Does your home jurisdiction require air brake endorsement?
Are there jurisdictions about the continent that allow people to drive air brake equipped vehicles without any type of training or license endorsement?
Forum Discussion
I think the link below will clear up what appears to be quite a bit of confusion here.
Cut and paste into your browser and give it an easy read.
http://www.idealease-abetterway.com/safetycompliance/04_22_2011.pdf
A few of the main points made are:
-Automatic slacks adjust themselves only if the brakes are engaged > 60%.
-In normal operation the brakes are engaged far less than 60%
-10 full stroke actuations are recommended.
-One of the primary reasons for diminished brake performance is due to glazing which occurs when the brakes are not minimally engaged.
Many MH's are subject only to light braking due to driver reliance on exhaust or engine brakes. So, a full hard stop periodically done in a parking lot is a best practice IMHO.
One of the posters here said that going through the adjustment procedure will not effect brake pedal travel. In my coach (Meritor brakes) this is certainly not true. If the slacks are not calibrated/adjusted you may encounter a situation where you are fully stroking the brake pedal (pedal to the metal) and your brakes are not 100% engaged.
As I keep my slacks calibrated, I get to 100% of braking capability well before I reach the "pedal to the metal" stage.
Several years ago an American Coach was involved in a multi-vehicle accident on I-95 in N.C. The road was closed for hours...the owner was not aware of the calibration procedure and had never calibrated his slacks. Traffic was at a standstill and he did not have 100% of his braking capability. He was "pedal to the metal", but could not stop his coach before plowing into the traffic.
Properly calibration of the slacks by using the full stroking procedure ensures that 100% of the braking capability is available to you.
For those who leave their opinion here that you should be measuring or having mechanics adjusting automatic slacks...here is a video with a read from the NHTSA manual.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnGi_lqueo0
Cut and paste into your browser and give it an easy read.
http://www.idealease-abetterway.com/safetycompliance/04_22_2011.pdf
A few of the main points made are:
-Automatic slacks adjust themselves only if the brakes are engaged > 60%.
-In normal operation the brakes are engaged far less than 60%
-10 full stroke actuations are recommended.
-One of the primary reasons for diminished brake performance is due to glazing which occurs when the brakes are not minimally engaged.
Many MH's are subject only to light braking due to driver reliance on exhaust or engine brakes. So, a full hard stop periodically done in a parking lot is a best practice IMHO.
One of the posters here said that going through the adjustment procedure will not effect brake pedal travel. In my coach (Meritor brakes) this is certainly not true. If the slacks are not calibrated/adjusted you may encounter a situation where you are fully stroking the brake pedal (pedal to the metal) and your brakes are not 100% engaged.
As I keep my slacks calibrated, I get to 100% of braking capability well before I reach the "pedal to the metal" stage.
Several years ago an American Coach was involved in a multi-vehicle accident on I-95 in N.C. The road was closed for hours...the owner was not aware of the calibration procedure and had never calibrated his slacks. Traffic was at a standstill and he did not have 100% of his braking capability. He was "pedal to the metal", but could not stop his coach before plowing into the traffic.
Properly calibration of the slacks by using the full stroking procedure ensures that 100% of the braking capability is available to you.
For those who leave their opinion here that you should be measuring or having mechanics adjusting automatic slacks...here is a video with a read from the NHTSA manual.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnGi_lqueo0
