jake brakes; when to use them, when not to

DONT use em going past my house at 3am....LOL but to be serious I have heard A LOT of drivers say not to become dependant/used having the jake brake on/working all the time as it can fail and you really should know how to say go down a grade without it...etc. Lots of guys complain when drivers haul ### into the truck stops in the wee hours of the morning and have their jake on....I guess its commons sense and knowing your current driving conditions; from all that I have read and heard over the years.

 

I'm a new driver but the only use I've found for the jake so far is going down long inclines (declines?). Basically whenever the jake will control the speed downhill so I don't have to use the foot brake as much. I'm in a fog about the value of jakes in a parking lot or any level/semi-level surface.

 

Not always. I use the engine brake to slow the truck down to a crawl before using the service brakes. Of course, this truck has a super quiet muffler on it and the engine brake is barely audible... no "Blat Blat Blat" like you'd get from a straight pipe.

I leave it on all the time.

 

Just remember:

The loudness and/or intrusiveness of a jake brake is directly proportional to the number of drivers sleeping in the given truck stop parking area at the same time.

 

When I start my day I make sure the Jake is off. Once I get up on the freeway or highway speeds, I usually reach over and flip it on. Typically though if I'm going through a small town on a 2 way road for example, I will turn it off (most of the time there is a sign informing truckers to turn it off) or any time where my speed will be below 40-35 miles per hour like in a traffic jam. It's nice to have on when approaching a gnarly curved freeway exit for additional slow down power. The engine retarder can also wreck havoc on your fuel economy.

When not to use:
Rain
Snow
Bobtailing
Small Hick Towns
Suburbia
Truck Stops
Below 35 MPH

 

Using a Jake Brake in these situations will give the rest of the world the illusion that you are cool and have a large #####.

 

A large pound sign ????

 

Why not use the jake in the rain? I heard it was only when slippery. While rain can cause slicker roads I don't think it would be enough to jack-knife you.