Heavy-haul freight trains require fully charged brakes. When operating a train on a downgrade, brake usage levels on individual cars climb, equipment heats up, and braking power levels can drop ...

It’s impossible to fix something without understanding how it’s supposed to work. Brake system repair decisions can be difficult to make, and costly to execute, without a basic understanding of system ...

As much as I enjoy driving tractor-trailers, one thing that has irked me for many years is the parking brake valves on the dashboard. The two push-pull valves -- the yellow one for tractor brakes and ...

The emergency and supply lines that stretch between a tractor and trailer offer a colorful reminder that compressed air is the lifeblood of your brake system. The hoses are a respective red and blue, ...

Have you ever tried to back up an 18-wheeler? It's no small feat, but once you understand how air brakes in semi trucks work, it all starts to make sense.

Plumbing up a trailer with air-brakes might be almost as simple as tying your laces, but it’s a different story with tractor pneumatics. While the system itself is beautifully straightforward in ...

The electronically controlled braking system (EBS or ECBS), also called electro-pneumatic braking or brake-by-wire, has been waiting in the wings for several years. It’s still back there but, ...

As spring arrives across North America, it’s important to take preventive maintenance steps and address the tolls that a season of wild temperature swings and corrosive road chemicals can take on your ...

The Mining Safety and Health Administration offers some pretty sobering statistics and investigations. Take one recent incident, for example. A 50-year-old haul truck operator was fatally injured ...

Most incidents involving total air-brake failures go unreported officially and simply become the stuff of legend. But a few too many of them have resulted in very public collisions. Until recently, ...

We’ve shown how you can get your hydraulic trailer brakes up to stratch, but if you want ultimate stopping power you should consider updrading to air. Why air? Installation: part 1 Installation: part ...

Air-brake systems are subject to excessive oil contamination. As reliable as they are, vehicle compressors can and do fail. One form of announcing this problem to the diagnostic technician is the ...