Adjusting Brakes

the point of the article is you either need to press your brakes hard with full pressure once or twice a day to keep your brakes adjusted or do it with a wrench.

I do it first thing when I go on duty and last thing when I park everyday as well as try to double check during visual inspection once or twice a month.

 

Yes, I know how to do it, was taught by my second driving job. Will I do it, on my tractor or company owned equipment yes.

On rail or steamship owned equipment, nope, won't touch them, they can pay for road service. The railroad requires we carry $1 million in liability insurance and are registered with them as a repair facility, therefore, unless it's an emergency, we don't do repairs on their equipment, they can and will pay for road service.

 

You want to visual inspect way more then once or twice a month. Should on every pri, i do atleast twice a week. (go under to inspect)

 

Kinda stupid if a company driver just 'trusts' that someone else has the brakes in proper order.

Take charge of your life and learn to do things for yourself without excuses as to why you won't/can't/shan't/didn't.

In my case, driving an old Mack w/o front brakes, I asked our mechanic to show me how after pulling the seat cushion out of my butt crack!

 

driving the same truck day in and day out. i don't slam on my brakes. the adjusters just work. on their own accord.

but if i find my brake pressure gauge starting to climb. then i self adjust till i get the malfunctioning slacks replaced.

like the above post mentioned. adjust brakes is as easy as adjusting your mirrors. i don't know why most truckers are just too danged afraid to do it. and too afraid to get under there and looking for gaps between shoes and drums.

it's such a basic concept. that most just don't seem to care about.

today, i seen swift parked on the side. and just as i got up to him. he was slowly rolling downhill. with both right rear trailer axles smoking.

 

none of you have been advised by the DOT , not to touch your brakes unless you are a qualified mechanic???

I have and was almost shut down in Ontario,Canada and Missouri for getting out to correct a problem.

reason being , if in the event of an accident you were the last to touch them and were not certified and now are liable in a court of law.

 

I got a little certification card from my company

 

lol, that doesn't make you an ASE certified brake mechanic sorry.

I had one also. DOT laughed at it.

 

Granted, if you don't know exactly what you're doing, you should not do it.
But, FMCSA does not require a specialized "certification" to adjust brakes.
Your motor carrier may deem you qualified for these limited brake tasks, based on your knowledge & experience.
If you read the regulation and FMCSA's own interpretation (linked below) thoroughly, you'll see that.

A lot of ppl get confused over the term "Brake Inspector". Doing a pre-trip or post-trip and "inspecting your brakes" does not mean the same as a "Brake Inspector", by FMCSA's standards, yet we are all required to do it. FMCSA allows for one with sufficient experience to adjust brakes, without being qualified to perform other brake-related tasks.

From FMCSA's 396.25 Interpretation page":
Question 3: May a driver or other motor carrier employee be qualified as a brake inspector under §396.25 by way of experience or training to perform brake adjustments without being qualified to perform other brake-related tasks such as the repair or replacement of brake components?
Guidance: Yes. A driver may be qualified by the motor carrier to perform a limited number of tasks in connection with the brake system, e.g., inspect and/or adjust the vehicle’s brakes, but not repair them.

FMCSA 396.25

FMCSA 396.25 Interpretation Page

If you have a brake problem, such as an out of adjustment situation, you then have only 2 choices:
Either adjust them to correct it, if you feel qualified... OR..
Park it and call for road service.

That said, if a self-adjuster will not "adjust up" and hold it's setting after sufficient number of full brake applications while parked, I will not attempt to manually adjust it, as it is obvious that the self-adjuster is defective.