STOPPING/air brakes

[lathe11]

Hey guy's and girl's i have a 1999 coachman sportcoach with now 28,000 miles 38'dp. Just got back from cross counrty trip 6000 miles and had the brakes adjusted twice they tell me the shoes are like new but unless i have the jake brake on it don't want to stop that good at all has anyone else had this experience and what should i do or check first thanks

[rvjimmy]

Has it ever had brake job.I doubt it with the miles. If so check to see if they used the right shoes. There are all sorts of lining grades and are they Q or Q-Plus shoes.

[wagonmaster2]

I'm sure you'll gets lots of suggestions on things to check or have repaired but I've never thought the brakes on my 2004 Meridian XC chassis Freightliner has ever stopped from new like a good set of hydraulic power brakes do, which are generally disc brakes anymore. Drum brakes will never do anywheres near like disc brakes do.

Good luck with your "problem", if there is a problem and hope you can be satisfied with your brakes.

Wagonmaster2

[lathe11]

No they are the original, thinking they may have glazed the shoes. I guess the only way is to pull the wheel and check thanks for the come back

[HeapBigEngin]

Not sure if this is of any help or will even make any sense. I noticed a similiar "concern" with our fairly new-to-us 2003 F/Wood Revolution 40' DP on a Freightliner chasis. Initially, it seemed like I would have to push the brake pedal through the floor at times just to stop the thing. Even had the brakes checked....no problem found. (I hoped he knew what he was doing!) Then I remebered my truck-driving days when I was a teen more than a few years ago AND my diesel bus-driving days in the Army. It seemed then that pumping the trucks' or the bus' air brakes slightly under certain conditions really helped stop those vehicles.

I have tried that on the M/H....with much better braking results. No, I am not talking about taking your foot completely off the pedal and then mashing it back or anything like that. I would describe it as a slight, slow-to-moderately fast pumping of the brakes. All I know is that this method has really helped me "learn" how to better stop our M/H, especially at moderate to slower speeds. Not sure why....maybe this allows the drum brake system to cool down and work better. Or maybe I'm just used to the great disc brakes on our passenger vehicles. I dunno'. But it sure works for me. Maybe someone else can offer additional info. I notice in traffic that I often heard 18 wheelers and city buses doing the same thing. Just my thoughts....

[94-Newmar]

Have you had the chambers inspected? They can check the adjusters and all can look well, but if the springs are weak you won't stop very well. Have a look thru this: http://www.truckstopper.com/Automati...20Adjuster.pdf

Many good articles here: http://www.truckstopper.com/index-3.html

[J Walker]

Something is very wrong with your air brakes. My 2000 Freightliner XCS chassis with air brakes can stop as fast as anything. I can lock my wheels or as much as ABS will allow. A good Freightliner dealer could see how much of a problem you have and do some checking. One thing you could do is see how fast you can stop with full braking.

[wa8yxm]

My brother tells of a time when he had the brakes on his trailer replaced. (Ok it was not HIS trailer, but his bosses, it was the trailer he was pulling, he is an over the road semi driver, Today it's his trailer but this was before he became an owner/operator)

Well, a drunk driver forced him off the freeway onto an exit ramp, RED LIGHT at the top of the ramp, he hit the brakes and they had glazed over.. NOTHING. He layed on the air horn and the folks on GREEN got the idea and he sailed through the red back to the freeway where the only place to go was where the drunk was, Spun mr. Drunk off onto the shoulder where wouldn't you know it a cop was on the scene.. The cop did not even want my brother to stop, waved him on down the road.

He got the brakes de-glazed as soon as he got back to the shop/truck stop/office/bosses place (Which is where he was headed anyway) About 1 hour later.

When this happens the shoes/pads will indeed look brand new, because they are.. A good Truck brake place can explain it and show you what to look for.

[Mekanic]

Originally Posted by J Walker

Something is very wrong with your air brakes. My 2000 Freightliner XCS chassis with air brakes can stop as fast as anything. I can lock my wheels or as much as ABS will allow. A good Freightliner dealer could see how much of a problem you have and do some checking. One thing you could do is see how fast you can stop with full braking.

very true without anti lock you should be able to lock the rears at any speed. with anti lock they should lock for only a split second.
Another test is to see if with the parking brake set, drop it in gear give some throlttlt and see you can move the vehicle. You should NOT be able to move it. (only test this for 2 seconds or less).

[OLYLEN]

Old trucker told me one time to burnish the brakes HUH!!! Get up to speed the hit the brakes hard 3-4 times back to speed. He said after sitting for a while or if you notice reduced braking do it. I've done it on my rig and the braking is much better, maybe it just takes the rust off.

LEN

[Route 66]

Originally Posted by OLYLEN

Old trucker told me one time to burnish the brakes HUH!!! Get up to speed the hit the brakes hard 3-4 times back to speed. He said after sitting for a while or if you notice reduced braking do it. I've done it on my rig and the braking is much better, maybe it just takes the rust off.

LEN

Spartan states, to paraphrase;

The heat of those hard stops removes the glaze which is caused by light use of the brakes. Excessive use of a Pac or Jake brake will cause glazing.

[Skip426]

These may be a stupid question(s) . Is your air system getting to full pressure ? Did anyone bleed the tanks ? What is your rolling weight compared to your GVW or GCVW ? Do you have aux towed braking ? Isn't your chassis equiped with auto slack adjusters ? Iwould assume that any one adjusting brakes would also check for air leaks, as even the smallest leak can increase the delay in application time.
Well de-glazing the linings may help, these questions may also need to be addressed.
Good luck .

[Luckiest Dreamer]

I would recheck the adjustment again. All it takes is one wheel not braking to it's fullest capacity to reduce stopping distance. When you go down the highway and you see several trucks setting in the lot behind the scales, that is what the officers may be checking. Frequently that is a problem.
On the other hand it takes a lot more to stop 30,ooo lbs that it will to stop a 4000lb car. Maybe you need to increase your following distance and decrease your speed.

[Dacotah]

Lathe11, We have the same coach, a 2001 Sportscoach on the same Freightliner chassis and have the same problem. Everything checks out OK just like yours did, but it takes a lot of foot pressure to stop the coach quickly. It will almost lock up the tires if you push hard enough, so stopping is not a problem but the excess pressure is no fun. I use the pac-brake when stopping except when in slow traffic below 30 MPH and this works great. I will try the de-glaze trick next time we are on the highway without traffic and see if that helps. DACOTAH