Wow.....There sure are a lot of people driving completely different from others.
Coasting.....I love the setup on my new coach compared to my previous. When I descend a hill/grade, my engine brake allows my coach to gain from 3-5 mph (when the cruise control is on) before the engine brake engages. To me, it's smart and fuel efficient to let the coach coast and get a running start at the next hill/grade. If it's a hill I don't want to increase speed on, I just thumb down the cruise on Smart Wheel 3-5 times to maintain my speed. If it's still increasing, I switch to High on the engine brake.
Glazing.....One poster was surprised by a statement that an instructor warned against ALWAYS using engine power to slow down. Yes, it's I a bad thing to do. At slower speeds and in traffic, you should use the foot brake to keep the rotors/drums from glazing. Your brakes are going to go at least 80K, some occasional foot brake usage keeps them from squealing and certainly won't wear them out.
Emergency stops.....On my last coach, you couldn't have the exhaust brake switch turned on (switch only) because it would shut off the cruise control. On my new coach, I can have the engine brake switch on either high or low and still be able to use cruise. I think this is a huge advantage. In the event of an emergency stop, I won't have to be fumbling around to turn on the engine/exhaust brake while trying to stop and steer 40K of RV. If your coach is setup to allow the cruise to work while the engine/exhaust switch is on, why not just leave it on.
Exhaust noise.....On a modern coach, unless you've eliminated the exhaust system, they don't make enough noise to violate engine/exhaust brake rules. That rule was for trucks that ran straight exhausts and unmuffled engine brakes.
I think there are some important lessons to be learned from this post. I think many don't get a chance to put enough miles on a coach to really know how it works or how it can work. Many are also learning that you can have your Allison reprogrammed to do things differently (latching changes).
Lastly, I think the transmission and engine/exhaust brake programming has come a long ways in the past few years. If your coach is somewhere around 2004 or newer, there are some changes that can be done to change how your engine/exhaust brake function, making for a more enjoyable drive.
