Brake system

Brake system

The brake system consists of brake chambers, slack adjusters, S-cams, and shoes or pads. During service braking, the brake chambers convert air pressure to mechanical force through the slack adjusters and camshafts to apply the brakes using the brake shoes or pads.

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1 Upper brake shoe 2 Lower brake shoe 3 S-cam 4 Slack adjuster 5 Brake chamber

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WARNING

• Do not disassemble or repair a brake chamber. Doing so may result in property damage, serious injury, or death due to the accidental sudden release of a high-energy spring. • Before entering traffic, check the trailer brake operation to ensure they work properly. Also, operate the foot pedal, dash control valves, and hand valve to verify that the brakes are applied and released each time. Always be alert for air leaks during each type of brake application.

About the trailer

• Service brakes and parking brakes must be inspected by the driver. Do not operate a trailer with defective brakes. Inspect the following before and after operation. - Check if the chamber plastic end cap is placed properly to prevent dirt and contaminants. - Check if any of the components of the brake system are defective, missing, damaged or corroded. - If a defect is suspected, place the vehicle out of service until a qualified service technician repairs it.

Slack adjuster

The automatic slack adjusters installed on the trailer maintain a constant brake shoe to drum clearance that ensures constant brake shoe force.

Brake chambers

All trailer brake chambers perform both service and parking brake functions. The service brake stops the trailer after receiving a signal from the tractor. The parking brake is applied when you apply the parking brake. The parking brake is also applied automatically when the air supply is unintentionally lost. To move the trailer before air pressure can be restored, such as during routine maintenance or in emergency situations, the mechanical spring brakes can be manually backed off and released using the cage bolt.