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Old 06-13-2007, 07:40 AM   #1
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I just returned from a 3 week trip through the Southwest and hope that my observations relating to a DP and mountain driving may benefit somebody.

The "exhaust brake" is truly a "brake saver" and I would not recommend reprogramming it to 3rd or 4th gear as some have suggested if you are going to tackle steep grades. I found that during a steep downgrade with the Allison in 2nd it will "upshift" to 3rd gear if the rpm/speed increases to a certain preset point, when it does this it's a hard shift that jolts the coach. You can minimize this rough shift by braking to keep speed down or adding some power just prior to the "upshift" point.

With the Allison in either mode (normal or econ) I felt the transmission was slow to start downshifting when entering an upgrade. I found that manually thumbing the Allison down a gear at about 1750 rpm kept the power curve up and improved performance.

The best and safest way to control speed of a 26,000 # coach and toad on a steep hill was to enter the downgrade slowly and not let speed build up to the point where the exhaust brake system can't handle it. You may build up some traffic behind you but that's their problem.

The steepest road I encountered was on Navajo Hwy 13 between Shiprock, NM and Tsaile, AZ (Buffalo Pass over the Chuska Mtns.) The downgrade was about 12-14% for two miles with continual 10 MPH switchbacks. I thumbed the Allison to 1st gear with exhaust brake on and stopped halfway down to let the brakes cool, needless to say my passengers were alittle nervous. I'm not interested in driving that road again in a DP but it did build up alot of confidence for tackling other downgrades.

We traveled 3800 miles, fuel mileage averaged between 7.5 and 9.7 mpg. I also found out that you can get a 26,000# motorhome stuck, but that's another story.
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Old 06-13-2007, 07:40 AM   #2
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I just returned from a 3 week trip through the Southwest and hope that my observations relating to a DP and mountain driving may benefit somebody.

The "exhaust brake" is truly a "brake saver" and I would not recommend reprogramming it to 3rd or 4th gear as some have suggested if you are going to tackle steep grades. I found that during a steep downgrade with the Allison in 2nd it will "upshift" to 3rd gear if the rpm/speed increases to a certain preset point, when it does this it's a hard shift that jolts the coach. You can minimize this rough shift by braking to keep speed down or adding some power just prior to the "upshift" point.

With the Allison in either mode (normal or econ) I felt the transmission was slow to start downshifting when entering an upgrade. I found that manually thumbing the Allison down a gear at about 1750 rpm kept the power curve up and improved performance.

The best and safest way to control speed of a 26,000 # coach and toad on a steep hill was to enter the downgrade slowly and not let speed build up to the point where the exhaust brake system can't handle it. You may build up some traffic behind you but that's their problem.

The steepest road I encountered was on Navajo Hwy 13 between Shiprock, NM and Tsaile, AZ (Buffalo Pass over the Chuska Mtns.) The downgrade was about 12-14% for two miles with continual 10 MPH switchbacks. I thumbed the Allison to 1st gear with exhaust brake on and stopped halfway down to let the brakes cool, needless to say my passengers were alittle nervous. I'm not interested in driving that road again in a DP but it did build up alot of confidence for tackling other downgrades.

We traveled 3800 miles, fuel mileage averaged between 7.5 and 9.7 mpg. I also found out that you can get a 26,000# motorhome stuck, but that's another story.
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Old 06-13-2007, 08:56 AM   #3
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OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhh, I really want to hear the stuck story!!!!!!!!!
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Old 06-13-2007, 10:13 AM   #4
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Me too, me too!

Interesting thread. Thanks.

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Old 06-13-2007, 10:20 AM   #5
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I got a travel trailer stuck to it's axles some years ago but I'm also wanted to hear about getting the motorhome stuck.....
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Old 06-13-2007, 01:14 PM   #6
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I wanna hear about 9.5!
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Old 06-13-2007, 01:31 PM   #7
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Nice information on your post but I'm sure we can all relate to the "stuck story" so please elaborate so we can all have another story for the campfire.
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Old 06-14-2007, 07:45 AM   #8
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How to get it stuck: One great story!
How to get it unstuck: Likely another great story!

The exhaust brake on my Ultimate is programmed for 4th gear. I most often punch it down to 2nd when coming to a stop. I have thought about having it reprogrammed for 2nd or 3rd. Not sure I would like 2nd, as it is nice to have the option to not slow that hard at times. But there probably would be less wear on my key pad if it were programmed for 2nd!
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Old 06-14-2007, 09:31 AM   #9
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I have my exhaust brake programmed for 4th and wouldn't change it. For those times when you need lower gears, I manually shift to 3rd or 2nd. Works just fine.

Some day I'll tell the story of how I got our (old) 34' Journey stuck, with the nose pointing in the air!!
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Old 06-14-2007, 09:34 AM   #10
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I manually anticpate downshifting quite often. The 5-4 downshift always seems rough if I don't.

I do find that while I can reach/touch the transmission controls without looking I often lose track of whether it's in 3rd, 4th or 5th. A heads up display would be ideal. But more realistically I think Freightliner should have provided a steering wheel mounted shift paddle (yeah, yeah, like a BMW ) or similar SmartWheel integration.
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Old 06-14-2007, 09:34 AM   #11
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OK, here's the "stuck Meridian story" by popular demand. We had a reservation at Gouldings CG (Monument Valley)on May 24. We checked in about 5PM and was assigned a site, unhooked our CRV and I went driving through this well laidout and organized CG looking for our spot. I found what I thought was our site, it was a big back-in with a great view. I backed in with no problem and the coach promptly sank about 8" right down to the jack pads. They had had about 1.5" of rain the day before and to top it off I had backed-in to a large tent site rather than the pull-through RV site they had given me. I'm blaming it on the great view rather than my oversite! Tried rocking the coach but it just went deeper. The campground manager and two of his maintance guys helped me dig out in front of all wheels, hooked a chain to a front frame member and they gave me an assist with a 4WD pick-up. Coach came out, no worse for the wear other than red dirt on top of all jack pads.

The Gouldings staff was great and they run a first-class operation. Our trip to the SW was our third in the past 6 years. It was truly "scenery overload". If anybody needs advice or info on this area send me a PM.
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Old 06-14-2007, 12:50 PM   #12
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Now do some of those mountain roads when it's snowing and we'll call you a true mountain driver
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Old 06-14-2007, 01:04 PM   #13
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I used to go to Glamis CA. sand dunes. For lack of a better space to camp in we would back our old Pace Arrow right into the sand and usually bury it to the rear axel. Then wait until the end of the weekend when we would get one of our friends to pull us out with their 4x4 pickup. Just didn't know any better back in those days.
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Old 06-25-2007, 11:08 AM   #14
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Great post richf and thanks for sharing the getting stuck story! I nearly had a similar thing happen last week in the Black Hills.

As for the Allison, I have learned many of the lessons you outline but I'm still thinking about getting reprogramed to either 3rd or 4th gear for my engine brake. Second just seems to be a little extreme for most cases I've encountered and with the two stage engine brake I can still handle those white knuckle decents with the second stage and manual downshifts.

Lastly, I couldn't agree more with the suggestion that FL put the shift pad on the steering wheel. Seems like it should be a no brainer safety feature. Has anyone heard of anything in the after market available to do this?
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Old 06-25-2007, 12:37 PM   #15
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RickO,

I would recommend reprogramming your engine brake to '4'. I reprogrammed mine late last year and find it just perfect for normal driving.

On those occasions when you need extra braking, downshift manually (even though not on the steering wheel!!).
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Old 06-25-2007, 01:11 PM   #16
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Can you guys fill me in on what it costs and who does the reprogram? I also would like to have mine come on in 4th gear. Currently set for second, I rarely use it now because it can be such a severe downshift from 6th to 2nd...


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Old 06-25-2007, 03:07 PM   #17
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Allison does the engine brake reprogramming. Took them about 10 minutes. They did it for me for free.

They connect into the ECM connection at the rear of the MH at the engine, or can connect under the steering wheel.

I highly recommend the reprogram to '4th' gear, as I found downshifting with the engine brake too severe as well.
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Old 06-25-2007, 03:23 PM   #18
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I must be missing something or the driveline acts differently in the newer coaches. When I apply the brake (I've installed the Brake Switch gizmo which is great), my exhaust brake activates and the Allison shows 2nd gear but does not actually shift into that gear until RPM's allow. Usually, it seems to shift down to 4th, and as the coach slows and RPM's drop, it will make the shift to 2nd, slowing the coach even more. It never seems severe so I've never felt the need to mess with the programming.
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Old 06-25-2007, 05:29 PM   #19
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At least you are honest, I would never let anybody know I did that, even though it was a mistake. My friends would bring it up for years.
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Old 06-27-2007, 04:51 AM   #20
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sml,

The behavior you describe is how mine works. I believe initial downshift will be to 4th from 5th or 6th gear and then will keep downshifting as you slow down as the rpm limit will allow.

I like the standard programming because it allows me to use the exhaust brake effectively for non-Interstate traffic. I find it especially useful for 30mph windy mountain roads. I even use it occasionally on major arteries in the city with 50mph limits but also have signals.

One other thing to note. If you are going above 60mph or so the exhaust brake will not engage to downshift to fourth because the governed RPM limit would be exceeded.
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