About the retarder

[Lexx]

With lighter cargoes (up to 40 tons) it works quite fine and I don't have to use additional brakes.

[GT182]

A suggestion. Don't use the trans brake. Change to Engine Retarder. That should work. I use my mouse [Logitech G602] for steering and the wheel for scrolling for the engine brake by pushing down on it. Works great.

IRL a Jake brake has 3 settings. 1 was soft, 2 was medium, and 3 was the full deal. The KWs and Petes I drove had the setup come on when you took your foot of the accelerator. ANd you had to be careful not to let off completely when you down shifted so the Jake brake wouldn't come on. One truck I drove had the pedal for the Jake brake on the floor next to the accelerator and you stepped on it to use it. Grossed out a 79,000 it worked fine for slowing the rig down going down hills..... especially on the Cajon Pass I-15 and the Grapevine on I-5 in California where you really needed it.

[GT182]

I just got off my ATS and had the problem with the Jake brake not shutting off. I found that I accidently hit either the . or / key. When you let off the accelerator one of those will let the Jb run automatically.

[room217au]

Select the correct gear for the weight of the vehicle and the incline. Then you don't have to touch the foot brake OR the retarder.
Incidentally the retarder is an aid, not a solution.

[marcel-dutch]

Aaand apparently the retarder isn't meant to break unwanted acceleration downhill when you're hauling 63 tons behind you. The small green numbers that aren't well visible are 65 mph. See the current speed on top of the route advisor with auto retarder turned on.

Auto retarder works ONLY with Cruisecontrol ON.

One thing I don't understand: your problem with the retarder. Several people explained what the retarder IS and how it works. Unfortunately it didn't help.

I know that some drivers using the trailer brakes instead of the retarder (EU) or jake brake (US). But it is forbidden to use the trailer brake only.

On the other side: your transmission box must have a retarder to use the retarder.

My truck has in de US a transmission with a retarder. But the auto retarder is switched off and the auto engine brake switched on.
At downhill the engine brake doesn't work, but the retarder controls the speed at the moment that I use Cruisecontrol.

And Yes, if you swith on the retarder and you pushing the gas paddle, the retarder is switching off. You are not allowed to use the retarder and gas paddle at the same time!

And Yes, the retarder is mean to break to prevent at unwanted acceleration downhill. But in de US only with a transmission with the CC (Cruisecontrol) on.
When you want to manualy brake, you don't use in the US the retarder brake, but the engine brake (jake brake).

[golcan]

I use mouse for steering (Logitech G502) and keyboard.
I use the retarder all the time, even more than engine brake (retarder is less noisy ) it allows a soft and stable deceleration of the truck, for example, when I'm arriving to tolls or junctions, or in curves, and specially if I have a heavy cargo. Obviously, in downhills it is a must, because you can keep the same speed in a stable way.
The key secret for retarder and engine brake, according to my experience ingame, is to use them gradually, the same as with any breaking system.
If you go fast speed and suddenly switch to last position of retarder it would be the same as suddenly pressing top break pedal (without ABS or similar), or using top engine break while reducing many gears together, your instability will be guaranteed due to abrupt deceleration.
Sometimes I use a bit of retarder along with a bit of engine break, avoiding the use of regular break at all.
IMO all those breaking systems are there for helping the driver in different situations, and I benefit from all of them once I learnt how to combine them in different situations.
Gradually is the key for regular situations. For emergency situations, you have more methods for breaking your truck, so I see both of retarder and engine break as pure benefits.

P.S.: I've just found this video explaining the benefits of retarder:

Watch on YouTube

I hope it helps.

[Lexx]

*Sigh* Apparently I'll have to make you some videos what I was talking about in my last post.

[EricF]

Another rule to remember, whether you prefer the retarder or the jake -- don't go down the hill in a gear higher than what you went up with. You need enough basic compression braking available to make the retarder or the jake worthwhile.

In real life, it's very easy for a heavy load to push you downhill --faster than you can safely make a downshift against it. Instead, you go up the hill in a low enough gear to make the climb (often slower than the speed limit) and you go down the steep grade in the same gear -- and not much faster than you went up, possibly below the speed limit still. Not fast, but it sure beats a runaway.

[Lexx]

Another rule to remember, whether you prefer the retarder or the jake -- don't go down the hill in a gear higher than what you went up with. You need enough basic compression braking available to make the retarder or the jake worthwhile.

Why? I do that all the time. If an uphill comes I shift down to get more climbing power and when I reach the top I shift up to the maximum 18th gear, engage CC and leave the truck go downhill. If the cargo is less than 42 tons, there is no problem with the speed being maintained by the retarder. But if the cargo is more than 42 tons, then the retarder doesn't work and the truck keeps accelerating in which case I have to use engine brakes to maintain the desired speed. Idk whether that's a bug or intended to be so.

[Frontiersman]

It's because that isn't realistic at all. No driver in his right mind would put a heavy hauling truck in high gear going downhill.