Central Refrigerated Truck Stop II

take a wrench and adjust the brakes. they'll work then. 5/16th or 8mm wrench.

i'm guessing they told you to go backwards and slam on the brakes. if the slacks aren't working. they aren't working. or the brakes wouldn't be out of adjustment.

qualified or not. i'll adjust my brakes rather then waste time at a truckstop somewhere. or risk being put out of service.
takes a whopping 2 minutes to adjust all 4.

had a texas cop give me a level 2. trailer slacks weren't working. good thing i adjusted them 100 miles earlier.

being a retired mechanic. i never let my customers out the door with a low brake pedal. i won't drive my truck if the brakes work too hard.

 

Quick dumb question I have...........

When using the CFS gas fuel cards, do they care where you fuel up your trucks? Didnt know if they have any partnerships with anybody like Pilot,Flying J ect....

 

Yep the old stick a seal on it trick!

Central used to have the "no touch" policy when it came to adjusting brakes. To many lease operators using trailer brakes instead of theirs so they would constantly have to be adjusted.

L.E.hillbilly you can pretty much use those CFS cards anywhere but as a company driver for Central you will only be able to get fuel at designated fuel stops which will change daily depending on your route and the fuel average. Everyday they send you a list of fuel stops and those are the ones you have to use. As a company driver you must also follow the route or directions that they provide. As a lease driver you can do what you want but is usually more economical if you follow what Central does. Considering they own a few more trucks then you do they probably know what they are doing!

 

i have to disagree chompi. ive been told to get 50 gallons in OR and the fill up in CA for $0.40/gal more. on the load im on now i was supposed to get 50 gal at 3.55, then fill up at 3.66. they dont seem to take fuel cost into account.

unfortunately i dont know how to adjust air brakes, so i dont think thats an option.

 

not knowing how and saying that is't an option is like saying your lazy.

we had a driver going down a hill in colorado end up using one of them emergency ramps becuase they were too lazy.

it's not different then working on your car. you simply put wrench over what looks like a nut or bolt. and turn. watch the brakes move closer to the drum.

move the wrench loosely till it stops. you don't want to crank it down cuz that will be tight. auto slacks are hard to back off unless you know the trick. the wrench will only turn one way.


i don't care what anybody says. i don't care if it's allowed or not. not keeping OUR brakes properly adjusted is what gets US into accidents. the #1 excuxse being "I COULDNT' STOP"

lease ops only using there trailer brakes seems really stupid and a good excuse for an accident. i've had my truck almost a year now. 110k miles and i have yet to replace any tractor brakes. and it's only $200 for new shoes.

i learned to adjust brakes when i went to school 13 years ago. does school not teach you guys any more????

it's a simple 2 minute procedure. and it beats sitting around somewhere trying to get the qualcomm to fix you up. and it certainly beats an inspection that will put you out of service becuase you've hit that 2 inch maximum travel. thus putting points onto your csa

 

They are choosing where you fuel based on the price of fuel with the fuel taxes taken out. Since all collected taxes go into ifta, what you pay in taxes doesn't matter because if you overpay your fuel taxes you get a refund.

 

ever noticed them signs right before you hit a steep down hill.

the sign that says brake check area. truckers check brakes.

that don't mean to pull over and make sure your brakes are stil there on the trailer. it means to check ALL 10 axle brakes on both truck and trailer for out of adjustment.

so you get out and look at all your brakes. ANY brake that has spacing between the show and drum is a brake that is out of adjustment. and needs to be adjusted before going down the hill.

a properly adjusted brake will look like it's touching the drum already but it really isn't. you just can't see that very tiny space.

 

Where is the adjustment bolt/nut? I'm not lazy; I've only worked on hydraulic disc brakes, and screwing up my brakes tinkering with them is not my idea of a good plan.

 

There is an adjustment screw on the slack adjuster. Obviously there are manual slack adjusters and so called automatic slack adjusters. Either style is mounted on the end of the S-cam and are connected with a rod to the brake can. S-cam is the shaft that runs parallel with your axle and spreads the brake shoes apart and than applies pressure against the brake drum. The rod coming out of the brake can pushes on the slack adjuster to turn the s-cam.

1. Chaulk your wheels and release your brakes (turn truck off and put keys in your pocket)
2. Manual slack adjusters use a 9/16" wrench to turn the adjustment bolt. There is a safety sleeve that needs to be pushed in around the adjustment screw before you will be able to turn the adjustment bolt. Put the wrench on the adjusting bolt and push the sleeve in at the same time to turn.
3. When turning the adjuster bolt watch your slack adjuster turn on the s-cam shaft if it rotates away from the brake can your are loosening the brakes (more Slack) I always tighten down the brakes tight against the drum and then back the adjustment screw off 90 degrees (This my personal preference other people other ways) After I back the brake off I tap the drum and listen for a bell sound. Making sure the brakes are not to tight. You can also mark the rod on the brake can and adjust it that way. You do not want your shoes rubbing or your brakes will get hot.
4. Auto slack adjuster adjust by the same principal, but you cannot back them off without removing an internal dog. Mark your brake can rod and adjust them that way so you do not get your brakes to tight.

As a disclaimer please don't try this at home. Make sure you have a qualified person show you how to adjust your brakes and carry the proper wrench or tool with you.

 

I'll try and figure that out when these lumpers are done. I don't know why they don't teach basic stuff like this; I hate being dependent on other people to keep rolling, and I really don't want to kill half a day getting this taken care of.

On second thought, remembering some of my classmates, I know exactly why they don't teach this stuff.