Running without Jakes

[Chunker]

My Volvo developed a problem somewhere in the oil level sensor and/or wiring and the company shop says it has to go into the dealer to get fixed. This causes the computer to not let the exhaust brakes work for some stupid reason. So I'm waiting for my home time this coming week to get it in the shop. I had already driven up and down I-5 from Centalia to Fontana with no jakes but with lighter loads up to 25K. Yesterday I picked up a heavy load of paper at 43K in Albany, OR. going to Sacramento and got the brakes a little hot coming down Mt. Sexton, but made it home for the night. Today should be fun down the south side of the Siskyous. Any old timers here remember the good ol' days before Jakes were a standard issue?

[Snowman7]

You dont have to be an old timer. Jakes are not standard issue. I havent had a jake brake for about 4-5 years. Got issued a new Pro Star a month ago, no jake brake.

[Orangetxguy]

My Volvo developed a problem somewhere in the oil level sensor and/or wiring and the company shop says it has to go into the dealer to get fixed. This causes the computer to not let the exhaust brakes work for some stupid reason. So I'm waiting for my home time this coming week to get it in the shop. I had already driven up and down I-5 from Centalia to Fontana with no jakes but with lighter loads up to 25K. Yesterday I picked up a heavy load of paper at 43K in Albany, OR. going to Sacramento and got the brakes a little hot coming down Mt. Sexton, but made it home for the night. Today should be fun down the south side of the Siskyous. Any old timers here remember the good ol' days before Jakes were a standard issue?

You're gonna learn how to drive today, or you're not gonna.

You need to visualise the road ahead as you drop down past Lake Shasta, and keep your speed down for the curves. But you are also going to need to "Hit IT" when you know that there is an upcoming grade, with 55 mph curves instead of 25 mph curves.

If you don't know how to feather your brakes, you will burn them off before you get down into Redding...and that is a bad thing. Good luck.

[Orangetxguy]

Had you not already mentioned smoking em on Sexton.....I would have advised going up 58 from Eugene and going thru Kalamath Falls into Weed. To late.

[Chunker]

I live in Grants Pass, so the reason I didn't do 58, which I'm really familiar with, less hills and same distance. What do you mean by "feathering the brakes"? I use the stab method of applying enough brake to slow down 5-10 mph and release. Yesterday, it really wasn't enough at 35mph down Sexton, but I also try not to let the rpms get above 2,000. And hey Snowman, why no jakes on a new truck? Could it be you work for USA Trucking or Stevens?

[Scoe]

The truck I currently drive is a 2005 International 9200i day cab and it has no jake brake. I'm pretty sure they had to special order it that way to save a few bucks. Primarily, I run Portland to Kent but occasionally Portland to Redding. Last time heading back north from Redding I had 42k on and that 7 miles of 6% downgrade from the Siskiyou summit to Ashland was a little much for my brakes not to smoke. Had to get pulled over and cool 'em down before hitting the POE at Ashland.

BTW, I am getting a new truck in June and the company asked if there was anything special I wanted on the spec sheet. Jake brakes were already on the spec sheet, apparently they were tired of me whining about it.

[Mr. Ford95]

What's a jake brake? Kidding, kidding

The only truck I've drove since getting my CDL does not have a jake. IMO, I think driving without them makes better drivers. I've only smoked my brakes once, that was having to do an E-stop at 65 mph.

[Snowman7]

I live in Grants Pass, so the reason I didn't do 58, which I'm really familiar with, less hills and same distance. What do you mean by "feathering the brakes"? I use the stab method of applying enough brake to slow down 5-10 mph and release. Yesterday, it really wasn't enough at 35mph down Sexton, but I also try not to let the rpms get above 2,000. And hey Snowman, why no jakes on a new truck? Could it be you work for USA Trucking or Stevens?

I work for UPS Freight, a division of UPS. It used to be called Overnite until UPS bought it. Overnite was 50/50 on jake brakes. We still have some with jakes but ever since UPS bought us I havent seen one tractor come in with them. But you see this alot with day cabs. I dont think Yellow/Roadway, Estes, or Conway Freight has jakes either. And we pull doubles to 80k and triples to 100k this way. Granted the east coast isnt as bad but we do have PA, WV, Maryland, Kentucky etc. As far as I know our whole fleet nationwide is equipped the same way. I worked for Conway Freight previously and I know for a fact they still have some 1995-2000 model year tractors on the road that have no jake, no air, spring ride suspension, no radio and a 7 speed tranny. They don't even have a fuel gauge. I used to drive one. I think they started adding air ride around 2001 and air conditioning around 2004. These trucks get run too. Some are slip seated and run 1000 miles a day on two different runs.

[Roadhog]

Even my Tonka truck had a jake.

[Scoe]

Even my Tonka truck had a jake.

Hey, my first motorcylce had a jake brake. A 1970 Yamaha dirt bike, they called it a compression release, same principal.

[ilikeike]

. . Yesterday I picked up a heavy load of paper at 43K in Albany, OR. going to Sacramento and got the brakes a little hot coming down Mt. Sexton, but made it home for the night. Today should be fun down the south side of the Siskyous . .

Similar truck, '07 Volvo, similar weight, same geography but different . . or maybe the same . . problem. My cruise control went out (not the pedal switch) somewhere in the wiring and, coincidentally, because the cruise wouldn't work, the jakes wouldn't. Just as I got off the phone with my life insurance agent and was about to roll, the shop beeped in with a question and a suggestion: "Is your cruise switch still on?" Yes. "Turn the switch off!" Switch off, Jakes worked . .

[Chunker]

Well I got down to Sacto and drop that load. No problems downhill, started out in 6th and light brake app, slowed down too much, went to 7th and floated down, lightly stabbing them to go from 35 to 30. Got a 16k load going back up to Salem, should be no problem.

[Roadhog]

I went down the grapevine with no jakes, and that was enough for me.
I felt that same knot in my gut, when I skated down an icy Snoqualmie Pass on chains.