Reply #118: The Jake Brake is such a cool story.

[cherokeeprogressive]

I read that Cummins woke up Dave Evans on the way down the grade because in Dave's words "He didn't want me to miss the worst crash we was ever gonna have".

The other thing I read was that Cummins was looking for a "Kayhone" Pass (that's how Evans pronounced it), and never even noticed the Cajon Pass signs. I can just hear one white guy talking to the other way back then... "Watch out for that Kayhone Pass Clessie, it's dad-gummed scary!"

I've gone down Cajon hundreds of times since I live within a few miles of it and never NEVER fail to see some trucker going down that long grade, brakes just a smokin'. The first time I went down in a truck, fully loaded, I was as nervous as a blind cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Thank GAWD for that Jake. I'm like you, I don't like to even TOUCH the brakes on a steep grade. My trainer did the snub braking thing so hard it almost threw me out of the sleeper and into the cab, and when we got to Fontana, the brakes were STILL hot. Not for me.