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Q: I own a 2002 Chevy Silverado 3500 Dually, and I tow a fifth wheel which weighs about 14,500 lbs. The truck is Duramax powered. I am concerned about descending long grades. My question is, are the factory brakes adequate for this task? I don't want to install an exhaust brake if I don't have to. I would like to just upgrade the service brakes if possible, or do I need to this at all?
A: This is a great question. As long as the brakes are working properly on your trailer you should not have a problem with your truck under normail conditions. Long downhill descents can put a large strain on the brake system of your truck. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of options for upgrading the brakes on your particular truck. You can go to a higher performance brake pad which can handle higher temperatures and will not fade as easily or you can add an exhaust brake. There are a number of exhaust brakes on the market that claim to work. If your truck has an automatic the exhaust brake will lock the converter on decel to let the engine slow the truck down. BD Diesel Performance makes a brake that does this. This brake is programmable to release at a certain speed which you can pick. This prevents the engine from stalling when coming to a stop. It also locks the converter on decel.
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