Reply #58: Yes it is indeed.

[A HERETIC I AM]

The biggest problem with the brakes on tractor trailers is they dissipate heat fairly slowly. So once you have built it up, it takes a long while for them to cool. When they get so hot they start to smoke, you begin to glaze the shoes and they start to lose grip at that point real fast. You just don't want to get it anywhere near that point if you can avoid it.

The only reason to smoke brakes is because you are going too fast for the load/grade.

I make it a point to be going fairly slow even before the grade starts. I can always adjust the speed up to match the grade but slowing down while descending is what puts the big load on the brakes and get them hot. I could have gone down those two long 6%'rs faster with a steady 10 pounds or so of application pressure and done so safely. But at the bottom of Wolfs Creek I would have had one smelly, smoky truck. As it was, you could have laid your hand on the brake shoes with no problem.