I'm sold on light steady pressure rather than snubbing

With light steady pressure you're not getting the brakes as hot to begin with, so you need less recovery time for them to cool back down.

 

The 5-3 method is what I was taught and is what I use when jakes alone dont get it

 

No one ever taught me anything about brake application pressure, so I've never bothered to use that gauge.

 

This I not what I was taught
I was told that even the lightest braking would heat soak the brakes given enough time, lets say you had to do light pressure for 50 miles without letting up , those brakes are toast

 

As long as they just smoke like heck and not catch fire…..you are doing it right.

 

I use smoke and breathe braking. You try to push the brake pedal through the floor until you see smoke back there, scream like a little girl, and release the brakes until you get going so fast you're afraid you might flip it. Rinse and repeat.

I don't know about these new-fangled ways of doing things supported by these CALIFORNIA SCIENTISTS, but this method has served me pretty well over 20 years. Only burned 15 trailers, and 10 of them were PARTIAL.

 

Hehe, me either--I kinda just taught myself.

One day not long after my training I just kinda noticed it on my dashboard, looked at thr little pictogram, saw a foot and a brake icon, figured it had to do with my service brake--and began watching it as I braked in certain situations to see how it responded and how my foot was doing. That came in handy once I began doing more mountain driving. My trainer hardly ever used his jake--he used a combo of controlled braking and every now and then trailer braking to spell it--which led to me doing the same. That's when I REALLY began watching that gauge, to make sure that needle didn't go too high; if it ever did, I knew I was in trouble. Ended up saving me lots of trouble once I figured out what I was doing.

Speaking of the controlled braking thing (which I still use to this day), the way I learned it was whatever gear I went up a hill in, I dropped one gear to go down, then pressed the pedal just enough to feel a definite slowdown, hold it for about 3-4 seconds, then let off for about 4 or 5, then repeat. I eventually got to where I was doing 3-4 seconds on, 8-10 seconds off, ans just monitored my intervals. I figured if I ever had to do it quicker than that, I was going too fast. And all that was before I ever bothered to learn how to flip that jake switch on the dash.

I'm glad I had a great trainer who taught me how to actually drive the truck. He didn't teach me everything he knew--some of it I had to figure out on my own--but as a greenhorn still wet behind the ears he taught me well & I still use his methods to this day. (I'm also glad all that was before all these extra electronic safety systems became dang-near standard fare.)

 

Much like a car, stab braking is a thing of the past unless you don't have abs.

JJ Keller suggests the controlled application method whereas you slow down to 5 under, hit 5 over and controlled braking to 5 under again.
It's really a contentious point then considering the prevalence of automatics and the interesting advice no "jake braking on wet or slippery roads."
What it really boils down to experience that can't be duplicated in a test environment for example:

Give me a Chevy, Ford or a Dodge manual pickup and i'll drive that sucker up and down the mountains all day with no issues. Throw me in an 80 ton missle in my inexperience heading down a wimpy 5-6 degree grade, with wet roads and a clear policy forbidding trainees from using the jake and i'm asking myself wtf is wrong with this "trainer" and why isn't he driving besides boredom?

I guess my point is when you know the vehicles handling characteristics which ONLY comes from years behind the wheel of differing vehicles and you understand and "ok" the pre-trip, specifically the condition of the brakes and tires it doesn't really matter how much braking your going to apply since EXPERIENCE has taught you to use as much engine braking that is safe for that environment which sadly seems to suck on automatics. Granted i only have experience now on the auto Kenworth T680's but i was really missing a manual transmission not understanding how 2/4/6 cylinder jaking relates to selected downshift/gear.

 

Best option always going down a steep grade of highway is have the truck in a gear where by you do not have to use any brakes, other than a retarder, but even then your up the creek if that fails also, it does mean putting it in a very low gear though. This is one of the topics that should be taught at CDL school in other words defensive driving, most drivers when asked what does "trucks must use low gear mean"? Do not really know the proper answer, the vehicle must be put in a gear that will hold the load without using any brakes, this saves the brakes from overheating, and the driver losing control of the vehicle if the brakes were to fail.

 

Just get a truck with disc brakes and one won't need to worry about brake fade....