Upgraded

Yeah, I did that before and started to smell something burning. I don't like doing the engine like that when coming down a steep grade, what I do is put it into Georgia overdrive and let it ride. lol, just joking. I just leave it in 10th gear cut the jake on and let it ride to 60 then brake down to 55 or 50, rinse and repeat. have not lost brakes yet. you would have no other choice but to do that if u had no jake like in the older trucks. the way the jake work on these new trucks, its like going down the grade without it anyway.

 

Yeah, that ain't gonna work if you ever get out west on some real grades.

 

Don't try coming down Donner or Vail doing that, you will burn those brakes out fast.

 

That's a good way to end up dead. Whoever trained you should be fired.

 

I have driven a cab over that had no jake on it and went down Cabbage, The Grape Vine and a few others but no way would I try either of those at those speeds as I would still slow down and gear down before starting my decent. In the 2013 Freightliner I have now I can gear down to the posted speed on cabbage and turn on the jake and never touch my brakes the whole way down. Sure I may be slow but I will pass you as they are pulling your truck from the run away ramp if you go over Vail, Cabbage, Donner or the Grape Vine like that.

 

Don't blame it on my trainer, he taught me the way you and highway are saying, like I said I don't like the rpms pass 1500. if I was doing something so wrong then why am I responding to you instead of dead down a mountainside? I know, luck right? I do this every time I go thru ny, pa, wv, tn. don't go west much, but I have been thru some western states; az,id,ut,wy,ne, nv and ca. and doing this for a year now and have no problems with the brakes on my truck. I am nowhere near experienced as you guys, but I do what I can to control my truck to the best of my limited ability not to wind up dead. I know where I stand with you guys when it comes to trying to win an argument about trucking, I can't win. Ive said what I said and will bow out gracefully.

 

It is out west most of the downgrades have lower speed limits posted for what they feel is a safe speed for trucks. Trust us you do not wwNt to go over Cabbage at 78,000 gross at 50-55mph cause there is a good chance you won't make it to the bottom. Even Monteagle in TN has a 35mph speed limit when going east as I just went over it the other day in 7th gear with the jake on and my rpm's held steady at 1500 and I never touched the brakes.

 

Do you have a fullsize or a lightweight? because in my lightweight i tried to put it in a lower gear and have the jake on and even in 9th gear the rpms rev over 1500. seems like I have to hit the brakes even more just to keep the rpms from going over 1500. and if I startout in a even lower gear, it really be over 1700. I think the fullsize jake holds better at 1500 than the lightweight.

 

i have a full size now but never had an issue in my lightweight either. If you are going down let's say a 6% 4-5 mile downgrade I am usually going down it in 7th gear if I am heavy instead of you doing it in 9th. The lower gear plus the jake most of the time will hold me at 1500 now I may at times have to tap the brakes if it starts going over 1500 but not near as much as I would if I was in a higher gear. Sure you are going to be slow going down but the whe point in my eyes is making it to the bottom safely. I just talked to a trainer friend of mine who just went over Vail for the first time the other day and he didn't in 8th or 9th I forgot which he said but the end result was him totally smoking the brakes. Lucky for him he was still able to get his truck stopped and able to let his brakes cool. Now if the down is like only a mile long then I usually don't go that low on the gears but I do slow down some and turn the jake on before going down. I am no expert my any means but to me the jake seems to work/hold better in the lower gears when on a downgrade.

 

Okay, so if I am in the right lower gear and I am over 1700rpm just let it ride like that all way down the grade and it wont burn the engine up? I want to also clear up that I do go down the grade at the posted speed limit for the weight and I cut the jake on so when it does go a little fast than the posted speed limit I slow it down all the way 5 miles below than posted speed and let it go back up to the limit or slow it down before a curve, but i still have it in 10th gear, so it wont rev over 1500 rpm. but if you guys say to put it in a lower gear and it wont mess the engine up the whole way down the grade, I will do that. I find myself hitting the brakes more because the rpms run so high when in the lower gears. the prime meeting they said keep around 1750 to 2100rpm for the dd15 . they did not explain the max rpm for the dd13 which are in the lightweights. just realized as I am typing this, I can ask road assist the max rpm without engine damage for the dd13. by the way monteagle is what interstate and also cabbage patch. Vail is in Colorado right? I've been to co. also is vail near Denver where the trailer home yard is? going I-70 w you have to go past Denver to get to vail right?