the unnecessary usage of j-brakes, why????

Around here it is unmuffled engine breaks prohibited...Some can be quite noisy even with an OEM muffler...

 

Your question states “unnecessary usage”, which is what I’ll attempt to address here. Since I have been driving, I too have noticed drivers running basically all the time with their j-brakes for whatever reason. Yes, the j-brakes are designed to assist a big truck with the stopping power on long graded highways, not on curves through intersections nor while entering a truck stop in 6th gear running 15 mph. I have been around many of these truck stops and have witnessed the moral conduct of some of these drivers and it’s pretty sad from what I have seen. Now keep in mind that not all drivers are this way, but many of them certainly are more professional displaying disrespect than they are in driving, even to their fellow drivers. Every time I go to fuel up at the truck stops there sits a fleet of trucks in front of me using the pull-ups for either restaurant or shower parking. You basically have to fight for your right for an exit, and these guys have no consideration for anyone else. How many times in your travels do you see a 80,000 pound big truck riding the bumpers of cars in a residential or congested area? The same goes for the cowboy wanna-bee yahoos who act all macho and tough just because they drive a big truck with straight pipes w/more horse power and running their j-brakes senselessly all the time just for the attention. There are drivers out there who can make it un-pleasant for everyone and these are the drivers who are earning their reputation honestly. These are the guys leaving their pee specimens on the sides of the highway for someone else to deal with. Many of these guys don’t have any consideration in public places with their chewing tobacco spitting habits either. You have professional drivers out there who take every precaution in respectively representing the company that is displayed on the sides of their trucks, and then you have these macho individuals who are a misfit to society driving for companies who simply don’t have any guide lines to safety or public awareness. I remember a few months ago traveling through Virginia during the last ice storm. I was moving about 30 mph and was passed by 3 super trucks going about 55-60 mph. That morning after pulling back onto the highway I saw 2 of the trucks that passed me off into a ditch, one of them on it’s side. Yeah…real tough guy he was. Basically, I don’t see a reason for using j-brakes in a residential area unless there is a steep enough grade that makes it necessarily safe to do so. There are gears and brakes on the trucks that will slow you down. The only time the brakes will heat up is if you are constantly applying them over and over again while running on the heavy side, not applying them once or twice going down a small hill and especially not when you’re going around an intersection through the city, these guys are simply looking for attention and are giving many of us drivers who are serious about being professional a bad reputation.

 

I remember when I was westbound on I 70 heading into St Louis it was snowing pretty hard. I was being passed by a lot of hot headed truckers. Luckily none of them ended up in a ditch, but a little mustang and a Ford 150 had slid off the road after they went flying by. I kept saying slow down, unfortunately I talked to myself a lot when I was on the road.

 

My uncle said it best: "Every time I use the Jake is that much harder I han nail the brakes when someone cuts me off."

Normally, he would not touch the clutch or the brake pedal unless he was stopping. He didn't use Jakes in residential areas or parking lots, but he used them everywhere else. Funny how he was never the one towed in with cracked brake drums or a brake fire...

But I will say this: a non-turbo 8V71 Detroit with the Jake on full (all 8 cylinders) is LOUD.

 

Hey guys the son moved to Menominee MI right on M35. This is a guy who slept on the Kitty Hawk Below the catapults during th gulf war flight ops. Says most trucks winging by all day (works 3rd building a ship for his former employer) don't bother him but one S.O.B. with straights and a jake gets his off on the sound coming by all the time is going to get the big rock in his front yard! The Boy is 6 3 sits watching tv doing 75 lb curls each arm. told him just chase the guy down find out where he pulls up for the night and after about a hour start honking the horn up under the curb of the sleeper! then ask him if he likes it The roads as flat as a table top where he is. I understand Jakes well have a freind that made a trip into the pee gravel once. Some people are just @sses. :smt021

 

Racally Road Warrior----
I want to thank you, Sir. Very well said.

 

It's even better that you can be open-minded enough to try and understand why and when we DO need jakes. I wish more people were like that...