I have noticed this sign on a number of trucks. What is so unique about air brakes that they requre more caution than normal?
7 Answers
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Trucks have three types of brake:-
Service or foot
Hand or emergency
and
Park brake.
AS to the warning sign There are two reasons:-
1. the noise brakes when applied and released make a sharp short sound that can alarm those behind if not aware.
2. Truck brakes like those on all large vehicles work in three ways,
the Park brake is usually mechanical cable or spring canister.
The emergency or hand brake is atmospheric, in that the brakes are applied by spring pressure which holds them on.
Air is generated by the compressor on the engine which charges the air tanks and the air lines. As the pressure rises above 2 bar it starts to compress the springs and lifts the brakes. the vehicle can then roll.
Service brakes use springs to lift the brakes and so air is directed from the reservoir and applied to the system to apply braking force usually in excess of 4 to 6 Bar.
ONLY the service brake is connected to the brake lights which indicate to those following that the service / foot brakes have been activated.
what happens if you have a leak or failure.
On the service brakes loss of air means that there in no braking from foot effort so the vehicle won’t be able to be retarded.
On the Emergency or hand brake ( often called the dead man on a train) a leak causes loss of air pressure so the springs overcome the actuator and apply the brakes automatically
On the park brake spring canister failure will apply the brake whereas cable failure on the park brake will mean no park brakes at all. ( except the emergency brakes will still work).
So with a semi trailer should there be total air loss the emergency brakes would come on without warning and suddenly with no visual warning of it occurring to those following so you will become very familiar with the detail on the bumper stickers on the back if you weren’t paying attention 🙂
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Heavy trucks use air brakes exclusively. Most of these are drum type units like the one shown above. Air enters the chamber when the brakes are applied, the push rod moves out turning the slack adjuster which rotates the “S” cam and forces the shoes into the drum.
Brakes are a heat engine, they convert kinetic energy (motion) into thermal energy or heat. It interesting to figure out just how powerful your brakes must be to do the job of stopping your rig. Suppose you’ve got a 400 horsepower engine and are about grossed out at 80,000 lbs. your engine can probably get you to about 40 mph in 1/4 mile, that’s 1320 feet. Your brakes should be able to stop you in about 133 feet with this speed and weight, making them 10 times as powerful as your engine!
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Yeah I do it interior the automobile with the steerage wheel or if i’m relatively entering into some dj piece. guy what’s probly wacker is I make the noises with my mouth although i won’t be in a position to conquer container for ****. Edit-So because i’m specific while they seem interior the rear view and spot me rapping they think of i’m laid low with street Rage or Criticising their using or something.
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It takes a test to pass a part of the CDL. S cam air breaks are more comlicated to adjust and more detailed than regular oil breaks on a car or truck.
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A car has manual brake which is fluid air brakes are just that air forced hoses may brake and or fail
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BECAUSE WHEN THEY STOP, THEY STOP AND IF YOU ARE TOO CLOSE, YOU WILL BE HISTORY.