Just started tanker work and finding steep hills up and down difficult when fully loaded-27 T in the tank. Going up steep hills it needs quick down changes to keep it moving, but too low a gear cause wheel spin due to the liquid in the tank going to the back of the tank and lifting the drive wheels. Any advice ?
Also going down steep hills is it worth dropping to lower gears and use exhaust break.? 
Hiya beardy…
Well, I dont realy feel qualified to reply to this poat as I failed my Class 1 today, but as Ive had a few comiserating bevvys tonight, I thought [zb] it… I’m gonna reply anyway.
I would have thought that selecting a higher gear would stop the wheel spin, as the more power you lay down through the rear wheels, the more chance they have of spinning. I had a hill start the other day, and the road was covered in diesel. It was an uphill gradient, and I thought I would have to pull away on a lower gear than normal. We pull away in 4th normally, so I thought, okay, this is a big hill, I’ll pull away in 2nd…
As the lights turned green, I tried to pull away, but got nothing but wheel spin. So I stopped, selected 3rd, and tried again, still spinning… so 4th it was. I sliped the clutch slightly, and got traction… but keeping the revs high, and slightly slipping the clutch, kept the wheels turning, and got me up the hill.
As for downhill, If the hill is a long one, I would thing that the exhaust brake would be fine, but if its short, then the brakes are there to be used. Just apply the brakes and keep a firm but steady pressure on the brake pedal.
I will no doubt be corrected if I am wrong, but these are my own honest opinions…
All i can say, is burdlip hill coming off J11a of the M5 
beardy:
Also going down steep hills is it worth dropping to lower gears and use exhaust break.?
Hi Beardy,
To answer the most important bit first (seeing as keeping full control of an artic on descents is fairly important 
) you should definitely be doing both on downhill runs, although how much downshifting you do will depend on the road itself. On long motorway descents if you’re driving something fairly new with a half-decent exhaust/engine brake you can regulate the speed mostly with that, provided you get the revs right. For instance in a Daf CF/XF with an engine brake a gear and a half down will put the needle at around 2300rpm if you’re travelling at 90kh/h, which is where the engine brake gives optimum performance. On a descent like Portishead bank (M5) you’ll probably wouldn’t need to even dab the footbrake as the engine brake will hold the rig back at 90km/h. On a steeper, nastier drop like Fish Hill (A44) it’s more a case of combining both the exhaust brake and service brakes to descend safely. On this hill there’s no escaping the fact that it’s got to be done slowly, or at least the first part, meaning maybe even dropping into low range and keeping the revs in the blue sector on the revcounter (but obviously don’t let it go into the red ). Of course a few cars may have to slow up behind you but forget about them, your job is to get down the hill safely without cooking your brakes. I don’t know what truck you’re driving but the safe speed for going down hills will be partially determined by how efficient your exhaust/engine brake is (keep the needle in the blue for best exhaust braking) - the main thing though is to err on the side of caution: better too slow than too fast!
As for the traction problem up hills; try to plan your gearchanges in advance. If it’s obvious that the truck isn’t going to make the climb in 6th make the change a little earlier, and don’t be afraid to block change on steep hills as trying to make single shifts on a steep climb is like trying to bail out a boat with an egg cup … darned hard work. Make the shifts a little earlier, think about what the gradient is doing, and keep the truck in the power (top of the green rev sector) if the hill’s a steep one.
Incidentally, your tank has got baffles, hasn’t it?
Hope that’s of help,
Craig
Beardy,
PM me your email address and I will send you a copy of an article that appeared in T&D a couple of years ago. 
Having done 20ft bulk liquid flexi-bag containers with no baffles in whatsoever for a good while now I shall comment.
You’ve pretty much already answered your uphill start question. It becomes a fine art of knowing exactly where your clutch biting point is without feeling for it and simply a case of bringing the clutch up slowly past the biting point, applying minimal revs to get you moving but obviously enough so it doesn’t stall. Getting the rev needle up into 4 figures or thereabouts and banging the clutch in won’t achieve anything at all and you will wheel spin without a doubt if the ground is moist, maybe even stall it.
I appreciate it’s a massive task to pull 44 tonne away up a hill gently from a standstill, ensuring you get enough revs up so that when you’re between gears you don’t lose all your momentum so that when you drop it in the next gear it’s labouring like hell - that’s bad enough with a normal fixed load artic but with a live load it’s ten times as bad.
Pull away gently and slowly increase your acceleration. By doing that you should ensure that the liquid hardly moves which is what you want. Get up a good slice of revs and then change up a range (half gear/split), not a full gear. You’ve got to be quick, but try to be as smooth as poss with the clutch engaging/disengaging. The harsher you are with the clutch, the more the wagon will jerk and when the wagon jerks the liquid comes to life and starts sloshing up and down the tank.
Basically, keep changing up like that if the hill progresses at the same gradient. Feel for the liquid moving about in the back and time your gear changes for just after the liquid had bounced off the rear of the tank and is on the return leg to the front; by changing up gear then, when you’re in between gears the liquid should at that point hit the front of the tank which will shove you forwards slightly, aiding your progress up the hill. Get the timing wrong however, and you may as well have not bothered changing up gear because if it hits the back of the tank in between gears, the liquid is effectively trying to push you backwards back down the hill, hence waving ta-ra to all that precious momentum.
Like I said, it’s a very fine art mastering tankers; I guess if it’s fitted with baffle plates inside then you’re very fortunate but you still get the sloshing to an extent. It’s not something you can master overnight. It took me months to get the technique right.
Stick at it, it’ll come with time and experience.
On the descending hills bit, simply keep the speed steady and have a very steady foot for the foot-brake. Hold the foot brake on, don’t ease off and reapply it or stomp on the brake as you’ll upset the liquid and send it sloshing about again!
Try to imagine that you’re driving at container with an open top and it’s full nearly to the brim with liquid and your life depends on you not spilling any at all. If you drive like you’re in that position you won’t go wrong!
I follow a piece of advice I was given many years ago by my HGV driving instructor…
“You should always go down a hill in the same gear you would use to go up it”
Vince
Interesting theory Vince, but would that not mean you’d be descending the Lancs side of Windy Hill at 35mph, given that with an average spec engine and full load you’d be crawling up it at the same speed, hence same gear?
Thanks everyone for your replies. Have started to get the hang of it a bit.