Fleetwood Bounder - Using the Engine to Slow the Motor Home

If you can't avoid operating, parking or idling your vehicle
off-road:
» Be aware that combustible materials could catch fire
from the vehicle's hot exhaust system.
» Avoid driving your vehicle through or over combustible
materials such as leaves, grass, vegetation
or stubble
high enough to touch, catch
or collect on its hot
exhaust system.
» Parking or idling should be done only in an area where
there are no combustible materials under the vehicle.
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.
WARNING
Do not park or idle the
motor home over com-
bustible materials such
as
tall grass or dried leaves.
Combustible materials
may catch fire from the
hot exhaust gases, soot
or
sparks that could escape
through corrosion holes or
cracks. This
is particularly
important
if the exhaust
system has not been
properly maintained.
USING THE ENGINE
TO SLOW THE
MOTOR HOME