When you are going down hills don’t coast unless you are really low on gas.  Save your brake pads/shoes.  Use the lower gears to keep your speed down.  This will help you stop more quickly. Remember if your get into an accident in a work truck you are already considered at fault since you should know better. Stay alert, pay attention and please think about that. In addition to using low gears to keep speed under control and save on brake pads, you should remember:

Your vehicle weight shifts forward

Your gas gauge reads lower

You’ll tip over if you make abrupt turns

It takes 30-40% more distance to stop

Your maneuvering ability is reduced

If you are towing a trailer be careful if the roadway is wet it would be very easy to jack knife. Remember when driving a mobile auto detailing van, pick up or truck, car or SUV with a trailer that your vehicle is much harder to stop when full of water.  Water weighs 8.2 pounds per gallon. Since most auto detailers carry one hundred to two-hundred gallons of water this adds significant weight. Lets look at this; Two hundred gallons of water will weigh eight point two pounds per gallon. This means you have an additional sixteen hundred and forty pounds of total extra weight. That is a lot of mass to stop, not to mention the motion/movement problem when stopping and turning. Sixteen hundred and forty pounds (1,640 lbs) is between 20 to 40 percent of the gross vehicle weight of your entire rig. Think about this and take it easy on those hills.

When going up hills, try not to stop. If you can, maintain a steady speed in a low gear. If you have to stop on a hill, don’t feather the clutch more than you have to.  It takes a day to fix if you burn it up.  Your truck or mobile rig uses a lot of gas going up hills and at these prices you are better off to save the money.  It’s better to use a lower gear and slow down than blast up the hills.

Be safe, save the vehicle from unnecessary wear and tear and think about it.