Engine/transmission braking in gas engines

To clear up any confusion in the post above, my budget is build yrs. 2000-08 or so.

Although you say you are limited to used 2000-08. don't rule out looking at newer. We are still in a recession. Some dealers are still hurting. If you see something you like make a offer. Their listing sales price is just a Santa Clause wish list. :B I am betting I could pick up a 2013 V10 for less than $65k. Maybe lower. True these are market entry models. Just don't rule out a newer MH.

Not much need for that in Fla. Lived there for years. However I live in the high country and pull grades all the time. I have helped get friends rigs home many times for one reason or other. Have driven both Ford and Chevy based rigs of most all years. Do not really see a lot of difference on the miles long down grades. Just back off the run with the trucks. General rule is to use the gear going down that you used going up. Has worked for me for over 60 years.

Picking my 2002 coach up on Friday so take what I am saying with a grain of salt. I've heard that the workhorse / Allison transmission combo is a great setup to have for engine braking. When I took my coach down a long grade during the test drive the transmission did an amazing job of "braking." In fact I hardly had to use the brake. It will be interesting to see how it performs under full load but I am confident it will do well.

The Brazels Allison transmission grade brake can be added to a 2001-2004 Allison transmission. In 2005 Allison incorporated the grade brake into their transmission. Basically what it does is automatically downshift the transmission ONE gear when you touch the brakes on a decent. Touching the accelerator switches it off and you can drive normally.

rgatijnet1 wrote:
The Brazels Allison transmission grade brake can be added to a 2001-2004 Allison transmission. In 2005 Allison incorporated the grade brake into their transmission. Basically what it does is automatically downshift the transmission ONE gear when you touch the brakes on a decent. Touching the accelerator switches it off and you can drive normally.

Interesting. I wonder if mine already had that as that is what it seemed to do...

Does the Allison grade brake perform the same as if I would manually put the trani in one gear lower?

bhildreth wrote:
Does the Allison grade brake perform the same as if I would manually put the trani in one gear lower?

Yes, but it will also upshift with a touch of the accelerator. The grade brakes drops ONE gear EACH time you hit the brake on a decent so if the road gets steeper, just touch the brake and it drops another gear until you hit 1st.
You can do it all manually, like people have done for years. It is just a convenience that some are willing to pay for on the earlier transmissions and enjoy on the later transmissions.

If the nut behind the wheel cannot reach up and pull the lever down or back up then I guess the tow/haul is a good thing. Any gas engine does a good job of braking but you have to take your foot off the gas and manually down shift to get the rpms up.

Own an 06 rig on a Ford chassis with the tow/haul feature. Past summer can east out of the Smokies on I40. Coming down the grades was pretty easy. With tow/haul active at the top of a grade a bit of brake and the transmission down shifted and the engine held the speed to around 50 mph.

The tow/haul 5 speed transmission started with chassis model year 2006 which also included the 3 valve V10.

Forgot to add - at the bottom of the hill hit resume on the cruise control and transmission upshift back into fifth.