Engine brake in winter

Hugh and Rick.

 

I always keep my cruise set right at the governor and leave my Jake on 3d stage all the time!
















But then again I run with scissors!

 

Well, I don't have as much experience as some in wintery roads, but here's something I've noticed about jakes and winter driving: it depends on your load and the hill, as well as the trailer. Pulling a 53' van that is loaded to max? Jakes on stage 2 prolly won't be a problem (I've jaked on stage 3s with a 475 cat in 7th before with no problem in completely covered roads in PA/NY but that was running at 80k gross too.) Why? Because when you are going down hill that shifts some weight from the trailer tandems to your drives (yes, it also shifts some weight from the drives to the steers too but not as much.) Of course, how much weight also depends alot on how the trailer is loaded and I can't give you exact numbers based on grade, but it does happen. This is also why you are far more likely to spin out going up a grade then down a similar grade, assuming the snow/ice conditions are similar on both sides. Now, driving a box truck is obviously different since the weight will be transferred solely off your drives onto your steers. The advice given previously about starting slower at the top is the best bet. Also, you should make ANY changes to either direction of travel or speed very slowly. Sudden changes are more likely to cause a loss of traction. Finally, if you DO break the tires loose brakes are completely useless so you might as well let up on them until the tires start rolling again then GENTLY start applying pressure. When the tires break loose the only control you have (if you can be said to have any) is over the steering and that's where your focus should be, either to get straight again or put the truck somewhere where it will do the least amount of damage.

If you're smart, cautious and a little bit lucky (hey, luck never hurt!) then you won't have much to worry about, though it won't stop the ticker from kickin up a notch or two. In my 5 years driving in the NE and some Canada, I have only ever had 1 real incident with snow and losing traction and it was the result of mistakes on the part of me and another driver. I won't relate the story here, but thank goodness it ended with both of us staying on the road and having a good laugh (after a few sharp words and a few minutes to cool down) on the CB and each chalking it up to a lesson learned (me learning to be even more careful when passing a big truck on a curve at the bottom of a hill in the snow, and him learning to pay more attention to whether or not his high beams were on when another truck was passing.)

 

I'm not really a trucker but like to pretend on the Internet. Anyhue, optional braking devices such as Jakes,ect. are helpful when used correctly on slick roads but sparingly. Another is power braking. This skill not only gets you off the hill but can help regain control of your truck after the fact. Use the shoulders and or the center of the lane for added traction. That's where all the rock,ect. is. Next time your in these conditions look at the ditch and ask yourself, "Can I walk away at this speed?" You know what to do.

 

No one even mentioned slowing speed by 1/4 on wet roads and 1/2 on icey, slushy, snow covered, or any slick condition. Hmmmm... That's strange!

 

Thank you pretend trucker!

 

It will help me greatly if you can nail down the route number of this grade, nearest town, milemarker, intersection with major route etc. So I know exactly what grade you are dealing with.

First tidbit. Never start again in winter. That tells me you are using Momentum to get up and over. So you run for the upgrade and up you go. You probably barely get over the top.

Second tidbit. You apparently have a two axle box truck. Or is it a three axle? Without knowing the particulars of your engine itself and the type of engine braking I cannot talk about that too much.

Third tidbit. You cannot use cruise. It will get you or someone or a family killed. Turn it off. Especially in winter.

4th tidbit, you appear to be going downgrade way too fast. You want to be below 30 all the way down, it is a nice stable speed where you hardly touch your brakes. When you are loaded you can have a minimum of jake braking. But if it is anything on the road such as snow, ice etc you cannot use that jake brake. It will break you loose and then try to throw you.

I have talked in the past about winter use of Jakes and sometimes done something totally different against my own advice. But that is me specifically and my choice only in extremely narrow range of situation and with the negative behavior expected of the truck.

Instead of stab braking (SNub etc) try a contininous application. If you have a application gauge that says maybe 10 PSI on the downgrade constantly being applied to the brakes you are building a little bit of thermal heat slowly. If you are on ice or snow or rain, it's not a problem. But controls your speed with less air expense than stabbing or snubbing. In order to use it, you have to make a very useful speed reduction for example 30 to 20. Hopefully gravity will find a balance at 20 where you don't need brakes all the way down.

You would be better off buying chain for that truck. I use chain on my Tahoe at home. It's a pretty crappy 4x4 and the austrian chains are in the bag waiting to get me out of icy spots on flat ground of all things. Make sure it's snug and do not overspeed with them on.

 

Use common sense. As a professional truck driver, you should know your truck and it’s capailities. You should know the conditions of when you think it is safe to do so or not

 

I use it in winter, never had a problem. Engine brake is always first option for me unless I need to STOP or slow way down...winter, summer, whenever. When I want to slow down just a bit with foot already off the accelerator I hit the engine brake (only) on setting one, might go to setting two...it doesn't ''jerk'', traction is maintained on rain or snow better than foot brake IMO...works smoothly and effectively. Only if that is not enough will I then hit foot brake pedal.

 

I've had the truck brakes lock up enough times already this winter from Jake's the spike is my friend now