How many tow with an exhaust brake?

[KevinK]

I keep going back and forth about spending the money on upgrading my auto transmission (with DTT VB and TC) and adding an exhaust brake or just worry about buying brakes. I do most of my towing through the Colorado mountains. Coming down long, steep hills, I shift to third and use what compression braking there is, but I usually start to smell the brakes toward the end. I'm concerned about safety, but don't want to spend ~$3000 that I don't need to.



Kevin

 

[RustyJC]

Tough choice! Dodge says if you tow over 10,000 lbs, you should have an e-brake. Then they turn around and say no e-brakes on automatics. That's one reason we went for the ETH/DEE combination as our truck is used almost exclusively for towing the 5th wheel.



Rusty

 

[Eric_77]

I tow in Tx, Ok, Ks, La, MS, Al, and Fl so basically all flat ground other than the Arbuckle range which has never been a problem pre or post upgrade. So my situation is the mild of mmild scenarios. The auto is starting to show a bit of heat in 3rd gear but is not slipping.

 

[Bob Wagner]

The truth is

if you have anautomatic and need the ebrake for safety by all means get the transmission upgraded and use the DTT Smart Controller.



You are better off safe than sorry

 

[KevinK]

Bob,



That's really my question. I don't know whether I have a safety problem or not. If I do, I'll spend the money, but if I would only be adding an exhaust brake to avoid buying a few sets of brakes, then I don't know that it's worth it. BTW, my GCVW is 18,000#. Also, what does the DTT Smart Controller do that a "mystery Switch" does not do?



Thanks,

Kevin

 

[Bob Wagner]

there are pros and cons to the mystery switch

Do yourself a favor and get some free advice from the man that has installed several combinations.



Bill Kondolay 1-866-504-4002 toll free too



100% honest advice

 

[jstyer]

Buy new brakes?

I don't know how it is towing with an automatic, but I know that after putting the e-brake on my truck, the one thing they should have considered is a switch to activate the brake lights. It really puts a "whoa" on the truck when you let off and you don't need the trucks brakes so therefore anyone close to your a$$end is in for a surprise. All kidding aside, I hardly use the truck brakes with the E-brake on.

 

[dmurdock]

no going back

I sound like one of the guys preaching the e-z, but once you have one, you will NEVER tow without one.

 

[Bob Beauchaine]

I just added my exhaust brake in May of this year and I wish I had done it years ago. I use it all the time and not just when I am towing. One of the best investments I've made for my truck.

Happy Trails

 

[Runaway]

Had E Brake on Auto, now on manual!

Had the E brake on my 99/auto and when I bought the 01manual, I transfered it over. If you ever have the opportunity to drive one with an E brake, you will understand the safety issue.

 

[merryman]

I have had an exhaust brake for over 150K now and its the ONE accessory I would not be without.

Kevin, its about the things you mentioned, but for me its illustrated in an experience I had about fiver years ago. We were going down the west side of Willamette pass in Oregon. Its miles and miles of 6 % grade. We grossed 18. 5 K then, and the E-brake was keeping us right around 50 mph, and used service brakes now and then for curves.

Came around a curve and there was a road grader in our lane doing about 15 mph, and oncomming traffic in the other lane. It was match the grader speed, rear end him, hit a truck head on or go off the mountain side.

Since the E-brake had kept the service brakes cool, slowing sufficiently was possible, but barely. If the brakes had been hot, it would have been real messy.

Get a brake! You will love it.



Vaughn

 

[Deezul1]

I had a bozo pull in front of me and stop when I was towing my RV and without the E Brake I wouldnt have got stopped in time. They really do the job

 

[David Muench]

No exhaust brake yet, but I have plans for one for my ETH/DEE. I'll just get by until then.

 

[MUDDY]

i put the exhaust brake on when the truck was new and would not ever want to be without it.

it really saves the service brakes and holds you back on the steep hills.



dodge should offer them as standard equipment on these rigs.



i even use it on the rare occasions i drive empty. heck, with that exhaust brake i will probably make it 250,000 miles on the first set of brakes.



mm

 

[K_Arts]

Originally posted by KevinK

Bob,



That's really my question. I don't know whether I have a safety problem or not. If I do, I'll spend the money, but if I would only be adding an exhaust brake to avoid buying a few sets of brakes, then I don't know that it's worth it. BTW, my GCVW is 18,000#. Also, what does the DTT Smart Controller do that a "mystery Switch" does not do?



Thanks,

Kevin

Kevin... don't even tangle with a mystery switch. If you are considering the DTT setup with a smart controller and e-brake, you really need to drive my truck first. I have that entire setup. When I went up to BC to have Bill install my TC and VB... . I knew that I would be getting a 5ver sometime. . so I went ahead with the smart controller and Pacbrake.



Trust me. . before you spend the money drive my truck and see if you like the setup or not. I agree $3000 is a lot of money... but I do have to say that I Love my setup and wouldn't trade it for anything!!!!!



Kev

303-885-2875

 

[JCaldwell]

With my 95 auto I towed for 6 years w/o an exhaust brake so when my 01 Dee arrived it went to the dealer shop for a Jacobs exhaust brake with 5 yrs or 100000 miles warranty by Mopar. When you tow it is a question of safety. I can't say which make of brake is best, but mine works great on 10,000lbx.

 

[rob10858]

from what ive read about e-brakes and auto trans, id have to say that the risks seem to outweigh the benefit here. the new tdr article on this subject seems to verify this. when we were first looking into switching some of our first gen trucks to the new gen [95-96] our dealer "rented" us a 96 v-10 auto for a week. i loved the way it held back and performed on mountains, not hills, and realizing that gas and diesel motors arent the same as far as holding back a load, still loved the truck. in the end, we still went the man trans and e brake. the reasons for having an auto are simple [my durango is auto] dont like to shift, traffic, dont know how, etc. but with the 2001. 5 trucks [ 3500's] we have a lot more brakes than before. there are ways, as i have seen to make an e-brake work great on an auto, and it should be a great addition to anyone that pulls, but the six speeds are almost like an auto trans, ive seen a couple of my boys smoking up the lot as they pulled their loads out in the wrong gear. these trucks, and engines are hard to get used to , as far as the gearing patterns, but they have so much torque that the powerplant and trannie forgives your shifting mistakes. once you get used to it, the six speed will be your best bet. if they all blow apart tomorrow, ill still beleive that the only way to go for rammers, is with manual transmissions. for those who cant drive with two feet, [my father in law lost a leg in ww2] the dodge auto, with the right mods is still better than the ford and chevy trucks that we have. you have to go by what youve experienced, not what the guy that owns the other truck tells you, and we have them all.



[

 

[Ted Constantine]

I love my brake. Just towed 2000 mileas in the last couple days and really got to play with the braking. With an inertia brake controller I could put on the e-brake and just touch the brake pedal. The trailer brake go on proportionally to the braking power of the e-brake. It was very effective. I ahve driving a truck with a brake on an auto (massdiesel's). With the Dtt setup it realy does a good job.

 

[JSchooley]

Kevin, if you can afford it get an E-Brake. You'll love it and increase your safety.



I think Bill's settup at DTT is tops from the posts on TDR, but it was too long a drive for me. I used the BD torque lock and pressure lock on my last truck. They worked slow, but OK. It is best if you let up on the throttle when the transmission goes into lockup to prevent excessive lockup clutch wear.



I pulled them off the truck when I sold it and I'll give anyone a real hot deal if they want them. They are like new and have all the parts and instructions.

 

[Cobra]

I got the jacobs ebrake from my dealer. I would not be without it. I even use it when empty. I haul a slidein camper, biggest one made and run the Pa. mountains alot. It was the best accessory I put on my truck. My brakes stay cool in the event that I need to do a panic stop they will be there for me. I have to say, if I had had an auto trans I amy not have gotten it, but now that I have it, I would get one if I had an auto.