Air brake issue

What state? Most state do not require that and in fact forbid it.

 

I read, out of service for class 8 vehicles, if 20% or more of it's brakes are faulty, so I think if you stop the air leak, one brake not working is ok.
Sorry, thought you were talking about brakes, not sure how to cancel a post,,,

 

If I remember correctly without bothering to look it up! 10% allowed which is 1 brake end. 20 % (2) is not allowed. Also learned from DOT. that doesn’t apply to a steer brake, After being put out of service for one having more than 1.75” of travel. I tried to argue politely that it was within 2” and only 1 brake. Got a good education that day. I had just put those brakes on also. He commented that I needed to learn how to properly adjust brakes. Lol Either way I was put out of service, adjusted brakes and took off. Now I no longer back the steers off as much, maybe just a pinch more than the others.

 

30/30 chambers max 2” 20/20 (steer) chambers max 1.75”. Lesson hard learned.

 

Speaking of brakes, and I love this, my shining moment of O/Oism, my '72 Pete in my avatar had no front brakes. During one of my many inspections, I politely went round and round with a very green woman trooper, who insisted I needed brakes on all axles. I said, if the truck did not have front brakes originally, it doesn't need them now. She stormed off going into the scale house, only to return, saying, "take it away driver",,,man, that felt good,,

 

I made the comment that I remember when some Trucks didn’t even have front brakes, Lol He wasn’t impressed.

 

Often the leak is at the line or gladhand seal. Make sure the rig is on level ground, chock the wheels - build the air pressure to max with the brakes set, then put it in first gear (if not autoshift) and shut it off. Get outside and listen - but do NOT get under the truck or between the truck and the trailer. Just extra safety precaution ...

Often people pull on the airlines when hooking and unhooking them - and they break them. Sometimes they may seem OK when they are actually leaking, but going down the road and making turns pulling and stretching them out opens the leak more and dropping the air pressure faster.

Some times they are simply not aligned and connected properly. Other times it is a seal on the trailer or the tractor, or both, that needs to be replaced (always carry extra).

Air leaks in trucks are like water leaks in houses - they can be hard to find the source and it takes time.

If you have an air leak and can't find it and fix it yourself then get it to a shop ASAP before you wind up stuck on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.

The "Hot Load" thing is a thing that will bite you in the backside. To me --- and others may disagree --- there is No Such Thing as a hot load. They are all just loads to haul as quickly and efficiently as you SAFELY can haul them.

The hot load mentality is a creation of ignorant dispatchers, pushy shippers, and greedy brokers.

The point is - take the time to do it right and do it safely every time and don't let other people pressure and push you to try and make impossible schedules that THEY created.

 

If the supply line side of the can is leaking, you can crimp off the line, cage the brake, and the service side remains functional...perfectly legal so long as you have enough remaining spring brakes to hold the vehicle when parked. If the service side is leaking, it takes less than 10 minutes to change the $5 rubber diaphragm...or if you don't carry a spare, crimp off the service line and you can roll...but you're down a brake. ANY problems with any other brake, and now you're at the 20% OOS.

 

HA! Cage the brake,,I bet most drivers today have no idea what that means, and good luck finding a caging tool, as most brake cans don't include them anymore.

 

Those 10 minute jobs, always turn into 1-2 hr ordeals for me. Lol. Last chamber I had go bad, I contemplated and took it to the shop.
Watching the mechanic with all the proper tools, having the typical difficulties, I was glad to pay and well worth it also. They can be a pita