When it comes to the super-B I pull, I have 30 tires on the road, and my trailers are relatively heavy. With that much rubber on the road, I'd be willing to bet that my empty trailers are heavy enough to give me enough traction that I could stop them in A LOT shorter distance than you could stop your car. Factor your reaction time into that, and you'd probably be well underneath my trailer before you even realized I hit the brakes.

And air brakes actually are that good. With a full load, the brakes still have enough power to lock up the wheels on every single axle. That's why we have air brakes. Hydraulic brakes just don't pack that kind of punch. So don't be saying the brakes aren't good because they're very good. They have to be; you can only go as fast as you can safely stop, and trucks tend to move pretty fast if you haven't noticed.

What you were probably referring to is that the only thing that keeps us from stopping quickly is momentum (not weak brakes), and when it comes to an emergency, I bet that even with a full load, I can stop a lot faster than you think I can. I try to drive in such a way that I never have to use the brakes like that. All it takes is an animal on the road or somebody pulling onto the road directly in front of me (which is something that I deal with very regularly in a certain area where I drive).

I don't like tailgaters, and it's not for their safety, but for my own safety. I probably wouldn't feel a thing if you rear-ended me, and I might even keep driving on my merry way for a few miles before somebody waves me down. But there's also the likely possibility that when you get stuck under my trailer, you cause my trailer to hit the ditch, which in turn drags my tractor in, and the end result of that is often not good. The latter is the case that I'd rather not be in so stay back.

Get over yourself, your reaction time just isn't that good.

when it comes to tailgating, what's with the cops? Around here, a cop slides right in behind a truck to hide from oncoming traffic and pick off speeders. Drives me crazy. I'd love to give them a little brake check.

** Are you absolutely positive about that, Tdub?

As I understand it, for safety reasons, it's required that a Big truck's braking system be replenishable, and to have a separate tank of hydraulic brake fluid is thought to be impractical.
On the other hand, air CAN be easily replaced by using an air compressor. Also, air tends not to heat up and boil like hydraulic fluid can, and does under heavy, repeated application.
Air brakes ARE a form of hydraulics. Air is utilized rather than a fluid.

Actually, brakes using hydraulic fluid are superior to air brakes. For one thing, there isn't the "lag time" associated with air brakes.

What concerns me most though, is that you might be OVERestimating your braking and stopping distances, especially when loaded heavy.
I agree that reaction times could cause a 4-wheeler, tailgating, to be late to brake, and wind up under a Big truck semi-trailer. But actual stopping distances betwixt a Big truck and a 4-wheeler, all things being equal, the 4-wheeler WILL stop sooner than a heavy-loaded Big truck.

I think we veered off the threads topic!

I didn't ever say that with a loaded truck I could stop faster than a four wheeler. What I said was that with empty trailers and with that much rubber on the road (30 tires total), they can stop pretty quick. Trust me, with a loaded truck, I know my stopping distance all too well. no overestimating going on here. I've driven plenty in icy conditions where my already poor stopping distance is likely quadrupled by road conditions. I've got plenty of Canadian winter driving stories.

Air brakes are a form of pneumatics, not hydraulics. The word hydraulic refers to a liquid-based system.

Every vehicle on the road has a 'replenishable braking system'. In a car, it's a brake fluid reservoir; in a truck, it's air tanks. For a truck, it's not a legal requirement that the brakes be replenishable; it's a necessity. Air used for brake application is exhausted to the atmosphere, not recycled. It had better be replenishable, whether the law requires it or not.

Both hydraulic brakes and air brakes have significant advantages and disadvantages.

The power of air brakes is superior in heavy load applications. It is the fact that air is a gas, and as such is compressible. When it expands, it does so with incredible energy, which is what gives air brakes their incredible power.

The reason hydraulic brakes are used on smaller vehicles is that it is a much simpler system, has no lag, and there is a far less demand on the brakes to stop the vehicle safely. Hydraulic brakes just aren't that powerful.

My previous post was pointing out that depending on what they're pulling, it's very possible for some trucks to stop at least as fast as a car. On the flip side, even though with a full load it takes way longer to stop a truck, it's still likely fast enough that somebody drafting at 3-4 car lengths is gonna end up under the truck before their reaction is complete.

If you're still reading this thread, Chris, I would like to comment on your practice of tailgating:

You cannot see what is in front of the truck. You leave yourself no "out" in the event that something in front of the truck causes the truck to slow or stop quickly. Further, if that truck happens to slow or stop while you're changing your radio station, putting in a new CD, glancing over your shoulder to see if the left lane is clear, or trying to suck the last few drops of soda out of your "Big Gulp," you will likely be one dead tailgater.

I don't care how good a driver you think you are. The fact that you are tailgating proves that you are NOT a good driver, by definition. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

I usually just "drift" a little over the line and onto the shoulder by "accident"--woops! sorry about those rocks and crap I threw up all over your 4 wheeler!

I'm sure that if you had seen some of the caps I've blown, you wouldn't be so close. Normal recaps are bad enough, but super singles are just plain wicked.

Just don't do it!

Everyone should have to take and pass the Smith System

Christwil, your car front end must be full of little chips in the paint, I bought a car from a guy that drafts allways and it was front end chipped to feel like an orange peel, also there's the rusting. Drafting is dangerous and I believe most drivers do not like it a bit, I'd slow down until you passed me. Having been run into recently by a four wheeler and seeing how close and easy it is for a car to be just tossed around like a toy, you may want to rethink drafting. drive55cat

How did this previous post get to this forum? I was responding to a drafting/tailgating question! drive55cat

The closer you follow a truck, the softer the hit will be when he hits his brakes and you run into him.