Exhaust brakes

I have a 2005 F350 with a 6.9 International diesel which
hss a EB. Saying this I have over the years been able to
teach a number of people how to drive semi trucks over
the road. In the training I would take students off
differant passes thoughtout the country with out the
what is call a Jake Brake or as you have been calling
it a engine brake (EB). I did this to show them what
to do in case they ever lose the engine/jake brake
in the future. I can say you can take a vehicle
weighting 70 or 75,000 pounds off any pass thought-out
country with out a EB or what I call a Jake and be
safe about doing such. It's not about the EB, it's how
you do it, you start off very slow and only brake to
keep the speed down, the faster you go the more brake
you need and the hotter they get. So if you start off
at 45 or 50mph by the time you get a quarter way down
the hill your having to brake hard and thus heat up
the brakes very fast and by the time your over half
way down you are almost assured you have little if
no brake's at all. Now I have been talking about
70 to 75,000pd semi but the same applies to a rig
weighting 12, 13, 14, 15,000 or more, the rule of
thunb is you go down the mountain at the speed you
came up the mountain at. So if you peaked at the
top of the pass at 35mph you should be going down
the other side at the same speed not 15, 20mph
faster.

Do I like a EB, heck yes, do I use it all the time,
heck yes, do I like the smell of burning or hot
brakes heck NO ! and the screaming of the DW as we
rounding a corner going down a 6% grade at 60mph
thinking we are going to crash, not at all.

Saying this if you can go down a long steep grade
without a EB then more power to you, do I think
it's safe, heck no, thats why they put them into
engines so you can have a safe towing experance.

Ram/Dodge has had them equipped from the factory on all their diesels (except the 1500s with the 3.0L Ecodiesel) since 2007.5 models. Ford and Chevy just recently added theirs. Ford added one in 2011, but it was only somewhat effective from the reviews I have read, and the Duramax just added one in 2011 I think.

If you don't have one, get one. You will smile EVERY time it kicks on.

Atlee wrote:
From what I can tell most pickups with diesel engines do not come with exhaust brakes on them, except, I believe, for the latest iteration of the 6.7 Cummins.

For those of you who have diesels, do you add an after market exhaust brake? If not, why? What happens when you are towing in the mountains, especially the western mountains?

All new pickups with diesel engines have exhaust brakes on them.

I will be odd man out on this and that's fine. My 93 and 06 do not have EB's and I don't miss them at all. (yes I have driven trucks that have them)

Been to Co many, many times and my brakes never even got warm on my 06. Came down Steamboat this year and I hit my brakes only a few times coming down from 11,000 feet.

Even my 93 engine brakes just fine.

I'm only at 16 gross and I know that's not much compared to some that tow their house on wheels. Maybe that's the difference between me and people that "have to have" and EB

Mine is factory installed. I would never own a Ram without one.

All of the newer big three trucks have exhaust brakes now, Ford, Chevy/GMC, and Ram.

My 2011 Ram has a factory exhaust brake, I love it and I would put one on aftermarket if it didn't have one.

EB's have been OE on diesel pickups for a few years. I wouldn't own a diesel pickup without one.