e-brake requirement

[dresslered]

I would not buy a ebrake with holes in it, BD is the way to go.

You are absolutely right! Why should we trust Cummins to design an engine brake for their engines?

 

[GerryDrake]

Hills

I know you westerners have your Rocky mountains and think highly of them, but us that live on the east side of the United States have the Smokey mountains to deal with.

Boy you don't have to tell me twice about that bit of a grade on I-40 between Newport TN and Asheville, NC..... best justification in the world for an exhaust brake... ... and then there is the uphill aspect... . That is one we avoided with our PS, but the CTD would take in stride. .



There are probably more long steep climbs and drops out here in the west, but we've found some pretty severe ones throughout the country. Part of what we travel for.

 

[ramtifosi]

MS BOMBERO,

It is not Ms But MR boy, I left the state because of the girly boys (quote your governor) like you who now run the state. When I first moved there it was a pretty liberal place, like NO Helmet Laws, you could SMOKE in BARS. Put your Birkenstocks in your mouth. Enjoy your hell hole. Hey while your at it marry your boyfriend, Santa Rosa not that far from San Fransico.

 

[CPG]

Exhaust brakes

The signs you see in areas of towns on not using brake retarder's are mostly referring to the Jacobs engine brakes on the "Big Rigs" and not on our CTD's.



CPG

 

[Blue Goat]

Towing with an exhaust brake is an asset in the mountains. I can desend Monarc pass between Gunnison and Salida Colorado in 4th gear with the Jacobs e-brake on and never touch the brakes. The desent speed is 40 MPH. I have desended Monarc Pass towing and behind an 18 wheeler without an exhaust brake, not fun. With an exhaust brake, there is no risk of hot brakes. Just gear down and use the e-brake.

 

[klenger]

Blue Goat:



Is that anywhere near Monarch Pass? I sure do miss Colorado, especially in the summer.

 

[Radshooter]

Blue Goat... funny you should mention Monarch Pass. That very hill is the reason I have my CTD Dually Oo. Back in 2000, I was still in school learning to do x-rays. To pay the bills, my wife took a travel assignment in Montrose. We were moving our fiver there for her to live in while I was in the dorm in Kansas. At the time, I was pulling with a 2500 V-10 auto. I had no doubt the truck would get the trailer UP the hill, but my concern was coming DOWN the western side. We made the decision to hire a semi tractor take us from Salida to the flats west of Monarch Pass. The trucker showed up not with a semi tractor as I was expecting, but with one of those big Peterbilt wrecker/recovery trucks that tows semis! He picked up our trailer and hauled us over the pass. There, we unhooked the semi and put the Dodge back under the trailer. We were quite a site going over the hill. The semi with our trailer, me in the V-10, and the Misses in her Toyota pickup (manual transmission). The trucker used the exhaust brake all the way down and barely touched the service brakes. We ticked off a lot of yuppies in BMWs, because we were only traveling 35-40 mph, sometimes less than that. Oh, did I mention it was snowing on top of the pass? My wife was a nervous wreck when we got to the bottom of the hill and switched the trailer to our truck. The semi driver said we had done the smart thing. He had fished a lot of RVs out of the canyon after their brakes gave out.

Heres the good part... After we wrote him a check and he was on his way, my wife turned to me and said "Honey, when you finish school, you can have any kind of truck you want to pull this rig with. " Oo. Oo. Oo. Oh Happy Day



Take care and drive safely

Steve

 

[Midnite]

Has anyone here ever been pulled over for using their exhaust brake in an area with signs prohibiting engine brakes?



Regardless of what companies like Jacobs says, we're definitely at risk of getting a ticket. Think about it--*very* few police officers know the difference between an exhaust brake and an engine brake, and they sound pretty similar. Cops deal with BSers every day, and if you try to talk your way out of a ticket by explaining the difference between the two, most cops will say "nice try" and hand you the ticket.



That's not to say you couldn't get the ticket dismissed in court, but don't expect that you're immune from a ticket just because you have an exhaust brake, and the sign says "engine brake".



Mike

 

[klenger]

It is not legal to post signs limiting the use of any equipement by brand (Jake Brake). What they can do is post a sign stating the maximum allowable noise level. It is up to the vehicle operator to know if your vehicle complies with that noise level. I am quite certain that an exhaust brake by itself would not exceed any posted noise levels. See http://www.jakebrake.com/content.php4?doc_uid=18 for Jacobs position on this issue.

 

[GerryDrake]

I beg to differ.

... ... Think about it--*very* few police officers know the difference between an exhaust brake and an engine brake, and they sound pretty similar. Cops deal with BSers every day, and if you try to talk your way out of a ticket by explaining the difference between the two, most cops will say "nice try" and hand you the ticket.



Mike

That is a pretty broad brush to paint the majority of police officers with. Having spent a career as a police officer, I suggest the majority of police officers know the difference, and that the intent of the laws is to prohibit unneccessarily loud noise in appropriate areas. In the several local jurisdictions around here, the signs are normally worded to prohibit use of "compression type brakes" or "compression brakes" within their small communities. The majority of enforcement action taken, I am sure, is against the logging trucks and the like that revel in 'blasting' down from redline in congested and or residential areas. I am sure there have been a few pickup drivers with exhaust brakes that have been able to let their attitude get them a ticket too, but I would offer that it is decidely rare, and more a result of attitude than use of an exhaust brake... . Just my opinion, of course Gerry

 

[Joe G.]

The signs around Clear Lake said Jake Brake for a while. They say engine brake now. An exhaust brake does not sound anything like an engine brake. In fact, an exhaust brake is hard to hear from anywhere except inside the truck. An engine brake on can rattle windows in houses.

 

[Thomas]

And this one in Ventura County, California refers to an imaginary section of the California Vehicle Code.