Downgrades with no Jake. Best way to handle it?

I started driving in 1992.
Worked for JB 1 year. Trucks didn't have engine brakes.
Worked for MS CARRIERS. No engine brake.
Worked for Crete. No engine brake on the first truck I was given.

Drove my first 450k miles before I got issued a truck with an engine brake. I ran 48 states , sometimes grossing 80k. And I've been down all the big hills with no jake. So it isn't absolutely necessary to have one.

Down hill with a heavy load and no engine brake? Slow way down before the hill. Geardown and go really slow and watch both mirrors for brake smoke. If you see smoke, pull over immediately and let brakes cool. Proceed carefully .
If you go too fast you may lose brakes and die. So go SLOW.

I have had an engine brake since 1995 and I really like having one. It was ridiculous that so many companies didn't have them when I started.

 

The other reason it's bad advice is that lot's of hills are steeper on one side than the other.

 

Thanks for the info; I thought all trucks had engine brakes. I wouldnt want to drive mine without it though. Nearly all the trucks that pass me down grades are going much faster than the reccommended posted speed. I dont see how that is safe when loaded heavy. The reccommended speed on Deadman in Oregon is 18 mph loaded heavy. Most are going 55 or 65 down this grade. Maybe they have much better brakes than I do. I wonder if some of the newer trucks have disc brakes on them.

 

Whatever floats your boat, the advice is intended to get past the generic "pick the right gear" pablum and try to help the guy by telling him which one.

FWIW, that was the advice I got when I started running the coast in the '70's and our brakes weren't near as capable as they are today. Yeah, yeah, you live there, but it worked for all of us running Cats when a Jake wasn't an option.

 

With your automatic I assume you can gear down before the hill and hold the gear manually? ( I have never used an automatic ).
You can go down a mountain too slow again and again.
You can go down a mountain too fast once.

And get that engine brake fixed.

My engine brake was turning off sometimes. It was just a broken wire.

 

Please do not rely on an engine brake, they do fail and if you do not know how to brake with a full load on a serious grade, you learn fast or someone gets hurt or killed. So to all who promote engine brakes, do yourself and everyone else a favor, shut it off until you are confident you can brake without it. You can always turn it back on in a pinch while you aree learning.

As someone asked yes always start a gear lower than you think, much eaiser to upshift than downshift. If bad road conditions(ice, rain) or on a local road you may need to start two gears lower. Big line behind me? Welcome to the parade, we will go down the hill at a speed I feel is safe, whether you are late for work or not.

And stab and release is the way I was taught, and seems to work best.

 

Yes but why tell him to start off on a downgrade in a higher gear and then try to down shift, which could be problematic. Isnt picking the right gear part of the solution to being in the right gear?

 

How did the drivers handle the mountains before jakes were invented?I have tackled mountains many times without jakes.It can be done and safely.

 

Heres what I have done,stay 3rd or 4th gear,rpms will ride about 3000,transmission will hold ya.If you start speeding up use lite pressure on the jhonny bar (trolly valve)