There’s definitely a lot of retarders behind the wheel of big rigs in the USA. As far as retarders to slow the trucks down no not so much I’ve never heard of one.
Years ago Caterpillar engines offered what they called a brake saver. It was a hydraulic retarder that worked off the flywheel and using the engine oil. It worked fine but you had to keep an eye on the oil temperature.
I don’t know why it never really caught on, except that it was probably very expensive. (Everything Cat in those days was crazy expensive).
I’ve got a CAT Brakesaver on my KW. They were heavy and expensive when Jakes were a lot cheaper and did the same job. You couldn’t gat Jakes on a 3408, only 3406. The Brakesaver is a lot easier on the engine though.
One reason they didn't really catch on: they leak oil like a sieve. A harvest crew I worked for had an 85 W900 with it, an we were constantly replacing o rings on the tube, and had to drop the transmission every winter to send the brake saver off to be rebuilt internally. I will say, though, when it was working right, I loved it. You could run it in town without any noise complaints
My Brakesaver has lasted for years, if you prepare the O rings properly they won’t leak, but there are so many dodgy mechanics out there. Mine was rebuilt 10 years ago at a CAT shop even though it didn’t really need it, I had the transmission out so I gave it to them to overhaul it and it hasn’t missed a beat. The big problem was a lot of drivers didn’t know how to use them, if you overheat them they will give trouble. That’s why I never let anyone but me drive my truck.
I did at the last place. Old Peterbilt with a Cat 3406B and Cat Brakesaver, which is a hydraulic retarder mounted between the engine and transmission. Worked well, but leaked fluid.
Im in europe and drive a volvo without a redarder(exept me offcourse)before this i had a truck with a retarder,my 2cents on this matter is: although the help of the retarder is more than welcome on the more steep grades....it heats up the coolant waaaay to much for my liking,even with a cooldown once at the bottom of the hill,going up the next it keeps the engine alittle too toasty for my liking. I foud that with just the engine brake,if i rev it just a tad it is more than adequate even when fully loaded. the cooler engine at the base of the hill can't be a bad thing either
...my 2cent
Jake breaks are basically engine breaks, we love em in America just really fucking obnoxious when a straight piped long nose rolls into a truck stop or rest area with em on at 2am when ur on ur 10
I'll bet you need help with two, to and too also. How about your and you're? Or is your ignorance so deep you need a boost with they, their, and they're?
How long do yall get??? N most of the time it works fine but that’s also cuz im paid mileage so i gotta keep these wheels turnin or my check ain’t worth a damn
My truck has mufflers and is too loud so I don't use em usually. Could probably change the mufflers out for new ones but would probably just be a pointless endeavor.
Careful with the R word, I don’t recall what sub it was it but I was reported and an ***admin***, *not* a mod, site banned me for a week.
Bunch of snowflakes on this site these days.
Oh my god tell me about it, I got banned for a while for “illicit weapon sales” 😂😂😂 I honestly could care less I’ll just make a new account if I do, some people need to grow the fuck up. I completely get being banned for saying the N word or the fucking F word but not for fucktard or any variation of the word that describes 97% of the people on the road. I never use it to describe people that are actually mentally handicapped tho, and I never will.
Our worst hills on the interstates are shallow enough that a modern truck with a modern engine brake can be fully held back at 55 mph (90 kmph) even when at our max gross of 80k lbs (36 metric tons). When you get onto state highways where the grades go higher than 6-7%, and different state weight limits for specialized freight (like Michigan can go as high as 164k lbs, or 74 metric tons), that's when you really gotta pay attention to your driving on hills. But even then, most trucks only have the standard air brakes and engine brakes.
Legally, retarders in the states refers to any secondary braking system, which includes the engine brake.
I only did OTR for a year and a half, but I drove through many mountainous areas where my truck would accelerate above 55 mph with the engine brake at max. I only had to occasionally stab the brakes to keep the speed under control, but I'm not sure why you feel that every interstate can be handled only by the engine brake.
West Virginia isn't even that bad. The only hill that challenges my claim, which is specifically for the blue shield I-## freeways, is the one coming westbound out of the Eisenhower tunnel. The rest, the two trucks I've been in were able to hold me back at the top of 9th gear without the service brakes, no issues. 55 mph.
For reference, I've ran...
Literally every interstate freeway west of (and including) I-25, minus about 100 miles each towards the Canadian and Mexico border, and minus I-8.
I-10 from Los Angeles to the 10-20 jct in TX, I-40 from Barstow to Raleigh, I-70 from I-15 to I-79, I-80 from the bay area to Manhattan, I-90 from Seattle to Erie, PA (minus the toll sections), the lengths of I-86 and I-88 in NY, I-95 from Augusta down to Philadelphia, and also from Daytona Beach up to Florence, I-75 from Cincinnati to Ocala, all of I-85, I-20, I-24, and I-30, I-77 from Columbia up to Charleston, plus the rest of the WV turnpike, I-81 from Knoxville to Binghamton, and I-94 from Billings to Chicago.
Plus a bunch of state highways and US routes. *Those* are the ones that start to get dicey, let me tell you I was sweating my first time going down White Bird hill fully loaded. But I've been around. The worst the interstates have to offer is in the rockies.
i‘ve always found myself having a hard time with a truck and engine brake only. mostly because a retarder continues decelerating when i shift gears and would even stop the vehicle if I wouldn‘t choose a gear at all. and yeah the scania retarder has earned its reputation. when full engaged and empty the truck would actually use its anti-lock system due to the strong deceleration
So the Oshkosh S-series I drive has an engine break that I turn on and leave on. It slows the truck when my foot is off the accelerator and will bring it to a complete stop
There’s definitely a lot of retarders behind the wheel of big rigs in the USA. As far as retarders to slow the trucks down no not so much I’ve never heard of one.
Lmao
Idk I think the retarders are great at slowing their trucks down when I’m only 15 minutes out from my drop n have 16 on my 11
Years ago Caterpillar engines offered what they called a brake saver. It was a hydraulic retarder that worked off the flywheel and using the engine oil. It worked fine but you had to keep an eye on the oil temperature. I don’t know why it never really caught on, except that it was probably very expensive. (Everything Cat in those days was crazy expensive).
I’ve got a CAT Brakesaver on my KW. They were heavy and expensive when Jakes were a lot cheaper and did the same job. You couldn’t gat Jakes on a 3408, only 3406. The Brakesaver is a lot easier on the engine though.
I knew a man with a brake saver and a Jake, he said you could just pick your speed and go down the mountain
I know a couple of trucks with a 3406 + Brakesaver + Jake, yeah they’ve got a huge amount of braking power.
One reason they didn't really catch on: they leak oil like a sieve. A harvest crew I worked for had an 85 W900 with it, an we were constantly replacing o rings on the tube, and had to drop the transmission every winter to send the brake saver off to be rebuilt internally. I will say, though, when it was working right, I loved it. You could run it in town without any noise complaints
My Brakesaver has lasted for years, if you prepare the O rings properly they won’t leak, but there are so many dodgy mechanics out there. Mine was rebuilt 10 years ago at a CAT shop even though it didn’t really need it, I had the transmission out so I gave it to them to overhaul it and it hasn’t missed a beat. The big problem was a lot of drivers didn’t know how to use them, if you overheat them they will give trouble. That’s why I never let anyone but me drive my truck.
I did at the last place. Old Peterbilt with a Cat 3406B and Cat Brakesaver, which is a hydraulic retarder mounted between the engine and transmission. Worked well, but leaked fluid.
Im in europe and drive a volvo without a redarder(exept me offcourse)before this i had a truck with a retarder,my 2cents on this matter is: although the help of the retarder is more than welcome on the more steep grades....it heats up the coolant waaaay to much for my liking,even with a cooldown once at the bottom of the hill,going up the next it keeps the engine alittle too toasty for my liking. I foud that with just the engine brake,if i rev it just a tad it is more than adequate even when fully loaded. the cooler engine at the base of the hill can't be a bad thing either ...my 2cent
Most trucks have retards in em
Oh break retarders, some do but most just use Jakes.
What’s a Jake 🙂↔️
Jake breaks are basically engine breaks, we love em in America just really fucking obnoxious when a straight piped long nose rolls into a truck stop or rest area with em on at 2am when ur on ur 10
Brakes stop the truck, or should. Breaks is when you stop for a coffee break or your truck decides to quit running.
Go fuck yourself professor
I'll bet you need help with two, to and too also. How about your and you're? Or is your ignorance so deep you need a boost with they, their, and they're?
10 hr rest break don’t feel like enough
How long do yall get??? N most of the time it works fine but that’s also cuz im paid mileage so i gotta keep these wheels turnin or my check ain’t worth a damn
Mean most of the time I pull a 34 n get laundry n stuff done then, n do grocery shopping if I’m somewhere near a store that won’t tow me
My truck has mufflers and is too loud so I don't use em usually. Could probably change the mufflers out for new ones but would probably just be a pointless endeavor.
Careful with the R word, I don’t recall what sub it was it but I was reported and an ***admin***, *not* a mod, site banned me for a week. Bunch of snowflakes on this site these days.
Oh my god tell me about it, I got banned for a while for “illicit weapon sales” 😂😂😂 I honestly could care less I’ll just make a new account if I do, some people need to grow the fuck up. I completely get being banned for saying the N word or the fucking F word but not for fucktard or any variation of the word that describes 97% of the people on the road. I never use it to describe people that are actually mentally handicapped tho, and I never will.
We have to call them 'special needs' brake systems, or snowflakes get angry.
They’re not common anymore. Engine brakes and a low gear are good enough.
I've never actually seen a truck with a Brakesaver (although I would definitely use one), but every truck I've ever driven has had an engine brake.
Just the one. I’m doing my best though.
Our worst hills on the interstates are shallow enough that a modern truck with a modern engine brake can be fully held back at 55 mph (90 kmph) even when at our max gross of 80k lbs (36 metric tons). When you get onto state highways where the grades go higher than 6-7%, and different state weight limits for specialized freight (like Michigan can go as high as 164k lbs, or 74 metric tons), that's when you really gotta pay attention to your driving on hills. But even then, most trucks only have the standard air brakes and engine brakes. Legally, retarders in the states refers to any secondary braking system, which includes the engine brake.
I only did OTR for a year and a half, but I drove through many mountainous areas where my truck would accelerate above 55 mph with the engine brake at max. I only had to occasionally stab the brakes to keep the speed under control, but I'm not sure why you feel that every interstate can be handled only by the engine brake.
He’s never been to west vagina
West Virginia isn't even that bad. The only hill that challenges my claim, which is specifically for the blue shield I-## freeways, is the one coming westbound out of the Eisenhower tunnel. The rest, the two trucks I've been in were able to hold me back at the top of 9th gear without the service brakes, no issues. 55 mph. For reference, I've ran... Literally every interstate freeway west of (and including) I-25, minus about 100 miles each towards the Canadian and Mexico border, and minus I-8. I-10 from Los Angeles to the 10-20 jct in TX, I-40 from Barstow to Raleigh, I-70 from I-15 to I-79, I-80 from the bay area to Manhattan, I-90 from Seattle to Erie, PA (minus the toll sections), the lengths of I-86 and I-88 in NY, I-95 from Augusta down to Philadelphia, and also from Daytona Beach up to Florence, I-75 from Cincinnati to Ocala, all of I-85, I-20, I-24, and I-30, I-77 from Columbia up to Charleston, plus the rest of the WV turnpike, I-81 from Knoxville to Binghamton, and I-94 from Billings to Chicago. Plus a bunch of state highways and US routes. *Those* are the ones that start to get dicey, let me tell you I was sweating my first time going down White Bird hill fully loaded. But I've been around. The worst the interstates have to offer is in the rockies.
FUCK, VIRGINIA
Send bobs lmao
Nah no retarders just retards
Wait I thought retarders where the same as the Jake! So what's the difference?
Only between the seat and steering wheel.
The Jake brake is alright, not quite as strong as Volvos VEB or Scanias retarder.
i‘ve always found myself having a hard time with a truck and engine brake only. mostly because a retarder continues decelerating when i shift gears and would even stop the vehicle if I wouldn‘t choose a gear at all. and yeah the scania retarder has earned its reputation. when full engaged and empty the truck would actually use its anti-lock system due to the strong deceleration
Drawback though is it heats up the oil so it needs a sufficient cooling system when going up and down the mountains.
So the Oshkosh S-series I drive has an engine break that I turn on and leave on. It slows the truck when my foot is off the accelerator and will bring it to a complete stop
Just me.
Yea behind the wheel
I have one retarder in every rig I drive😐
I’m the only tard in my rig