Thanks for all the replies, Either way I'll say a quick prayer before I head downhill.

 

I haul my 13,000 lbs GN horse trailer somewhere every week. I frequently come down 7% or 8% grades. Here is what I do.
When I crest the summit, I try and drive at the speed I want to be moving at on the downhill stretch. ie I-80 Parley Summit heading toward Salt Lake City. 20 mile down hill. 7% on the first half. 65 mph speed limit. I usually cross the summit at 60 mph and press the Exhaust Brake Twice ( auto) The truck will then do everything it can to hold me at 60 mph. I do see some creep as we come down the steep sections and it might creep up to 65 mph. But I never have to touch my brakes in a 20 mile downhill. Combining the Cruise Control with the Auto Exhaust brake means the truck will not drop below the speed the cruise was set for. ie 60 mph. With out the cruise the control the truck could slow to speeds less than 60 mph.

Occasionally I drive a road where 60 mph maybe fine for most of it. But you have some 35 or 40 mph curves. In those situation, I have to touch my brakes hard enough to downshift to lower gears and reset the cruise after the curve.

Remember your exhaust brake works at high RPM where it is building pressure. Don't worry about the engine running at 3,000 rpm ( or even higher on some steep stretches.) It takes RPMs to build back pressure that gives the braking.

 

You are missing the best feature of a diesel besides the power of course. Button press 1 stops you as fast as possible. Use this for everyday driving unloaded. Side benefit it heats your truck up faster in the winter. Button press 2 or Automatic is what you want for downhill in the mountains. Come out of Eisenhower Tunnel press twice and you will go that speed until Silverthorne. I don't use cruise control. No need to. The truck will also shift on its own to match speed and rev pretty high at points. So it is a bit of engine and exhaust braking.

 

hooper, your last couple of sentences are why several of us don’t use the automatic engine brake setting and use the transmission in manual when using the 1st setting. We don’t like our engines to rev high. I know that the higher rpm’s help engine braking, but I like to keep revs under 3000. I know, I know……….the engine is rated to 4000 rpm’s, but I just prefer not to wind that bad boy that high. I don’t think my engine has ever been over 3000 rpm’s even on uphill interstate entrance ramps. The Power Stroke is awesome !!

Different strokes for different folks (pun intended).

 

There are several different way you can drive these things. I have towed a lot in mountains and have settled on my favorite way: trans in manual mode and engine brake ON (first click). If you stay in D, the first time you hit the brakes it will downshift. Then as you start back up a little incline it is very hesitant to shift up. In M you have full control of when it shifts. While I don't have Cummins experience to compare to, I find the brake works pretty well and I seldom use wheel brakes. My rotors are still smooth at 29k.

You will notice a little boost when it's working, not uncommon for me to see 10 or 12 psi.

 

Awesome info here, thanks for all the input. Now I can try a few things myself next time I tow. I've used it plenty myself, buy this gives me much more info to work with next time.

 

So just to be clear, are y'all shifting from auto to manual while driving down the road? I haven't even put mine in manual... lol!

 

You're overthinking it lol. Hit the brake button, leave it on "max" or the first button press, light should be yellow.
Comes on when you let off the accelerator pedal. apply a bit of brake pedal force, it will kick down a gear or two, and hold.
Barely have to touch the brakes on the truck around here with a 10k load, and I'm going through the Rocky Mtn's..

And as others have said, yes, the RAM exhaust brake is waayyy more efficient than the Ford. Haven't driven a GMC/Chev so can't compare there...

 

I never have either, haven't found any need to so far.

 

Yes. I shift to Manual mode on the transmission when I top the hill. I use Manual mode only for descending steep hills while towing.

 

^^^What he said^^^

 

If I'm towing my camper or dump trailer for work I'm in tow/haul mode and have the exhaust brake on. Around town it's good when getting off the highway mostly. Towing through the mountains it's awesome. Makes driving VERY comfortable.

 

Do you use manual or automatic?

 

I almost always use the first setting. So it turns on shortly after letting off the throttle.

 

Got it, thanks.