Downshifting or braking

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Bonnie McDowell
Posts: 72
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2012 4:58 pm

Downshifting or braking

Post by Bonnie McDowell »

I have a 2002 RB E450. In September I will be driving down "3 mile hill" in Western PA - one of those roads where trucks are required to pull over at the top and downshift to low gear, and that has a runaway truck road halfway down the mountain. Should I downshift manually at the top of the hill? I do that in my car.
Bonnie McDowell
2002 Born Free 24' RB on Ford E450/V10
My first RV - purchased September 2012
ddpjep

Re: Downshifting or braking

Post by ddpjep »

Bonnie McDowell wrote:I have a 2002 RB E450. In September I will be driving down "3 mile hill" in Western PA - one of those roads where trucks are required to pull over at the top and downshift to low gear, and that has a runaway truck road halfway down the mountain. Should I downshift manually at the top of the hill? I do that in my car.
Bonnie, slow down to 45 miles per hour and downshift to 3rd gear. Later model chassis transmissions have a tow/haul mode and the computer downshifts automatically when you press the brake going downhill.
Ray

Post by Ray »

Dean - Thats interesting, do you happen to know about what year that was incorporated? I will look in the owners manual also - if I can find it - but honestly, I haven't found it that helpful in the past.
randallrae
Posts: 365
Joined: Wed May 22, 2013 7:30 pm

transmission

Post by randallrae »

The 5 speed Torqshift transmission came out in about 2006 .
2012 25' rb
Dude
Posts: 368
Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2012 9:21 pm

Post by Dude »

I would slow down and then downsift at the top. I do that on many hills.
Matt
1989 26 foot Rear Side Bed
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bcope01
Posts: 1290
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2005 6:55 pm

Post by bcope01 »

According to the manual for my 2003 E350, the lower gears (below OverDrive) D, 2 & 1 ARE used for engine braking in hilly terrain, as follows (quoted, red text used for emphasis):
DRIVE
Drive is activated when the transmission control switch is pressed.

This position allows for all forward gears except overdrive.

O/D OFF lamp is illuminated.

Provides engine braking.

Use when driving conditions cause excessive shifting from O/D to
other gears. Examples: city traffic, hilly terrain, heavy loads, trailer towing and when engine braking is required.

To return to O/D (Overdrive), press the transmission control switch. The O/D OFF lamp will not be illuminated.

O/D (Overdrive) is automatically returned each time the key is turned off

2 (Second)
This position allows for second gear only.

Provides engine braking.

Use to start-up on slippery roads.

To return to (Overdrive), move the gearshift lever into the
(Overdrive) position.

Selecting 2 (Second) at higher speeds will cause the transmission to downshift to second gear at the appropriate vehicle speed.


1 (First)

Provides maximum engine braking.

Allows upshifts by moving gearshift lever.

Will not downshift into 1 (First) at high speeds; allows for 1 (First) when vehicle reaches slower speeds
Bill
Barb & Bill
2004 Born Free 22' Built for Two (Sold)
no longer towing a 2008 Smart ForTwo

Escondido, CA
Bonnie McDowell
Posts: 72
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2012 4:58 pm

Re: Downshifting or braking

Post by Bonnie McDowell »

Sam Ryan wrote:
ddpjep wrote:
Bonnie McDowell wrote:I have a 2002 RB E450. In September I will be driving down "3 mile hill" in Western PA - one of those roads where trucks are required to pull over at the top and downshift to low gear, and that has a runaway truck road halfway down the mountain. Should I downshift manually at the top of the hill? I do that in my car.
Bonnie, slow down to 45 miles per hour and downshift to 3rd gear. Later model chassis transmissions have a tow/haul mode and the computer downshifts automatically when you press the brake going downhill.
Everything is dependent on which year and model you own, as to what is or isn't recommended. Your owners manual is the guideline to follow.
*********************
As I mentioned I have a 2002 BF, which would mean a 2001 Ford Chassis. While it had the complete BF manual for the coach, along the way the chassis owner's manual must have gone astray (2 previous owners). So I thought the best thing to do would be to ask here, since I know lots of others have BFs of this age with the E450 chassis. My column shifter does have a button at the end that you can push - what does that do?
Bonnie McDowell
2002 Born Free 24' RB on Ford E450/V10
My first RV - purchased September 2012
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whemme
Posts: 2110
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2005 8:05 pm

Post by whemme »

I travel I-40 a lot since I go from Iowa to Phoenix, AZ every year in February and also travel to Las Vegas while out there. In the states of NM and AZ, there are lots of down hill grades of 6% which with pulling a toad results in over speeding downhill if you don't use procedures to avoid the problem. Leaving the automatic transmission in 4th which is overdrive in my 2002 E450 requires excessive use of brakes to control the downhill speed. Going down these 6% grades, I always shift the transmission out of overdrive using the button on the end of the gear shift lever increasing the engine drag enough that I don't have to us so much braking to control the down hill speed. With the transmission out of overdrive, I tap the brakes whenever necessary to prevent the speed from exceeding 70 mph downhill.
Bill Hemme - Spencer, Iowa
E-mail: whemme@earthlink.net
2002 Born Free (Ford E-450 V10) 26' RSB
2016 VW Golf GTI - toad
Bonnie McDowell
Posts: 72
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2012 4:58 pm

Post by Bonnie McDowell »

Thanks to everyone for the help. I did a search and found a 2001 Owner's Manual online. Here is what it said:

Drive – Not shown on the display. Activate by pressing the transmission
control switch (TCS) on the end of the gearshift lever with the gearshift
in the position. The TCIL (the word OFF) will illuminate on the
gearshift lever. Transmission operates in gears one through three.
(Drive) provides more engine braking than (Overdrive) and is useful
when:

driving with a heavy load.

towing a trailer up or down steep hills.

additional engine downhill braking is desired.

If towing a trailer, refer to Driving while you tow in the Trailer towing section. To return to (Overdrive) mode, press the transmission control switch (TCS). The TCIL (the word OFF) will no longer be illuminated.

Each time the vehicle is started, the transmission will automatically
return to normal overdrive mode. Every time the vehicle is shut off and restarted, you must press the transmission control switch to cancel overdrive operation if driving in overdrive is not desired.

2 (Second)
Use 2 (Second) to start-up on slippery roads or to provide additional engine braking on downgrades.

1 (First)
Use 1 (Low) to provide maximum engine braking on steep
downgrades. Upshifts can be made by shifting to 2 (Second) or to
(Overdrive). Selecting 1 (Low) at higher speeds causes the transmission to shift to a lower gear, and will shift to 1 (Low) after vehicle decelerates to the proper speed.

I think what I probably will do is avoid 3 mile hill by staying on the PA Turnpike for another exit, and then backtrack to my destination. Mapquest says that adds 11 miles, but only 6 minutes. I know that the turnpke is never more than a 3 percent grade. But I still will push in that TCS button on those hills.

If anyone is interested in the online 2001 Owner's Manual, here is the link:

http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_ ... coog3e.pdf

Speaking of braking, on the way home from my second trip with the BF (other than trips in for service), the brakes seemed to sort of vibrate during braking. No problem braking, but I don't recall noticing this before. Any thoughts?
Bonnie McDowell
2002 Born Free 24' RB on Ford E450/V10
My first RV - purchased September 2012
User avatar
bcope01
Posts: 1290
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2005 6:55 pm

Post by bcope01 »

Bonnie looks like you can use the lower gears for engine breaking on your 2001 chassis just like I can (and do) on my 2003 chassis. :D

Actually, in my 48 years of driving, and owning 20 something vehicles, I have never encountered a vehicle where lower gears could not be used for engine breaking (although the 4 cylinder ones won't slow you much, ha ha).

Bill
Barb & Bill
2004 Born Free 22' Built for Two (Sold)
no longer towing a 2008 Smart ForTwo

Escondido, CA
mockturtle

Post by mockturtle »

I downshift going up steep hills and going down. Hardly touch my brakes.
ddpjep

Post by ddpjep »

Ray wrote:Dean - Thats interesting, do you happen to know about what year that was incorporated? I will look in the owners manual also - if I can find it - but honestly, I haven't found it that helpful in the past.
My 2005 Born Free had the 5-speed transmission. I believe that a few 2004 models also might have had the 5-speed. The button at the end of the shift lever put the transmission into tow/haul mode instead of the overdrive off mode on older models. The 5-speed displayed a "TOW/HAUL" message and the older models displayed a "O/D OFF" message.
Ray

Post by Ray »

Bonnie - By vibrate do you mean the pedal pulsates some? I so you probably have a warped rotor or a rotor has over heated. Either way it needs to be taken care of.

Rotors usually warp because of heat, maybe a pad hanging up, excessive riding of the brakes, or cheap rotors.

Some of the china stuff one market warps easily.

If the vibrate is something else everyone probably needs a better description
oliverpsmile
Posts: 271
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 2:46 pm

Post by oliverpsmile »

mockturtle wrote:I downshift going up steep hills and going down. Hardly touch my brakes.
I do the same.

Especially when crossing San Juan Mountains in Colorado. As a mater of fact most of the time I change the gear before the computer does. Very often I switch to a First Gear when down hill with sharp curves (Sliverton to Ouray for example). This technique is very useful in snow condition where the rule "do not use steering wheel and brakes at the same time when slippery" is a King.
Oliver P Smile
2005 26ft RSB
randallrae
Posts: 365
Joined: Wed May 22, 2013 7:30 pm

braking

Post by randallrae »

diesels don't engine brake as gas engines do and are easier to over rev , Bonnie have your brakes checked by someone you trust that is experienced with Ford trucks . One of the first signs of a sticking caliper on the front brakes is spongy vibrating brakes .
2012 25' rb
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