perogative.

I take the view that those behind me on a narrowish road will have to bear with me even if they are frustrated. Just because the road say has a 50mph speed limit it does not mean that you have to go at 50 you go at a speed up to that that you as the driver judge to be safe and within your own driving experience and limits. We have just been in Somerset using very narrow roads all twists and turns on the look out for those huge four wheel drive tractors taking up more than half the width of the road. Knackered my passenger side mirror avoiding one.

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[Ian Bosman]

Manys the vehicle that had to go up Porlock Hill, or the old Telegraph Hill by Exeter before it was levelled out, in reverse. And that was only in the 60s.

Going down Porlock is also interesting requiring low gear and judicious use of the brakes.

 

[bigtree]

Been over the pyrenees (sp? ) Spain to France via Andorra in my 3850kg 2.8 diesel Kontiki no problem.... Even the switchbacks above the tunnel presented no trouble. Low gear and just plod up.

A doddle in my 5t 3L V6 Merc Frankia, lost count of the number of times we have been that way.

 

[Googlebot]

Manys the vehicle that had to go up Porlock Hill, or the old Telegraph Hill by Exeter before it was levelled out, in reverse. And that was only in the 60s.

We just had our Motorhome when my wife drove up that. She changed down to 1st gear so fast I barely saw her move. She absolutely went code brown but it was fine.

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[nicholsong]

Double declutch, if you know how.

 

[EuroTrotters]

Hi Everyone. Just came back from a trip from the east of Scotland and one of the routes took us over Cairn O' Mount which has a couple of approach roads quite steep - up to I think 16% but definitely 14%. The Hymer has taken long gradients in its stride before this (it went up Glenshee pass without any problem albeit in third gear and that is 17%) I was fairly confident going up this particular hill. It wasn't long But - On the hill there wasn't much of a chance to get a run up to it and so I started going up in third then second then had to go into first and each time I had to change very fast as it slowed down very quickly and in the end it ran out of power and I had to do a hill start. When stopped the hand brake started to slip which was quite worrying but managed to get it into another notch but of course it was hard to get off that notch when I had the revs up and started releasing clutch. Managed it in the end and no one behind so all worked out.
Is there any advice any of you more experienced big van drivers or truck drivers with manual gears have that would give me more confidence next time? Wife is now worried about going up steep hills and has ruled out North Spain or the Pyrenees both areas that I want to go to when I retire in a couple of years.
The van is a 4.6 tonne Hymer with 2.8 diesel engine. We had a half tank of water but apart from that nothing particularly heavy.
Cheers Martin

Hi, what chassis, year and gearbox do you have ?

 

[SM0129]

I appreciate this isn't much help, but untill a couple of months ago I had a 2.5l non turbo. I had to pre plan everything- stopping in a parking layby had to be downhill ( They always seem to be uphill) so when I got of a ferry in Bilbao and everything was significantly uphill, I nearly sh*t my pants.

I now have a 2.8td and there are not many places I wouldnt take it- i would advise look ahead, plan ahead and things should work out "ok"

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[Wack]

Some years ago in a transit pickup towing a 2T trailer I thought it'd be a good idea to come off the M62 at the top of windy hill and take the A62 towards halifax because of a crash on the M62

I got to a hill that I honestly didn't think I was going to get up , I was crawling in first gear , somebody on a bike overtook me , thankfully I got to the top but only because I managed not to stop , if I had there's no way the handbrake was holding 5.5T on that gradient

Didn't do that again

 

[jopparocks]

Sorry I don't agree with that. What if the incline was a mile or so, you wouldn't want to do the whole thing in first gear would you? Diesels are made to rev high when needed. Just change up in good time and keep the revs high that way you should be able to keep it moving fine.

Thanks Steve - you guys are giving very useful advice to me

 

[jopparocks]

Double declutch, if you know how.

Have heard the term many times but don't know what it is.

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[jopparocks]

Hi, what chassis, year and gearbox do you have ?

Its a 5 speed manual gearbox with the gear stick coming through the floor on a mercedes 412 D chassis with a 2.9 turbo diesel. 1997, Its only done just over 70,000 miles. 4.6 tonne.

 

[EuroTrotters]

Its a 5 speed manual gearbox with the gear stick coming through the floor on a mercedes 412 D chassis with a 2.9 turbo diesel. 1997, Its only done just over 70,000 miles. 4.6 tonne.

The 4.6t sprinter was available with final drive options , from memory, three.

Ours had the option for gradients.

 

[busby]

Double declutch, if you know how.

I still do by habit but I believe it's not good for modern gearbox's.BUSBY..

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[busby]

A doddle in my 5t 3L V6 Merc Frankia, lost count of the number of times we have been that way.

Most crossings of The Pyrenees are transversed by 44 tonne artic's so should be no problem for Motorhomes.BUSBY.

 

[The Wino]

Many moons ago (late50s) I had an ex-post office series E morris van. Went to Bognor in it but it would not go up Goodwood hill in first. Had to reverse all the way up.ahh the heady days of motoring

I think I heard a lot of gearboxes now are higer ratio in reverse than first so it wouldn't work.

 

[Andycap]

you could always get SWMBO to get out and push that would take her mind off it.

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