Braking On Downgrades; Parking Brake; Using The Engine To.slow The Motor Home; Air Suspension System - Fleetwood Expedition Owner's Manual

On The Road
Braking on Downgrades
Downhill driving puts extra strain on many dri-
vetrain components of your motor home. The
brakes are easily overloaded and overheated
when used for downhill slowing. Brake fade will
occur if the brakes overheat.
When driving down long grades, shift the trans-
mission to a lower gear at the top of the grade.
Rule of thumb: Use the same lowest gear going
down as
it
took to go up the hill. Crest the hill in
the lower gear. Do not exceed the governed
engine speed of 2,750 RPM. Monitor your speed.
Please see the Chassis Operator'sIOwner's Guidel
Manual for more information about brake system
operation and downhill driving techniques.
Parking Brake
The parking brake control is a yellow, diamond-
shaped, push-pull control knob. Pull the knob
out to set the brake, and push in to release.
Any time you park, use the parking brake.
If necessary, use wheel chocks to hold the vehi-
cle. Let hot brakes cool before using the parking
brake. If the brakes are wet, use the brakes lightly
while driving in a low gear
to
heat and dry them.
A
CAUTION
If the low pressure buzzer or light ever comes on
while the motor home is in motion, exercise extreme
caution. Stop and park the motor home as soon and
as safely as possible by down-shifting the transmis-
sion. Apply the parking brake as soon as the vehicle
is motionless. The spring brake system will apply the
brakes as pressure drops.
A
WARNING
If a loss of air pressure in the braking system oc-
curs rapidly, the spring brakes will be applied
suddenly. This may cause loss of traction and vehi-
cle control. Refer to your Chassis Operator's/
Owner's Guide/Manual for further information on
the functioning of the brake system.
05-18
A
WARNING
Never leave your motor home unattended without set-
ting the parking brake.
Using the Engine
to
Slow
the Motor Home
To use the engine as a braking force, select the
next lower gear. Engine braking provides good
speed control for going down grades. When the
motor home is heavily loaded, or the grade is
steep, preselection of a lower gear prior to the
grade may be desirable.
Gear preselection means the selection of a
lower gear to match the driving conditions you
encounter or expect to encounter. Preselection
will give you better control on slick or icy roads
and on downgrades. Downshifting to lower
gears increases engine braking. The selection of
a lower gear often prevents cycling between a
gear and the next higher gear on a series of
short up-and-down hills.
AIR SUSPENSION SYSTEM
Your motor home is equipped with air suspen-
sion. When the engine is started the suspension
will begin to fill with air, lifting the motor home
body 4-6 inches. A buzzer will sound until the
air tanks are sufficiently full for proper opera-
tion.
Your motor home has four suspension air bags -
two for each axle. The pressure in these bags is
controlled by three air valves. These valves are
preset and determine the distance between the
chassis and axle, or "ride height." Each air bag
may contain a different air pressure. This pres-
sure is determined automatically by the system
to maintain a level chassis, and is continually
adjusted as long as the chassis engine is
runnmg.
The air suspension system is not the same as the
Leveling System. See Leveling System ..
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