When to use a jake brake
- Thread starter Roadhappy
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Roy M
Well-known member
Does yours come on with the tow/haul mode? I only use that on steep grades to conserve fuel during normal travel, I don't have a 'jake' and really haven't felt a need for it.
Gizmo
Well-known member
You can use it all the time and I do if I think about it when not towing, but always when towing. For flat terrain and minor hills I set it on auto, for steep mountain declines I set it on full.
Larry N.
Well-known member
If your rig lets you keep it on all the time I'd leave it on except if there's a very specific reason to turn it off. The Beaver I had wouldn't let me keep it on while the cruise control was on -- one or the other -- but my Ventana lets me always keep it on, so I normally do. On rare occasion I may turn it off down a shallow hill to keep it from engaging and letting gravity help my mileage, but that's rare (usually I want the braking effect), and I may turn it off when there are signs saying it's not allowed (some cities), provided it doesn't affect my safety (going down steep hills at speed).
If it's a two stage, such as Gizmo seems to have, I'd normally keep it on the first stage, only switching to the second stage on steeper hills when the first wasn't enough, such as going down I-70 from the Eisenhower tunnel westbound where in the Beaver it would keep me from exceeding 60 mph when using all six cylinders (second stage).
If it's a two stage, such as Gizmo seems to have, I'd normally keep it on the first stage, only switching to the second stage on steeper hills when the first wasn't enough, such as going down I-70 from the Eisenhower tunnel westbound where in the Beaver it would keep me from exceeding 60 mph when using all six cylinders (second stage).
Larry N.
Well-known member
Roy M said:
The 'jake' is only for diesels, and it's not associated with tow/haul.
Roy M
Well-known member
Late model Ram diesel pickups have it come on in tow/haul, Ford and GM may as well. I didn't realize he was talking about a 40' dp.
HappyWanderer
Well-known member
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- Apr 21, 2014
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- 2,967
It shouldn?t be used on slippery roads. My rule is to put it on low when it?s raining and turn it off when it?s snowing. Other than that is normally stays on high.
Vehicles have different ?sweet spots? where the Jake and transmission work well together. It might take some experimentation to find yours.
Vehicles have different ?sweet spots? where the Jake and transmission work well together. It might take some experimentation to find yours.
UTTransplant
Well-known member
?Jake? brake is a common term for a compression brake. However I don?t have a compression brake on my vehicle. Instead I have an exhaust brake. Do I understand the differences? No, not completely though Wikipedia has helped. What I do know is that I leave my exhaust brake on all the time except in rain or slippery conditions. It doesn?t make the noise the compression brakes on the semis make, and I don?t turn it off in towns. It might be an exhaust brake isn?t as efficient as a compression brake is, either, but my DP is only 32,000 pounds compared to 60,000 plus for semis.
Utclmjmpr
Well-known member
How about 80,000+ for most semi's..>>>Dan
ArdraF
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- Feb 12, 2006
- Posts
- 10,695
We have a Jake floor button/pedal much like the old cars that had a button on the floor to switch headlights between low beam and high beam. Our Jake also has a high-low rocker switch to the left of the driver. We use the floor button when we want to slow down when approaching a freeway exit. This saves the service brakes. I tend to use it on freeways any time I want to slow down gradually, again to save the service brakes. Of course, the biggest usage is to control speed on downgrades. With a steep hill, such as southbound on I-5 from Oregon to California we step on the floor button at the top and pretty much hold it on until we get down to California's agricultural check station where the road flattens out. We follow the truck speed limits for curves so sometimes supplement the Jake braking with a short but fairly hard service brake pressure to bring it down to the curve speed if the Jake hasn't held it low enough. We don't use it in rain or snow where the roads might be slick. By the way, we're a 40,000 lb. DP towing a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Our previous DP had a Pac Brake and we used it much the same as the Jake.
ArdraF
ArdraF
Sorry, I have never seen or heard of a "jake" brake on an RV. The technology si simply too expensive for the RV industry as a whole. The OP really needs to come back and clarify if he truely has a Jacobsens engine retard system or the more common exhaust brake which usually is a sliding vane attached to the turbo.
Robert K
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- Joined
- Jan 30, 2011
- Posts
- 702
donn said:
Well that should get some responces :
Alls I got is a pacbrake
Larry N.
Well-known member
donn said:
There are both around, donn. The 2007 Beaver (CAT C-13, 525 HP) I used to have had a two stage compression brake, using 3 cylinders for stage one and all six for stage 2. My current Newmar Ventana (Cummins ISB6.7 XT 360 HP) has the variable turbo brake. I don't know if the compression brake on the Beaver was a Jacobsen BRAND, but it was essentially the same thing, NOT the "sliding vane" thing.
Roy M
Well-known member
FYI it is a Jacobs brake, not a Jacobsen which is a lawn mower. Just trying to clear up any confusion. ;D
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
You've led a sheltered life, donn. Real Jake brakes are common on upper tier DP models from American Coach, Newmar, Monaco, Foretravel, Entegra, etc. with Cummins ISL, ISM or ISX engines.Cummins offers those engines with or without an integrated Jacobs engine brake.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
Yes. Leave it on all the time unless there is a specific situation where it is not desirable. Slippery roads is the primary concern, where the driver needs to be ultra-cautious about braking to avoid skids. Manual control rather than automatic braking is the safest method there. Otherwise, many drivers find the automatic engine braking to be irritating on stop & go traffic or rolling hills, where the coach is frequently accelerating and decelerating and thus cycling the Jake brake on & off. It's not hurting anything (except maybe fuel economy), but a flip of the switch removes the irritating effect.
Barnibus
Active member
ChasA said:
True of many towns. The noise can be an annoyance going through small towns.
We now live at the edge of a small town, right on the main highway. Trucks coming through are running 60-70 mph and the reduce speed sign is 100 yards from our house. 24 hours a day the trucks all back off their accelerators right out front, and their Jake/Engine/Exhaust brakes can be a tad irritating.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
The Jake on my diesel coach was barely a rumble, nothing at all like the loud exhaust rap-rap-rap of the commercial trucks. Probably a much better (but maybe lower mpg) exhaust system? In any case, I soon decided the "no Jake brake" signs were irrelevant to me. If it can't be heard, how would it even be known to be in use?
