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Hi John,
Our chassis are different but the braking should be the same. Spartan recommends not to use the exhaust brake all the time. I used to use the exhaust brake all the time. I no longer do this. The reason is with the exhaust brake on all the time the driver has a tendency to let the exhaust brake slow the coach; often to within a few MPH of a total stop. The service brakes are used only to bring the coach to a total stop and to hold the coach in position until it is time to move forward. This style of braking, over time, will slowly reduce the service brakes ability to stop and eventually lead to premature replacement of service brakes components.
I have experienced this. After less than one year of exhaust brake use, my coach did not seem to stop as quickly and the pressure on the pedal needed to be considerably more than when the coach was new. Spartan recommended I use the exhaust brake only when extra braking is needed. An example of this would be a long or severe down grade). In addition they recommended a procedure I could follow to attempt to bring the brake pads back to their original stopping capability. I was fortunate in that the pads did recover. If they had not recovered, I would have needed to have the pads changed.
For long break pad life the important item to remember is the pads need to get up to their operating temperature. Using the exhaust brake, all the time, does not allow this to happen. The brakes will glaze over "layman's term" and their braking capability will be reduced.
__________________
Gary
2005 Newmar KSDP 3910 + GMC ENVOY XUV 37K lbs Moving Down The Road
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Nobody Knows Your Coach Like Somebody Who Owns One Just Like Yours
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