Checking brake lights for pre-trip

I just lock up the brakes when I'm being tailgated. If they don't hit me, my brake lights must be working.

 

I pull the spike on the steering column, get out and look at the lights.

It's really nice having one that holds itself in place.

 

Yep. Every large car that I've driven has a "chicken stick" that stays where you put it.

 

Do you get 25 psi at the brake pedal then?

 

I just set the brakes.

While we are on the subject, does anybody honestly do their complete pre/post trip every day according to regulation? Of course my log book says I do.

 

Yep, we haul pool trailers almost exclusively. Not doing the pretrip on them is an invitation to critical component failure. Missing cotter pins and clevis pins on brake components, tires dry rotted and cracked at rim to depth of 1/4 inch, pushrod travel length bottoms out the plunger, abs lamp power and ground wires cut, broken welds on frame components, cracked brake drums and brake linings, s-cam rollers missing, brake springs missing, holes rusted into brake chambers big enough to fit one's hand into. All things I've found on pre-trip. Yep. All the time. Every time.

 

####. That's a lot. I obviously pre trip my 8 month old truck every day. And I pre tripped my 3 week old trailer every day I've had it.

 

I've gotten into the habit of taking photos. Sometimes the folks on the other end of the DVIR don't believe what is being sent through on the computer. I close out the last line of the DVIR with "photographs available". A couple of times they've asked for them...

 

Only when you are next in line at the chicken coup. lol

The reason we carry spares. lol

Say whaaaat, I have never ever heard of this.

I keep cable ties on my pushrods and check them when the brakes are set.

I bought one of those big 3 foot round concave mirrors used in warehouses to see if a forklift is coming at intersections, and have it in my shop, so that bobtailing I can easily check all lights from the drivers seat, before I pull out of the shop.
Yep, I'm lazy. lol

 

Wow ... I just got a stick, cut it to the length I needed it to push down the brake pedal and walked back to see what was on and what wasn't. I didn't even buy the stick, I pulled it out of the dunnage barrel at a stop.