Jake breaks in the rain

If you know how to use them, you can use them in the rain. Problem is, most people don't know how to use them correctly.

 

Maybe if your tires are completely bald and you are empty and driving on an inch of water.... use it on medium and high as needed just make sure you are in the right gear for the down grade for your weight and you'll be fine

 

I use mine in rain and sometimes in snow. 17 years, never had an issue. Just gotta use your head about it.

 

I use mine. Rain, snow. Just pay attention to what your doing. Why are you going 75 in the pouring down rain anyway?
The only place I don't use mine is when you come through Boulder in Nevada, cause it "No Engine Brake" and the local police WILL ring you up. And I hate it. Coming through there heavy, put all kinds of wear on my engine and brakes to comply with their 40 MPH limit, and sound ordinance.

 

Anything that reduces pavement friction to your tires can make them slide. Once they slide gravity can take over and jackknife them. It would be as simple as forces acting against the kingpin inside your 5th wheel and the one tiny angle to this or that side is where the tractor is going to break or the trailer is going to slide.

Long ago in the rain running the coal roads of PA with many hills, sometimes there is forces sufficient to jack knife me acting on the 5th wheel and you were getting pounded back there feeling that tractor get shoved to the sides trying to force a jackknife on you. You would slow down and reduce the forces.

First rain is the worst most dangerous in terms of oil on the pavement. Flooding rains is another threat where your steers might go into a florida rut towards pensacola on I-10 and force your tractor to come around in a jack knife or hydroplane, or both.

Jake braking is something that is not done on ice becuase it will lock the drives and you slide with a bonus of a stalled engine possibly. Jaking in the rain while loaded provided there is sufficient weight and not very fast speed to overdrive the tires and availible traction is common.

Im sorry I generally cannot give you a hard yes or no. If you are very new to trucking, I suggest no jaking unless on a proper downgrade mountain work at 20 mph or something. If you are empty, there is no real point to use jake brake at full pressure.

It's literally a mile by mile case. Sometimes the rains offer a threat and you should not use the jake. Other times it's eh.. just rain and everyone is happy. You can use a little jake. But remember.. nothing too wild. If you force a input against your tires which are doing one of these things.

Traction, Rolling, Braking and side to side control of the load on it it can roll. If you stop it from rolling which a jake can do by stopping the drive wheels then they will slide and you will have a jackknife on your hands. either a tractor jack knife or a trailer jackknife. A tractor jackknife is the worst threat of the two, you have to work the steering wheel really fast to get her back. The last time wife has us in a jack knife in winter ice, I added for her about 7 inches of wheel into the skid of the tractor coming around yelling at her to freeze. Jake was off, auto was doing what auto does normally upgrade on that curve. Tractor came back and settled. After my number three through 8 fell into the canyon west of knoxville when they hit the same patch and jacknifed as well. That closed the road.

So until you gain experience do not usually have the jake on in rain especially never on ice. If you are on say mount eagle downgrade at 80,000 pounds and 17 mph or less against your jake in the rain and everything is balanced then all is well. That is the magic word balanced. Sometimes if the crown is severe and the road is wet or ice enough, one end of your rig will break loose and come around. That is where you come in.

It's best never to get into a jack knife at all. Therefore no jake on ice and none in rain.

I don't know how to say yes or no without a ramble in the woods anymore. If pushed I say no in the rain no jake. Not for you newbies. But I myself use it now and then. But am all over it waiting for something to go wrong.

 

You get a feel for your truck... and also how it handles at different weights, as well as your weight distribution.. in summer I like to go down the hill at maximum speed with jake on highest setting that it will hold my speed. I know most hills and what speed it will hold me at relative to my gross weight. In winter or if ice is possible or at night it is a different game... I usually use medium setting only or even low, and go much slower as conditions worsen... what you don't want to have happen is have the engine slow down very quickly so your wheels are spinning slower than your actual speed, it is the same effect as spinning on ice, you lose traction, only when going downhill rather than lose some speed you will gain speed thanks to gravity. Things can get out of hand very quickly if you figure this out going down an icy mountain. It's better to go real slow than be on the edge of your limits and bite the dust. If that happens sometimes the only option is to continue going faster and keep it in a straight line. Trust me it's a great way to test your sphincter strength if you ever experience it..

 

Use them in higher gears, lower rpms.

 

Like when you come over Raton Pass heading south. About 3/4 of the way down, when your doing between 70 & 80, " No Engine Brakes ".
Well.
I never saw that sign.