Down Hill Braking on a Ford Chassis

I also drive the F-53 and find no problem down a steep grade using the tow/haul feature with electronic control does a great job.

bsinmich wrote:
Actually a gas engine will give much more engine braking than a diesel. The reason a diesel has to have the jake or exhaust brake is because a plain diesel will have virtually no engine braking. Downshifting before you get going down the hill is the answer for a gasser.

Correct answere.
A diesel just free wheels downhill in any gear, unless it has some sort of add on braking. Where as a gas engine has compression on the back side naturally, and will in fact hold the vehicle to a lower speed, IF you down shift. Trick is, to downshift to a gear that will hold the speed you want, and sometimes, that is even 1st. You just got to do it before you pick up the speed.

Falcon35 wrote:
The new Ford transmission with tow haul program works something like an exhaust brake. When I approach a steep hill I punch the tow haul button and when it starts to speed up I push the brakes and it down shifts. I have traveled some roads with some real steep hills and have not had any problems.

I've got a new Thor on the F-53 chassis. Being that I'm always towing, with a dolly or trailer, for the most part, I leave it in the Tow/Haul mode and as soon as it senses the engine freewheeling, it shifts down automatically. Most of the time, it's mild pump braking and let them cool as described an above post. On one very long 7% grade, I had to manually shift down an extra gear to keep it where I wanted the speed.

Actually a gas engine will give much more engine braking than a diesel. The reason a diesel has to have the jake or exhaust brake is because a plain diesel will have virtually no engine braking. Downshifting before you get going down the hill is the answer for a gasser.

Just travel I40 across the Smoky Mountains west to east and the one long down hill east of Ashland NC was quite easy. 6% grade for several miles. Had the transmission in tow mode. At the start of the decent hit the brakes at bit to get the speed down until the transmission down shifted and for the next few miles all I did was steer. Engine braking held the speed under 60 MPH with the RPMs peaking at around 3500.

Would guess my total weight was around 19,000 Lbs. which includes a toad. Coach is built on a 2006 Ford F53 chassis.

The new Ford transmission with tow haul program works something like an exhaust brake. When I approach a steep hill I punch the tow haul button and when it starts to speed up I push the brakes and it down shifts. I have traveled some roads with some real steep hills and have not had any problems.

There are a couple of places I go where I have a choice of routes. When I had a gas motor home I would avoid the steep down hill routs for a longer trip around them. With the Diesel I have no second thoughts about traveling down the same hills.

Thanks. I also enjoy driving our DP in any terrain, it's a tank. But we need bunkbeds for the kids, so we're looking at gassers. DP's with bunks are way out of our price range. Wish I could figure a way to put bunks in our Dynasty.

Gas engines DO have some engine braking when the throttle is closed.
But one does need to mind their braking P's and Q's with a gas chassis, hydraulic brakes. Go down steep grades in a lower gear; 2nd or third. Don't ride the brakes. When you pick up some speed, apply brakes firmly for 5 seconds, off for ten a few times to scrub speed. Riding them can boil the fluid. Bleed the brakes every other year at the least and use high temp brake fluid. My 98 F-53 at 20K pounds left me white knuckled a fwe times. The DP is a joy to drive in the mountains by comparison.