It's a Team's Life

Brakes and more Brakes

We spend an hour listening and asking questions of Thomas who can rattle of facts quicker than most people I know.   He has been with Daimler Chrysler for 22 years and the last 20 involved with the brake division.

His most interesting fact was that August 1st of this year a truck and trailer weighing 59,660 going 60 mph has to be able to stop in 250’ and Freightliner has reduced this to 225’.   They are managing this using drum brakes and this is being tested on Freightliner test trucks.  

Drum Brakes

What I found interesting on this call is that they are able to stop a truck in 220’ to 225’ feet with drum brakes and using disc brakes in 215’.   This led me to the question “Why buy disc brakes since they are so much more expensive?” his comment surprised me; it is due to brake fade.   With disc brakes there is  heat build up, the disc brake can dissipate heat faster than a  drum brake is able to.   I was sold as soon as he said the words no brake fade.

Thomas discussed the different types of brakes that are on the market now and where he thinks we are going with brakes.   Thomas would like to see in ten years the only option to buy is disc brakes.   One of the previous problems with the disc brakes was road debris and that has been solved with the use of a dust shield.

Disc Brakes

Another tidbit that Thomas brought up was to buy brakes for the type of work your truck will be involved with.   Brakes designed for a city fire truck will not work well on an over the road truck.   The brakes for a city vehicle are made for a lot of quick stops which an over the road truck does not often do.   The brakes will glaze over and reduce the over the road trucks ability to stop and cause brake squeal.

Thomas was able to answer my concerns on the proper use of brakes on hills and what is the best method of staying slow.  Freightliner has tested many techniques of stopping driving around the Mount Hood area 24 hours a day.  When Freightliner tests brakes on Mount Hood they do not use the engine brake retarder.   He said on their test trucks they have found that at 45 mph use a nice steady stab to slowdown to 40 mph and let the truck climb back up to 45 mph once again  before starting over.   The time it takes to reach 45 mph gives the brakes a chance to cool off.   The test trucks found that using a constant pressure on brakes raised the brake temperature to a dangerous level before reaching the bottom of the mountain and was not the best option.

The disc brakes will require very little maintenance compared to drum brakes, which is an added bonus.   The cost of disc brakes can be prohibitive as they are over a $1000.00 an axle added on to the price of a new truck.   Right now the volume of disc brakes sales are low which is what is keeping the price of these brakes high. Some trucks can be retrofitted with disc brakes, but this is an extensive project.

All in all the hour flew buy with Thomas and before I knew it the time was done.  

Bob & Linda Caffee

Leased to: FedEx Custom Critical 


TeamCaffee


Saint Louis MO

Expediters 6 years been out here on the road 11 years

[email protected]

 

Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle; 


Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;


Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;


Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.