I usually just keep the pedal to er so I can make the next hill. Sometimes I may clutch in if I'm trying to hear something, but unlikely down a hill.
I would hate to be pulling a load, pop it in neutral, then have to stop fast and can't get it back into gear to engine brake. I engine brake on all cars and trucks I drive.
You get soem BIG diesel power....like an ISX cummins, C16 Cat, etc and you don't need that extra run on. I haul 2.5 tons more legally on my truck, than an 18 wheeler can haul. I see them blowing past me like seabiscuit downhill, and I catch them on the uphill side of things. That's the difference between a 430 detroit and a 500 cummins. Plus, if I toss the jake on, I watch them roll away with their brakes on...and I am only on stage 3 of the jakes. I RARELY use the foot brake to regulate speed or slow down in the rigs...weighing in at 55 000 - 110 000 pounds.
Goofyexponent: When you said commercial, I'm sure that includes even half-tons with a commercial tag, correct?
Precisely. If you are driving a vehicle with commercial tags, then you are on the job. In Nova Scotia, you are legally REQUIRED to run a logbook in ANY vehicle with commercial tags, or a registered weight over 3200 KGS.
They let you slide for teh most part, but if you make a DOT officer mad by not securing a load, you're most likely getting raked over the coals.
Although it's illegal, I see a LOT of people with high sped trucks (numerically higher, like 4.11, 4.63, etc) and direct ratio transmissions in throw them into Gerogia overdrive to up their speed downhill, to gain momentum on the next uphill.
The catch is, if something happens that they NEED to stop, when the stomp on the brake pedal, they will FRY their brakes within 150 feet, to the point where they are smoking and are so hot you could fry a 1" thick steak on them before they cool down.
I've seen brake drums on a dump truck SO hot, they burnt the hub seal on the spindle and blew a tire. Hard to imagine, but I've seen it more than once.
