Mountain driving tips??

[Topman]

We are planning a little practice drive in the mountain pass not far from us.
I have driven it several times in our old bus but not yet in our Monaco.

I'm sure there are many of you who have vast experience in mountain driving and could provide tips on travelling up and travelling down the steep areas.

This will be our first mountain drive with the six-speed Allison. With my old bus and the 4-speed Allison automatic I used to drive it by manually shifting to keep up the RPM in the old 8v92 Detroit.

Should I just let the computer shift for me or??
What gear and speed would you choose for descent? We have a 2-speed Jake.

Any tips or thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks, Iver.

[rhusak]

Originally Posted by Topman

We are planning a little practice drive in the mountain pass not far from us.
I have driven it several times in our old bus but not yet in our Monaco.

I'm sure there are many of you who have vast experience in mountain driving and could provide tips on travelling up and travelling down the steep areas.

This will be our first mountain drive with the six-speed Allison. With my old bus and the 4-speed Allison automatic I used to drive it by manually shifting to keep up the RPM in the old 8v92 Detroit.

Should I just let the computer shift for me or??
What gear and speed would you choose for descent? We have a 2-speed Jake.

Any tips or thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks, Iver.

Iver..
Well, I live at 9000+ feet in the foothills above Denver.. So yes, I have a good bit of driving in the mountains..
Normally you could use the old rule of thumb go down in the same gear you went up in.. That will get you pretty close..
Now you have the BIG advantage of have a 2 stage "Jake" Brake.. It will be world ahead of whatever you had before.. And, the transmission will downshift automatically every time it is engaged.. Mine is set to shift all the way down to 2nd when the engine RPM's allow.. It will only downshift as low as is safe for your engine..
Two stage brake used 3 cylinders on low setting and all on hi.. Just try them out on a grade that isn't at 8 to 10% to get used to it.. Also when you apply your service brake apply firmly and get to the desired speed quickly.. Not an emergency stop but firmly.. That will keep them from overheating and glazing.. And squeaking.. By riding the brake you can easily overheat them and smoke the brakes and cause things like seal leaks and brake failure..
Don't be afraid of mountain driving.. Just use your head and it just becomes another hill..
Happy and safe travels..
BTW You live in a beautiful part of the world as well.. Hoping to visit soon..
Ron

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by Topman

We are planning a little practice drive in the mountain pass not far from us. I have driven it several times in our old bus but not yet in our Monaco. I'm sure there are many of you who have vast experience in mountain driving and could provide tips on travelling up and travelling down the steep areas. This will be our first mountain drive with the six-speed Allison. With my old bus and the 4-speed Allison automatic I used to drive it by manually shifting to keep up the RPM in the old 8v92 Detroit. Should I just let the computer shift for me or?? What gear and speed would you choose for descent? We have a 2-speed Jake. Any tips or thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks, Iver.

Err on the side of caution. The old rule of thumb is to descend in the same gear you ascended the climb. This is a pretty good rule. With the Jake on, when you are off the throttle the Allison with select 3rd most likely. I would start with the Jake in high. If you start down and the Jake is dropping your speed too much, just switch to low. If you start gaining speed then when you are at the speed you wish to maintain switch again to high. The objective is to find a control speed which is stable all the way down.

The Signature is a heavy coach. You don't say the year or the engine in your coach but the Jake is capable of keeping the speed under control you will just need some practice to get a comfort level with your new equipment.

[broadrun]

Originally Posted by rhusak

Iver.. Well, I live at 9000+ feet in the foothills above Denver.. So yes, I have a good bit of driving in the mountains.. Normally you could use the old rule of thumb go down in the same gear you went up in.. That will get you pretty close.. Now you have the BIG advantage of have a 2 stage "Jake" Brake.. It will be world ahead of whatever you had before.. And, the transmission will downshift automatically every time it is engaged.. Mine is set to shift all the way down to 2nd when the engine RPM's allow.. It will only downshift as low as is safe for your engine.. Two stage brake used 3 cylinders on low setting and all on hi.. Just try them out on a grade that isn't at 8 to 10% to get used to it.. Also when you apply your service brake apply firmly and get to the desired speed quickly.. Not an emergency stop but firmly.. That will keep them from overheating and glazing.. And squeaking.. By riding the brake you can easily overheat them and smoke the brakes and cause things like seal leaks and brake failure.. Don't be afraid of mountain driving.. Just use your head and it just becomes another hill.. Happy and safe travels.. BTW You live in a beautiful part of the world as well.. Hoping to visit soon.. Ron

Crow Hill would be a good test for the jake. I used to live near the intersection of N. Turkey Creek and 73.

[BFlinn181]

If you do have to use the brakes, apply firmly to drop about 10 mph then let off the treadle. Going downhill I often see all size vehicles 'riding' the brakes. This heats them up to the point of fading or damage. Over simplifying, going uphill, I pay attention to temperature and RPM, going down, I pay attention to speed and RPM. Don't be afraid to pull off, let things cool down, and enjoy the scenery!

[Rbhein]

Remember, you can go down a grade too slow a thousand times. You can go down a grade too fast, only once.

["007"]

Mountain Driving

[vettehead]

I am thinking you have 500 HP, so you have plenty. The computer will handle everything the Allison is capable of. Leave it in 6th, and drive at the speed you are comfortable. Use the engine brake going down to not overheat the brakes, save them for an emergency that you hopefully wont have.
Remember to drive at the speed you (& wife) feel comfortable both up and down.

[Topman]

Thanks to you all for your thoughtful comments and advice.
Nice to hear from those who have "been there done that". Especially with similar engines and trans.

The mountain pass is where the Discovery Channel films "Highway Thru' Hell".
Luckily there is no snow yet this year. We'll take it easy until we become more comfortable with the performance of the engine and the Jake.
Thanks again, Iver.

[BillAndPam]

I just bought a 2002 Monaco Signature 42' and have a similar question. Have only driven gas rigs in the past. Salesman said "just let off the gas" and the jake break would "just work". Went over the Tehachapi's and got hot breaks. Pulled off several times.

Turns out there is a Jake pedal on the left side of the steering wheel which seems to be different from the "it just works" style of jake break.

Any suggestions on using this? can I just use this as an alternate (and preferred) brake?

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by BillAndPam

I just bought a 2002 Monaco Signature 42' and have a similar question. Have only driven gas rigs in the past. Salesman said "just let off the gas" and the jake break would "just work". Went over the Tehachapi's and got hot breaks. Pulled off several times. Turns out there is a Jake pedal on the left side of the steering wheel which seems to be different from the "it just works" style of jake break. Any suggestions on using this? can I just use this as an alternate (and preferred) brake?

Hey Guys,

Congratulations on your new ride. Signatures are great coaches and a pleasure to drive. We've lived full time in our '03 for going on 7 years.

Our Jake is set up the same way. The foot petal is just an on/off switch and the great thing is it doesn't interfere with the cruise control and you can coast at zero throttle without the Jake coming on. Just set the high/ low switch and when you need to slow down press the brake switch. Now that I'm use to it I would never change to a rocker switch.

[Topman]

Update on mountain ride....

We took the coach up and down the mountain pass today. Probably one hour going up and 3/4 hour coming down.
It seemed to have lots of power going up. In one steep section we slowed to @ 40mph. But we still passed the truckers doing about 20 at best.
The rest of the time we kept it at 55 to 65 mph. depending on how safe we felt driving certain areas. The speed limit averages 110 kph which is around 65mph I think. Nice to have the power to pass when necessary.
I didn't manual shift this time. I just let the tranny do its thing. But I think at times I would have liked to downshift a little earlier than the transmission did.
Going down I experimented with the 2 speed Jake. In the very steep section, I used the Jake in the high position. At the crest of the main hill going down, at approximately 55 mph, I stepped on the pedal for the Jake and it basically kept me at that speed all the way down. I might have stabbed the brakes only about 4 times and that was because of some of the sharper curves we had to take. And this was descending as I said for around 30 - 45 minutes. On some of the lesser hills I used the Jake in the low position, which also slowed the coach enough so it did not require any braking at all.

Anyway, it was a great learning experience. At least now I know the coach's limitations and some of it's better attributes.

I kept an eye on all the instrument gauges going up. Outside temp was around 55* in the sun so not that hot. Temp gauge reads 165* when driving on the flat. (if the gauge is correct). When climbing it only went up approx. 10* or so.

Anyway, all in all it was a good day. We left our area near the coast in a fog bank and arrived at the top of the mountain at a rest area sitting in bright sun shine and sipping on hot coffee.
Iver.

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by Topman

Update on mountain ride.... We took the coach up and down the mountain pass today. Probably one hour going up and 3/4 hour coming down. It seemed to have lots of power going up. In one steep section we slowed to @ 40mph. But we still passed the truckers doing about 20 at best. The rest of the time we kept it at 55 to 65 mph. depending on how safe we felt driving certain areas. The speed limit averages 110 kph which is around 65mph I think. Nice to have the power to pass when necessary. I didn't manual shift this time. I just let the tranny do its thing. But I think at times I would have liked to downshift a little earlier than the transmission did. Going down I experimented with the 2 speed Jake. In the very steep section, I used the Jake in the high position. At the crest of the main hill going down, at approximately 55 mph, I stepped on the pedal for the Jake and it basically kept me at that speed all the way down. I might have stabbed the brakes only about 4 times and that was because of some of the sharper curves we had to take. And this was descending as I said for around 30 - 45 minutes. On some of the lesser hills I used the Jake in the low position, which also slowed the coach enough so it did not require any braking at all. Anyway, it was a great learning experience. At least now I know the coach's limitations and some of it's better attributes. I kept an eye on all the instrument gauges going up. Outside temp was around 55* in the sun so not that hot. Temp gauge reads 165* when driving on the flat. (if the gauge is correct). When climbing it only went up approx. 10* or so. Anyway, all in all it was a good day. We left our area near the coast in a fog bank and arrived at the top of the mountain at a rest area sitting in bright sun shine and sipping on hot coffee. Iver.

Thanks for the report. Sounds like you had a rewarding learning experience. I recommend two things to you:
1. A monitoring system such as the ones by Silverleaf which use the engine ECM data so you will have accurate, real time data on your engine and transmission. It will make you a better driver. Knowledge is power.
2. A TPMS ( tire pressure monitoring system).

Good luck and safe travels.

[Topman]

Thanks Steve,
Both good recommendations.
Iver.