A Little Help With Weights

mkirsch wrote:

wjlapier wrote:
Just curious, could you use tow mode for going down a steep grade or exhaust brakes?

I use it with an EMPTY truck!

With nothing pushing the truck I just get it to the speed I want and let it coast. Unless the hill is EXTREME, the truck cruises right down the hill at whatever speed I chose at the top. Never have to touch the brakes. It always makes me giggle, watching the folks in front of me stab on their brakes every 2 seconds.

Always hit the tow haul button when we took our TT out. From and to storage which was nearby not so much. Exhaust brakes going down a pass mainly on I-90 in Montana and Rogers Pass between Missoula and the turn to Augusta.

wjlapier wrote:
Just curious, could you use tow mode for going down a steep grade or exhaust brakes?

I use it with an EMPTY truck!

With nothing pushing the truck I just get it to the speed I want and let it coast. Unless the hill is EXTREME, the truck cruises right down the hill at whatever speed I chose at the top. Never have to touch the brakes. It always makes me giggle, watching the folks in front of me stab on their brakes every 2 seconds.

wjlapier wrote:
Just curious, could you use tow mode for going down a steep grade or exhaust brakes?

Can you? Yes
Do you NEED to? Not really. Service brakes will take care of your truck and camper without issue.

Is it really nice and what those features are designed for? Yup 100%, 10-4, roger, over n out!

Guess I'll assume your previous truck, you never touched those buttons?
I basically hit tow/haul and the exhaust brake button if doing much more than going to the corner store for a 12 pack!

wjlapier wrote:
Just curious, could you use tow mode for going down a steep grade or exhaust brakes?

I see this about that truck:

"The 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 HD uses a six-speed automatic transmission with tow/haul mode and Auto Grade Braking to reduce the amount of conventional braking needed while towing or driving downhill."

My 2003 does not have Auto Grade Braking so can't say if it is useful.

OK more confusion! It is mixed up with Tow/Haul but you have to read all this in detail. meanwhile it says to activate it you need to leave your foot down---so that gets mixed up with my earlier question about braking (now cleared up, thanks all! ) except for Auto Grade Braking maybe. :(

"For grade braking to activate it requires the driver to apply steady brake pedal pressure to maintain desired speed while driving on a downhill grade. The vehicle’s modules monitor the amount of brake pedal apply, vehicle deceleration rates, and other factors to determine if normal mode powertrain grade braking is necessary"

/www.brakeandfrontend.com/gm-tech-tip-grade-braking-in-normal-mode/#:~:text=Normal%20mode%20powertrain%20grade%20braking,

Just curious, could you use tow mode for going down a steep grade or exhaust brakes?

notsobigjoe wrote:


Do the newer dually's have disc brakes in the rear? My 1996 are drums as well as my 2000 Silverado some years back. Drums are great for riding the brakes but discs are way better at stopping.

All of them do for about the last 20 years giver take.

BFL13 wrote:
Some confusion developing here. I am just curious how things work with trucks, but the OP wants to know if he is "safe" with his set-up. He will get weighed and then more will be known about that.

It turns out that a DRW has stronger brakes than a SRW. Eg the bigger master cylinder mentioned above. Parts manuals could give more specs for the rest of the braking systems. I did find this too:

"With four back wheels instead of two, and a stronger rear axle, a dually truck can handle a larger amount of payload weight and offer more .....Most dually trucks are also equipped with bigger, stronger brakes for additional stopping power, as well as heavy-duty shocks and springs for greater capability to tread uneven terrain and rough driving surfaces"

I still don't see why braking specs have anything to do with axle weight ratings. I see that they would make the brakes stronger if the truck is expected to carry more weight. I would think they would use the GVWR for that. Whatever, the OP has a DRW so all he wants to know is how much "margin" does he have when overweight for braking while going down a mountain.


I disagree with telling the OP he can ignore GVWR and just worry about RAWR, but nobody is going to change anybody's mind about that, so let's all just agree to disagree.


On the question of using cab weight if you go over cargo weight rating, it is strange that the same exact cargo box and frame has different CWR if the truck is Diesel or gas. The Diesel engine weighs more so the truck has less payload out of its same GVWR. But the gas version has more CWR. So there they use front end weight to add to cargo weight. Using the little bit of cab weight (750 bs eg) for some extra cargo weight does not seem so bad then. So why do they even have a CWR instead of just a total payload rating?



https://www.jdpower.com/cars/shopping-guides/what-is-a-dually-truck

Where to start...

OP will know more about what? Already know about what it weighs. I do anyway. Maybe you don't, because you aren't well informed and choose not to trust those who are.

That Ford quoted above has a larger master cyl with a dually? Great. You're applying something specific to one vehicle to form a theory about another completely different vehicle. Can say matter of factly that is not the case with all srw vs dually brake systems.

Your quote is generic clickbait garbage. Auto advice from JD Power?? LOL!

Braking spec vs axle weight rating? Can't think how to explain that on in terms you'd understand. But can say your thinking that they're not related is contradictory to what you posted above it.

YOU disagree, because YOU don't understand. Given your lack of knowledge, more listening and less theories will be to your personal benefit and grow your knowledge.

And the last paragraph you wrote.....I rest my case.

mkirsch wrote:
ABS is anti-lock braking system. It only applies when it senses wheel lockup, aka skid.

Otherwise the brakes work like brakes. IF you are holding the brakes while descending a long grade, they will get hot and fade, just like non-ABS brakes.

DRW trucks still don't have 4 rotors and calipers on the rear axles.

Do the newer dually's have disc brakes in the rear? My 1996 are drums as well as my 2000 Silverado some years back. Drums are great for riding the brakes but discs are way better at stopping.

BFL13 wrote:
Here is what I find confusing. It says leave your foot down and do not pump the brakes and the ABS will grab and release as required, but that is for coming to a stop. It does not seem to cover what happens on a long steep downhill run for keeping the brakes from overheating. Or does it?

https://www.icbc.com/partners/driver-training/Documents/ts274w.pdf

It's statements and questions like this that sometimes make me want to support those who just blatantly recommend more vehicle than needed for the job.
In other words, it's 2022 and if you don't even conceptually understand how ABS works and could somehow conceive that it will help a person who is riding their brakes down a hill, then you're grossly uninformed. Which is scary considering you drive a RV in the mountains!

The ABS instructions you posted are for rapid/emergency stops and not for any other braking operation. You would not follow this every time you need to slow nor when descending a grade.