Monteagle Mountain | One of the Most Dangerous Roads in America | I-24 E in Tennessee | Ride With Us

[@rlcatt3259]

now that I'm retired the only thing I can tell you about driving down a mountain is you can go down a mountain 100 times to slow ,but you will only go down a mountain one time to fast ! be safe and injoy it goes by fast

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

👍👍👍 Wise words! Thanks!

[@Budman_4044]

Monteagle was my first mountain after getting my CDL. Fortunately, my dad was a lifetime trucker. He quit driving OTR after I was born in '68 and hauled grain for the local grain elevator and I rode with him a lot. Growing up, I told myself that I'd never be a truck driver. I went to college and worked in a hospital. Then I worked in a factory and then a large farm when I got my CDL. I then got a driving job with a small regional trucking company in Illinois and my first run was to Lithia Springs, Georgia. I hit Monteagle in the middle of the night. Fortunately, everything my dad drilled into my head when I was a kid about steep grade driving with me all those years. Yeah...I was scared shitless but I kept my cool and didn't have any problem. I drove a year with that company and another 5 years OTR for a larger company. I then did 2 years of local LTL delivery. Surrendered my CDL in 2012 due to just plain tired of idiot drivers out there. Be safe out there drivers.

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Thanks for sharing your sweet story about learning from your dad and continuing in his ‘footsteps.’ Happy to have you ride with us. 👍

[@BruceWayne-kd8rg]

I went over that 6 times a week when Yellow (yrc) was around. Monteagle is a mud hill

[@HappyTrucking]

I was just driving this a couple days ago!!! Have had my CDL for 3 weeks, I’m proud to say I drove it responsibly and safely!!!!!

[@curtriedel5036]

Hope you're still doing good out there. Be safe

[@HappyTrucking]

@@curtriedel5036 thanks!!! I’m actually doing really well. Am with a small company that is driver focused. Only caveat is we don’t make dock to dock delivery, I deliver interiors to schools, military bases, prisons, car dealerships, restaurants. Pretty much anywhere you don’t want a truck is where I take my truck!!!!! And I LOVE the challenge every day is something new!!!

[@ericjones5449]

This is part of the Appalachian Mountains. It's the Cumberland Plateau which is on the western edge of the Southern Appalachians.

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Thank you!!!

[@jefferyronson8950]

I was thinking the Great Smokie Mountains.

[@milepost4846]

@@jefferyronson8950 Great Smoky Mountains are well to the east closer to I-40 at the TN/NC state line.

[@gphatt1]

I did Flagstaff going through the Hoover Dam, it's rough but it was worth it for me going to Las Vegas from Birmingham Alabama. You would love Ruby Falls it's a cave tour then you go on the roof and can 9:11 see 4 states.

[@simonbone]

If you think Monteagle Mountain is dangerous now, you should have seen it before they rebuilt it in the late 1980s. The road was steeper, curvier, and narrower (two lanes); there was no mandatory stop for trucks at the top; and there was only one runaway truck ramp. Speed limit for trucks was 55 mph. There were almost daily accidents, with most of the injured drivers taken to South Pittsburg Hospital at the bottom of the slope.

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

😳😳😳😳😳

[@waltercasas3124]

TDOT said we have to fix this

[@MarshallMcCrory]

@@TheJoyofTrucking If anyone gets in trouble on the NEW and IMOROVED Monteagle they should turn in their CDL.i agree with @simonbone said.We did the OLD Monteagle with no jakes or autumatic transmissions.I'm retired now,and don't have to deal with flipflop sweatpants greasy tee shirt steering wheel holders.

[@79tazman]

Dave Dudley did a song about Mounteagle Mountain kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5ebn2Ogf5umfpI

[@OldStoneColdSteveAustin]

Always enjoyed the passes both up hill and downhill always get a sense of accomplishment 😅

[@johnwood551]

That is part of the Appalachian Mtn chain. You should see this road at night with the Fog that happens there. Visibility is nil.

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

That's one of the reasons it's so dangerous!!! Hope we never have to drive through there with bad foggy conditions!!

[@lgmmrm]

Driven through there in a car at night once. 35°F on one side of the divide, 70°F on the other. Really dangerous but once you get over it’s absolutely beautiful.

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

@@lgmmrm Yes! It is definitely beautiful! Thanks for sharing your story!

[@AlbertMaruggi]

Fancy Gap in VA is a seat pucker in the fog for me DOH

[@jefferyronson8950]

@@AlbertMaruggi 😆🤣

[@kambanks757]

4:50 Tennessee is very lush and green!!

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Yes, indeed!!! Beautiful!

[@nighthawk423]

that pull off inspection is called a break check. It's used to space trucks out going down the mountain. I used to live at the foot of the mountain In Jasper, TN. Monteagle is in the Cumberland Mountains. South Pittsburg, TN is the home of where All of your Lodge Cast Iron products are made.

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

👍👍👍👋👋👋

[@jonrunnells8127]

Scenery and geography such as this impresses me of the magnificent engineering of our interstate highways!

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

👍👍👍

[@allwortht]

So I’m not sure but the steepest grade this mountain has is 5%. I’ve been on steeper ones for sure. 8%. But awesome view! Keep on truckin

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Yes! There are definitely steeper ones. We’ve been on ones up to 12% 😳😳😳😳😳😳

[@blackriverparanormalinvest4796]

Union town mountain in Pa is another hill with multiple run a way gravel ramps

[@johnhudelson2652]

Any licensed driver should know you don't continuously ride your brakes on long steep downgrades. If necessary you shift to a lower gear even if you are driving a car.

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Thanks for watching! You are right. You’d think so. And it’s not always the case.

[@madden4000]

I don't drive a semi and I know this. This truck was in Nashville and riding his brakes down a hill. The look on my face 🤦🏾‍♂️😵‍💫🙄

[@srick77373]

You don't downshift on the hill. If you miss your gear, you will definitely fly down the hill.

[@johnhudelson2652]

@@srick77373 I didn't take in consideration with non-synchronized transmissions. I guess you would want to select the lower gear before the descent.

[@Ron-j3t]

😊​@@srick77373can't find one get a new job if u live cause it's not hard. But I suppose it's prudent if you can't hold the truck with ur left foot while stabbing the throttle.

[@mattswaggy7804]

Drove down this route on my way to my grandparent’s condo in Fort Myers Beach, Florida.

[@bogger4fun40]

Monteagle, TN and Monteagle Mountain are located on the Cumberland Plateau, which is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains, which lie in eastern Kentucky and Tennessee and portions of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. It rises to an elevation of 2,000 feet with grades of 6% on the eastern side and 5% on the western side.

[@jamesc1851]

Monteagle Mountain is near the southern end of the Cumberland Plateau. It’s all part of the Appalachian Mountains.

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Thank you!!! So beautiful! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@akbychoice]

Cabbage Patch, The Grapevine, Donner, Black Mountain, they can all get you in trouble if you make bad choices. There are worse two lane roads through the mountains.

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

👍👍👍

[@milepost4846]

You talking about Black Mountains east of Asheville, NC on I-40 in North Carolina or is this somewhere else? The I-40 grade from Ridgecrest to Old Fort in NC used to have wrecked trucks all the time in those runaway ramps nearly every trip I remember going over that stretch of road as a kid in the 80's and 90's. Don't see it near like I used too.

[@akbychoice]

Watched a guy heat up his brake drums as he passed me one night. Things were smoking and glowing red so much they lit up the road. DOT fined him, he is lucky he didn’t crash. I’ve been over it many times without an engine brake.

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

😳😳😳😳 Wow! He’s lucky he didn’t catch fire!!!! Interesting that the DOT actually caught him. Hope he learned to drive safer!!!!

[@CapitanBluebeard]

I’m only into my second week trucking. My trainer and I went down this a few days ago. He only let me put the jakes in the first position. Stab brakes all the way down to keep at 45.

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Congratulations!! And thanks for watching! You are hitting a tough road early on in your career! That's good experience. Kevin prefers to rely more on the Jake Brake and less on the service break. But you'll figure out what works best for you. Good luck finishing your training and we wish you a fabulous career in trucking!

[@Texas80sBaby]

I’m with Transam and doesn’t have a trainer went up it the other day going down it tomorrow first thing in the morning 😅😅😅

[@bamupnow8629]

@@Texas80sBaby how did it go

[@pointingdog7235]

You survived a big lesson early on. Have a wonderful career.

[@Duffinhusterr]

Rip Texas80sbaby 🙏

[@BruceWayne-kd8rg]

Hit that hammer lane!! At night the 3rd lane is reserved for LTL

[@bigdaddyhubcaps]

Try driving down in a Shakey ol cabover with no Jakes with 50k lbs of black gold potatoes heading to Perry Georgia!! 😅

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

😳😳😳😳

[@pointingdog7235]

You sound like the old breed for sure. I remember my Father's stories from the 50's.

[@TheophilusBoone]

I went up and down this hill, in a car, in the 70s a number of times, without knowing much about it, except it was a long grade with a few warning signs. I guess my mind was elsewhere.

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Guess you weren’t listening to Johnny Cash. Especially since that song didn’t cone out until 1990. 😉😆😆Thanks for watching!

[@ern48]

Retired truck driver now but when I was young everyone told me to go down a hill the same speed as you'd go up and probably true back when trucks were 2-300hp and 72,0000 max.

[@Bob-s5v9m]

@@ern48 same gear

[@lindajohnson4204]

I believe that Monteagle is the south end of the Cumberland Plateau: the highlands that Cookeville and Crossville sit on.

[@jndoirin]

I just drove pass this and saw someone cooking they’re breaks I came on here to see if it happened often and boy was I in for a surprised 😅

[@trenthobbs9175]

Looks like he’s going a little faster than he should. You crest a hill at the speed you want to go down it.

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Wise words! Thank you!

[@pointingdog7235]

I was thinking that too.

[@lyndakrehmeyer9559]

Oh! My! I would love would love to drive again

[@romegeorgiamanshannongeorg7413]

Driving For A Company delivering copiers and office supplies..i Had to go Both directions.. Nash- Chatt in 1983-84 Years ago before the DOT improved the Southbound..I24.. I saw Lots of Smoking brakes..the smell of Asbestos. A panicked look of Drivers.. The raw fear they had on their face blowing their horn as they passed me.. Brakes failing... The safety sand trap with a truck or two stuck in it and A few car fires on the bottom of that wretched Downgrade.. I drove it at 45 mph..thats it.. That. Horrible Stretch used to suck.. Especially at night.... Damn I24.. Terrifying.. Folks wizzing past you at 80+ only to see them at the bottom with Brakes on fire.. Crystalized their brake pads.. A few crashes.. Many lives lost on that stretch.. Speeding is definitely not recommended.. Especially trucks....

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Wow! Your description is very vivid and shocking. You saw a lot there! So important to know how to handle your vehicle at these types of grades. Thanks for watching and commenting!!

[@JohnOwens-l6e]

Used old U.S. 41A to bypass that scale. Only the 1693TA Cat could pull it!

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

👍👍👍

[@curtisross4856]

You are going down Mont eagle in the blue ridge mountains

[@driver3605]

Monteagle is not a big deal. You just have to follow the rules.

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Hey Charles! Thanks for watching and commenting. After driving out West first, this also didn’t seem so bad. But do always make sure brakes are in good order. Don’t want to end up on one of those runaway truck ramps due to brake issues.

[@nubianking4203]

@@TheJoyofTrucking facts! I'm from Atlanta and whenever I drive to Nashville, I always see the truckers driving slow down the mountain

[@stephenjablonski3261]

I travel over it once or twice a week, delivering to Atlanta and chattanooga

[@taylawless5740]

I literally just went down this mountain now I'm on jasper's at the loves

[@jimb3541]

Question? Level 3 Jake's and a couple stab breaking for this grade?

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Hey there! Yes, that's pretty much it. Kevin's method: Start slow on top of hill. Apply full Jake Brakes. And only use foot brake when necessary. Take into consideration weather, wind, and how heavy the load is.

[@lindajohnson4204]

Is it safer and gentler to go through Tracy City?

[@k9wlwradio309]

Monteagle Mountain is part of the Cumberland Plateau. Stay safe! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monteagle_Mountain

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

OOOHHHH. Thank you!! Love it! Really appreciate your comment and link! We love learning about all the different areas we drive through!!

[@jessicahoneycutt887]

That’s it! I have lived atop that mountain all my life!

[@towmanac7056]

@@jessicahoneycutt887 I worked for Monteagle wrecker for awhile ..Rodney Kilgore is a sob lol..surprised I haven't ran into you ..I live in m Boro tho

[@ryananderson8098]

California penn, rolling heading north is the scariest mountain I've ever run down.

[@ryananderson8098]

Monteagle is a joke compared to that, at night. It's a legit horror.

[@RonaldTharpe-gx5cy]

Mounteagle has claimed a lot of lives. It's better now that it's a 6 lane. Years ago it was 4. The runaway ramps are in different places now than they used to be. It was more dangerous and curvy than it is now. LODGE made in South Pittsburgh..Ron in Ten Mile Tennessee...

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Yes! 👍

[@wakcedout]

I recently drove my work small box truck 9’ clearance, loaded with 60 boxes of syrup south thru those mountains toward Georgia. I don’t live near mountains and I went slow as needed with grade breaking kicking on in my vehicle, I took my damn time. And then unloaded I went the other way on i40 and stuck to the truck limit of 50, while getting passed by semis for effs sake, and that route I enjoyed. Nice and just slow and steady. The tunnel freaked me out tho. Never drive thru a tunnel lol. And after looking back, yep it was that exact road I went down snails pace scared out of my flipping mind. I was so glad to see the bottom of that mountain lol. Was eyeing those runaway ramps as an “if anything goes wrong I’m aiming for that”

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Thanks for sharing your story!!! Glad you made it and ended up enjoying it. And thanks for bringing syrup! 😆👍🤩

[@lyndakrehmeyer9559]

What gear do you use when going down this road

[@wemcal]

Great video

[@brianmcgee8493]

monteagle isnt at all a big deal. let your jake break do the work. black mountain near asheville, nc is worse but not that bad at all either. same thing.. let the jake brakes do the work & follow the speed limit.

[@bonniewalker6340]

Husband’s heritage parents were raised in these Mountains.

[@jonrunnells8127]

Monteagle to Chattanooga: the best part of I-24

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

😃😁🎉

[@jackrabbit4383]

Western mountains are way more dangerous especially in winter. Blizzard conditions make u chain up on the side of 12.000 ft mountain passes in the darkness on the side of the interstate in a blizzard with snow skiers speeding down a pass to get to the slopes...good times😅

[@augustusshook2881]

Only in Tennessee you can have 4 seasons in 1 week. I know I have lived in Erwin Tennessee all most all my life.

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

😆😆😆☀️🌧🌦❄️❄️❄️🌨🌹🌷🌺🌸🍂🍁🍃🍁🍁

[@ryanmax-grappler8654]

This is nothing compared to cabbage patch ca and i70 Denver. Those some steep grades

[@Peter43John]

I have driven Going-to-the-Sun Rd. through Glacier National Park before I hit Mount Eagle and it STILL scared the living sh#t out of me.

[@mwalker3547]

It a piece of cake compared to what it used to be.

[@williamhalter2032]

Grapevine and Donners pass will get your attention

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Yup!!! They sure do!!!

[@jonrunnells8127]

The 1950s US 64 the service road on the right...

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Thanks!

[@jimb3541]

I still think Donner Pass is the worst west bound.

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Yes, we hear it's really bad! We haven't driven it yet. When we do, we'll definitely make a video!!

[@truckerryan4019]

Cabbage Hill in Pendleton, Oregon can be a challenge

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

@@truckerryan4019 Ohhhhh…haven’t been there yet! Thanks for the info!!

[@corinnemccormack5967]

The Cumberland's. Westbound is far more dangerous. I live off exit 127. I like 41A up to Sewanee

[@corinnemccormack5967]

Driving up to lookout mountain is a good scare

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

👍👍👍🤩 You live in a beautiful area!!!

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

😱😳

[@johnirwin7566]

😅 Monteagle is a joke. It's a few miles of grade. Those of us that run the west have been down driveways worse than Monteagle.

[@rutledge9016]

remember climbing it back in ole days hanging out the window lookin at blue flame tellin dad big jim rutledge how far fire was shootin out stack of burt kohlhouses mack yee haw

[@eddieradford113]

Great Smokey mountians

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Thank you!! Thanks for watching!

[@milesshahan7758]

monteagle mount tenn

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Lol!!! Ohhh. That’s how it got it’s name!!! Thanks for clearing that up!!

[@trevorperry8470]

Am I missing something here? No cliffs to run off of, guardrails, what’s so dangerous about this

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

It’s a long and steep decline. If truckers don’t use their engine brake properly they will possibly burn up their brakes.

[@kingvette7485]

Nothing out west is any worse then the east.

[@jonrunnells8127]

English driver. Unfamiliar with our interstates and geography.

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

You are the English driver?

[@GRB-f4u]

Appalachian Mountains

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

👍👍👍

[@HillbillyAllen-mt4gr]

Lynchburg Tennessee

[@staceymelton3072]

Cumberland mtn

[@toddb8851]

Johnny cash!!!

[@michaelhamilton3778]

That hill ain’t nothing. There are two in Pennsylvania, one of witch is 18% (single lane) that would definitely make them re-think there life’s decision, in there chosen profession. Two professional, steering wheel holders that haven’t seen a real hill.

[@mikegallimore863]

It is not a dangerous Mt. If you know how to drive a semi I drove 30years been over that lil hill many times. Run it when that east and west on the west bound side. We had two lanes each dat was fun.Quit trying to scare people Monteagle just another Tennessee hill.

[@RonaldHill-wo3yb]

that mountain is a piece of cake easy as pie and yeah been down eisonhower keep your wits about you it's easy too been down donner too nothing to it guess the winners got to whine moan and complain.

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Yes…those are more challenging, especially in winter…but they’re not in a song. 😆😆😆

[@huebolser]

Monteagle is not 1 of the most dangerous roads in America. Go through the grapevine, or cabbage or Sierra pass. Monteagle is a cakewalk compared to them. When you post a videos like this and word it the way you worded it. It truly shows your lack of experience. You both are rookies

[@jamesc1851]

@user-te6gn1iy2t Well tough guy if our little hill is nothing, come down it without using brakes next time you’re this way.

[@shannondenisecraddock9484]

I suppose some people ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE that "authoritative figure" and aren't smart enough to USE COMMON SENSE. That area is there so you MUST downshift into a safer gear! Must you always be TOLD what to do??? Are you not self-regulating/self-governing??? If you aren't then you don't deserve that CDL that you "earned". Surrender your CDL...you are supposed to be the best of the best in order to hold a CDL!

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

😳😳😳

[@curtriedel5036]

One of the most dangerous roads in America? 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 You have Got to be kidding. It's a F*cking Hill!

[@TheJoyofTrucking]

Johnny Cash certainly thought it was. 😁😆🤩

[@Nikkiwho791]

My best friends husband died on mt, eagle last year,he had 15 yrs experience over the road brake's failed right over the side place is dangerous

[@nubianking4203]

U have to slow down for real. I've driven to Nashville many times and u definitely can lose control if u go too fast. My Condolences 🙏

[@bonniewalker6340]

Husband’s heritage parents were raised in these Mountains.