Your experiences of brake fade?

Sorry for being harsh, but man, horse truck drivers are the worst on the road. They dont drive enough to learn, and care more about the meat in the back than anything.

Truck brakes/foot brakes/air brakes (especially for trucks of that era) are not for slowing down, they are for emergencys and to come to a complete halt. Otherwise, it should be exhaust brakes all the way or one day, your going to get yourself in trouble when your to heavy and the hills to long.

Rough rule of thumb is to descend a hill at the same speed you climb it (and gear)

You have an old truck, and im guessing its only got the 5sp and single stage exhaust brake. Your going to HAVE TO BE slower than more modern trucks as you simply dont have the brakes and gear range they do to control there speed. Lots of old trucks simply sucked on the footbrake as they would lock up trailers or fade to nothing in no time, so you had to drive without using them.

If you find your having to use the foot brake to hold your revs/speed down on a long hill, (im guessing 2800rpm or below) your at least a gear to high. Most hills you will find on main roads dont change in steepness, your better off going on the decent in a gear to low (meaning that even with the exhaust brake off and just running in gear its still loosing speed ) and having to upshift than having to try control your speed with the footbrake.

Find someone who had driven older trucks professionally and pay for a lesson, it will be worth it.

rule of thumb is to go down a hill in the gear you would need to climb the hill slow down before you start the decent and use you brakes to prevent engine over rev, start changing up as you approach the bottom. Brake fade in a car can result in a spongy pedal in both air brakes and air over fluid brakes for my own experience is that you will notice that you wont get the same response from applying the same pressure as you normally would you will fell like your having to push harder.

Yes thanks that's exactly right, I do go down the hill in at least the gear I'd climb or lower. It's 6sp and I take care not to overdo her. I do care about the meat in the back, don't want to throw them around the truck! But equally don't want to be a menace on the road.
Thank you Strobo, I will take that into account!

Pulse your brake pedal pushes, don't keep your foot on the brake pedal continuously.
It gives the brake pads a little time to cool down in between pushes.

do you leave the exhaust brake on, at all times ? sounds like perhaps you turn it off and on. leave it on and use the exhaust brake, gear box and engine braking ability of the engine in the right gear to keep your downhill speed at a safe consistent speed, you shouldn't have to use the actual brake pedal with your foot that often if you are using the gearbox, exhaust brake and engine braking effect properly.

When was the last time the brake fluid was changed. It breaks down over time and if you had brake fade it probably boiled as well.

That too agree. Just because it may have a current cof dosnt mean the brakes are good till the next cof ,If any noticeable drop in the master reservoir level !. could be weepy wheel cylinders into the drums burning off ,the smell was mentioned by op ,concerning enough! Should have them checked out for peace of mind though . Check linings for thickness through inspection hole and look for dampness around the backing plates.It Will be dual air over / so several things the owner can check visually .