engine brakes

[riverrun]

Question for diesel truck owners out there. We have a F-350 diesel, pulling a Montana 3685, loaded at 14+k. Goal number one is to be able to stop this thing coming down hills/mts without burning out the brakes. Factory equipped or should I look at adding engine brakes?

[steves]

What year Ford do you have. If you have the 6.0 with the torque shift transmission - you will not need anything additional. Just put it in tow mode and you'll do just fine.

[Wagonmaster]

Steve is right, all you need is the tow,haul mode if you have it. I use our all the time here in the az mountains,some grades up to 6 and 7%. Works well for me, some people use an exhaust brake but it would void my factory warranty Jack.

[simonsrf]

I don't know about Fords, but I have a Jacobs exhaust brake on a Dodge 3500 with Cummins 5.9 Diesel. Works great on my automatic transmission too, in tow mode I hardly ever have to use the foot pedal.

[scattershot]

Wish I had had one on my recent trip over Teton Pass in Wyoming. 10% grade (!) for 5 1/2 miles. Talk about smoking brakes! Wow! Even in low gear, I had to hit the brakes often to avoid overspeeding the engine. I have seen 10% before, but only for short spurts, and only on back roads.

[Sunshine]

When we were towing our 3255RL with the 1996 F250 Powerstroke, we used the button to take it out of overdrive and shifted down. Now we tow it with a 2006 F350 with the built-in braking system.

[panhandlevern]

We have a 02 F-250 PSD with an auto, and I had the same problem. Put on a B-D BrakeLoc, now I can go down Wolf Creek Pass in Colo in 2'nd gear with just a few taps on the brake. The B-D was a lot more easier to pay for than some exhaust brakes.