Automated transmission on a downgrade

Pick your gear before you crest, by manually shifting in the H position. Flip your Jake on and let it rumble.

 

Use the brake and engine brake to keep the road speed down. The automatic trans will not shift unless you let the tach go too high.

 

There aren't a ton of steep grades where I run. But I don't really do anything all that different in the auto than I did in a manual. My truck has an Eaton ultrashift with a push button controller. Once it downshifts, you can tap the manual button and it won't upshift unless you tell it to. But I never bother with that because Michigan is pretty flat. I don't see grades steep enough and/or long enough to warrant kicking into manual mode. I just slow down so it downshifts before the grade and then I use the jake and service brake as required to keep the speed in check. No muss no fuss.

Automatics do grades just fine. Its really nothing to be concerned about.

 

I know this is off topic im wondering where you at in SW MI i live in the Battle Creek / Coldwater area.

 

H is hold.
you put yourself in the right gear, engage retarder, and like big jay said, let it rumble.
You can shift up or down, skip gears, hold a selected gear

 

Hold/manual, and if you need to slow down for something, low (or whatever they call it.) That low setting will continually downshift all the way down to the lowest gear as you slow down, assuming you have the jake on and are indeed slowing down.

 

Vicksburg.

 

That LOW setting is what I always used going down a steep grade.