Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 08, 2025 ...

Bill Chaplin wrote: 
Mr Wolfe;
I have a '93 Allison 4 speed hooked to a 6V92 I was under the impression that my torque converter was "locked" on shift from 1st to second gear.
Is this incorrect?
I have a 2 position "Jake" brake, but not real effective in 3 & 4th gear.
You opinion requested
 
1993 U300 M4000, 6v92 engine build 4366 billchaplin@sbcglobal.net
817.821.3869 Cell toad '02 Mazda B3000

Mr Wolfe;
I have a '93 Allison 4 speed hooked to a 6V92
I was under the impression that my torque converter was "locked" on shift from 1st to second gear.
Is this incorrect?
I have a 2 position "Jake" brake, but not real effective in 3 & 4th gear.

You opinion requested

John Cooper wrote: 
Ron,
 
I am going to take the time to update you on my experience at Yosimite NP. We were coming down from the Upper Pines Campground in Yosemite NP. When we stopped at the Big Oak Flat entrance the Ranger told us our trailer brakes were smoking. We did not have trailer brakes, it turned out to be the coach's rear brakes. We pulled to the side of the road and waited an hour for them to cool down. We then stopped at an RV park just outside of Yosemite. After checking out Senora in the car we proceeded down the mountain with the car off the dolly. In the short twisty sections of the road I was able to keep the speed under control but when we hit a long straight stretch that was no longer the case. The brakes would not cool off enough between applications and so I would have to brake longer each time trying to keep from over revving the engine. Naturally the brakes got even hotter and began to smoke. I was just barely able to stop at a pull off and let the brakes cool down. The grade was not as steep from there on and so I did not have another problem. I had thought the rear seals must have leaked on the brakes but the shop said everything was o.k.
 
I will never, never go into the mountains again with out at least an exhaust brake, it was too harrowing! Brakes on the toad will help but as you can see even without a toad long, steep grades can be a problem. Installing my exhaust brake was a real pain because the brake was too long to fit between the turbo and the muffler. All the work and expense paid for itself many times over in the mountains of Wyoming and Montana. One particularly memorable road was between Lincoln and Helena Montana. I only used the air brakes a few times to slow down for the really tight curves.
 
My Cat 3208T is red lined at 2700 RPM and I suspect yours is too. I have been told that going over the red line can cause engine failure so it is very important to stay under the red line. The engine does not appear to provide much braking power so it isn't much help that the transmission is locked if the engine won't hold you under the red line.
 
John Cooper
'91 GV 36'
Oshkosh chassis
Cat 3208T 300HP

On Thu, 8/12/10, Dave Head Wrote: 
 
The problem with an exhaust brake on a 3208 is that the exh valve springs are only 30#. For instance a C8.3 the heavy duty springs required for an exh brake are 65#. Of course ANY additional braking is a bonus, just know you can't expect too much out of one...
 

Quote

John Cooper wrote: 
Ron,
 
I am going to take the time to update you on my experience at Yosimite NP. We were coming down from the Upper Pines Campground in Yosemite NP. When we stopped at the Big Oak Flat entrance the Ranger told us our trailer brakes were smoking. We did not have trailer brakes, it turned out to be the coach's rear brakes. We pulled to the side of the road and waited an hour for them to cool down. We then stopped at an RV park just outside of Yosemite. After checking out Senora in the car we proceeded down the mountain with the car off the dolly. In the short twisty sections of the road I was able to keep the speed under control but when we hit a long straight stretch that was no longer the case. The brakes would not cool off enough between applications and so I would have to brake longer each time trying to keep from over revving the engine. Naturally the brakes got even hotter and began to smoke. I was just barely able to stop at a pull off and let the brakes cool down. The grade was not as steep from there on and so I did not have another problem. I had thought the rear seals must have leaked on the brakes but the shop said everything was o.k.
 
I will never, never go into the mountains again with out at least an exhaust brake, it was too harrowing! Brakes on the toad will help but as you can see even without a toad long, steep grades can be a problem. Installing my exhaust brake was a real pain because the brake was too long to fit between the turbo and the muffler. All the work and expense paid for itself many times over in the mountains of Wyoming and Montana. One particularly memorable road was between Lincoln and Helena Montana. I only used the air brakes a few times to slow down for the really tight curves.
 
My Cat 3208T is red lined at 2700 RPM and I suspect yours is too. I have been told that going over the red line can cause engine failure so it is very important to stay under the red line. The engine does not appear to provide much braking power so it isn't much help that the transmission is locked if the engine won't hold you under the red line.

John Cooper
'91 GV 36'
Oshkosh chassis
Cat 3208T 300HP

Dave Head & Starr Martin
Oviedo, FL
95 U320C SE 40 07 Chevy Tahoe Z71