2017 Ford exhaust brake and cruise control
I've been observing how my truck behaves hooked up to a heavy trailer and going down hills. With CC engaged the computer applies the wheel brakes to maintain the set speed. When using the exhaust ...
Forum Discussion
Travlingman wrote:4x4ord wrote:
With a lighter trailer it is not as easy to observe what is happening. When you've got 32000 lbs hooked to the ball and start going down a steep grade the truck holds the set speed without increasing the turbo boost pressure. If you take CC off the transmission needs to drop three gears to be able to hold the speed. (So it is obvious that the wheel brakes are being applied automatically with cc)
Driving the truck is not as bad as I first thought now that I know what to expect. I leave the exhaust brake set to auto and just tap the brake pedal at the top of the hill to gain control of things. I keep my foot on the acelerator until I want grade braking, at which point I just release the throttle. (On a long steep grade I might have to brake to get slowed down to a speed the exhaust brake is capable of holding).
Do you think that the trailer being 12,000 pounds over the weight rating of your truck might be the cause for extra help from the brakes?
When CC is engaged with or without a trailer in tow the system applies wheel brakes when going down hill. It might downshift 1 gear but there is little to no engine braking performed. If CC is cancelled the truck will pick up a little speed and downshift as required.
