Jake brake etiquette

Small ##### syndrome. No reason to jake through small communities especially if on flat ground.

 

But how can you be a super trucker if you don't have your jakes on 24/7? No matter if your descending Wolf Creek Pass or bob tailing in a 15mph school zone, it says in the super trucker manual that you must have your jakes on at all times, your air seat slammed to the floor, your shifter way above your head, and that you must wear sweat pants and flip flops at all times.
I agree with the op, it's a nuisance and unnecessary but I guess it's "cool" or something.

 

Don't live by a truck route if you don't want to see or hear trucks.
Don't live on a gravel road if you don't want dust.
Don't live near a hog farm if you don't want to smell hog manure.
Don't live in the projects if you don't like poor people.
Don't live near a crack house if you don't like junkies.
Don't live near an airport if you don't like planes roaring overhead.
Don't live in the colored part of town if you don't like minoritys.
Don't live near me if you don't like me.
Don't live near the coast if you don't like flooding.
Don't live in Canada if you don't like major forest fires.
Don't live in North Vietnam if you don't like hard labor.
Don't live near a school if you like kids.
Don't live near a tavern if you don't like drunks.
Don't live near a Harley dealer if you don't like loud bikes.
Don't live near train tracks if you don't like train noise.
Don't live near a prison if you don't want to die early.
Don't live near a hospital if you don't like sirens.
Don't live near a funeral home if you don't want cigarette butts thrown in your lawn.
Don't live near a Catholic Church if you don't want your children molested.
Don't live next to a dentist office if you don't like loud screaming.
Don't live next to someone with a pit bull if you don't want to be mauled.
Done!

 

I'm sorry, I was not the popular kid in school. Keeping my jakes makes everybody look at me and that makes me feel important.

 

I grew up in log truck country on a 1/2 mile long 6% grade and our house was at the point down the hill where EVERY TRUCK kick on the jake about 100' before our house. With that being said I use mine where needed but am also respectful of others and keep her quite when needed.

 

As someone who runs B-trains loaded between 125,000-135,000 lbs, I use my jakes when I need help to slow down (especially on non-clear days). I'm not relying on the service brakes with that kind of weight. I try to avoid using them when close to homes (and I'm always trying to time lights so I never have to stop, but sometimes I just have to stop), but I think people would prefer I stop than plow the back of them and not make any noise doing it.

Most trucks these days are properly muffled and you can't hear the jakes unless you are standing above the pipes and really listening. Personally, I don't think people should really care so long as it's not in the middle of the night. They invented the things to help drivers not rely on service brakes.

 

A combination of jakes and service brakes are safer than just service or just jakes. If jakes weren't meant to be used, they wouldn't put them in trucks. My 379 Pete with a MBN C-15 has great-sounding jakes, but they aren't LOUD like so many show-offs out there. Yes, they make noise, but so does an engine fan (I drove a Paccar MX-13 with an engine fan that was louder than anything I've ever heard).

Like tucker said, if you don't like to hear trucks, don't live by a truck route.