Jake vs Exhaust Brake

A Jake Brake is better but I doubt they make one for your engine.

Jake, but it is more expensive and I doubt they make one for your engine as Ivylog stated. You might have to go the exhaust brake route

What most refer to as a Jake Brake is an engine brake that alters valve timing, the only one I have seen offered for HD pickups is from PacBrake for the Cummins engine.

Trixie47 wrote:
Pulling a 2012 39 ft. 5th wheel with a 2008 Chevy Silverado 3500 dwd. Question is: what is best ? Jake brake or Exhaust brake ?

A "Jake brake" is technically an engine brake, which opens the exhaust valve during TDC to purge the compressed air. It turns your engine into a giant air compressor.

Jacobs as a company also make exhaust brakes, which operate similar to the variable geometry turbo induced braking on OEM setups.

With light duty trucks, you only have one choice - exhaust. An engine brake is better, the best can produce almost as much retarding hp as the engine hp rating.

You will find an actual exhaust brake (valve that goes in the exhaust and creates back pressure) for about $1000 and one that uses a computer box to close down your factory turbo like the new ones do for about $500.

Check out BD Diesel and Banks as two examples of the above.

^ LMMs are not recommended to use a conventional inline butterfly valve exhaust brake. (Guessing other VVT diesels have a similar recommendation)
Not saying it wouldn't work, but everything I've seen in the past says no inline butterfly valve brakes with the emissions systems intact.
Either way, a $600 plug n play module like ib516 mentioned gets you a turbo brake without even getting your hands dirty or busting out a wrench!

I have a 2007 3500 with 5.9L Cummins --- tow a 14K 5th wheel
Have an 'exhaust brake'====4" electric solenoid actuated butterfly with a 2" spring loaded bypass butterfly that controls backpressure

GCVWR 22,000 (truck/trailer)....6% grade exhaust brake will hold downhill speed at 50 mph

BEST add on device I have done!!!!

The exhaust brakes used on pick up trucks are all utilizing back pressure in the exhaust system. They create a little more reverse horsepower than what downshifting alone does. This little bit of added reverse horsepower is enough to make a huge difference on grade braking in an application when you are only holding back about 25000 lbs (combined weight of truck and trailer) on a typical highway grade. So for your application a simple exhaust brake consisting of a programer that controls the vanes on your turbo is all that is required. There is an exhaust brake made for the Ram that holds the exhaust valve off its seat during the compression stroke which is more effective than a standard exhaust brake but it is not the same as an engine decompression brake ... which is what has been traditionally referred to as a "Jake Brake".

I would get the Banks Speed Brake. You just plug it in and it uses your turbo vanes as an exhaust brake. True Jake brakes are not available for pick-up trucks.

Would take a heck of a lot of modding to stuff a engine that uses a Jake brake in a pick up. If I'm not mistaken, I think Cummins invented the Jake Brake and granted it's use for all semi engines but some mfr's may offer their own version of a Jake to which (IMO) aren't as good. A true Jake requires the engine to be between 1600-2000 to get the best retarding power. Exhaust brakes offered by Ford, GM & Ram are better than nothing and from what I gather, folks seem to be quite happy w/ them.