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Air Disc verses Drum-brakes

Nige

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Jun 22, 2011
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G..G..G..Granville.........!! Fetch your cloth.
Yup. Wet brakes on off-highway trucks you have to keep a close eye on as well. I've seen job sites where the brakes were at the wear limit in less than 10,000 hours (hauling downhill loaded usually) where other job sites you could pull the wheel ends off at 20,000+ for wheel bearings and other stuff and the friction discs/plates would've been good to go for the same again. Some time back the factory came up with an Extended Life friction disc for downhill hauling and that put the problems to bed once an for all on the "difficult" job sites.
 

DMiller

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Feb 21, 2010
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Hermann, Missouri
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Cheap "old" Geezer
Outboard drums were the ticket years ago, no need to pull hubs for every brake job sped things up and prices down considerably. Even if had a seal out was far easier to do that work without having the manhandle aspect of inboard drums or wheel dollies.
 

Truck Shop

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Dec 7, 2015
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WWW.
And you can add the fact of out board drums coupled with hub pilot wheels got rid of tons of problems and time. Changing wheel studs on stud pilot hubs was time consuming, and many
hubs were screwed up because someone tried to hammer them in instead of pressing them along with using anti-seize. Tire shops are notorious for not using anti-seize on the wheel
stud or the inner nut/thimble, wheel stud sales were pretty good in those days when it came to in-board drums. Plus the wheel stud actual size chart covered 4 pages of possible combinations
depending on the age, make and axle manufacture. When it comes to air disc the industry forgot the reason quick change shoes and out board drums arrived on the scene in the first place.
Two main rules that have been forgotten when it comes to fleet operations-{simple and as inexpensive as possible to keep overhead in check} owner operators well that's a whole other
ball of twine. If it's your truck have at it-but the big expenditures will take it's toll and soon you will be out of business. IMO
 

92U 3406

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Jan 3, 2017
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Western Canuckistan
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Wrench Bender
I only worked on trucks for a short period of time in my professional career. One thing I hated was those wheel dollies. I just found it so much easier to take the wheels off to do the seals. Trying to manhandle a set of duals on a rough concrete floor (because the company was too cheap buy us a sheet of plywood lol) was just horrible. Definitely don't miss the snow and salt falling on my face all winter long. I'd take grease and oil over that any day lol.
 

Truck Shop

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Wow you guys have got to be kidding, I did that greased mud flap crude years ago-I won't even think about pulling a set of duels without a wheel dolly! Damned if I'm going to run a 1"
air gun anymore than I have to, takes way too long to do it that way. Sometimes I will have 3 wheel seals to change at once on a three axle trailer, and it's ASAP with a service too
 
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DMiller

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Feb 21, 2010
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Hermann, Missouri
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Cheap "old" Geezer
Then there are the BIG Tire dollies!!

earthmovers5-small.jpg


In the Good Old Olden Days in the Quarries, we used loaders forklifts chains and straps!!
 

John C.

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Jun 11, 2007
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I did the L90 and L120 Wagner for a few years. The big tire trucks weren't around in those days. We would build our own straps by splicing wire rope eyes to our own specifications and use a boom truck or fork lift if there was one around big enough. The trick was to get the valve stems in the perfect line on the drum and the tires would fit over the studs. Be a quarter hole off and then you had to fight turning the drum or setting the tire down and re-setting your sling. Once in awhile you would get a hard head customer helper who would want to pick the tire with the fork lift tines underneath the tire. Then you fought the helper, the drum and the tire.
 

fast_st

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Dec 1, 2010
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Mass
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IT systems admin
I cheated once, just a pair of 1100x20's good floor in the fire station, used a regular creeper to pull the pair off, Dayton wheels and had to replace a tube/patch a tire on a long holiday weekend. Never did a split rim before, didn't get kilt and it lasted another 12 years. My safety was a 20 foot chain wrapped all around and through, and a 50 foot hose with a clip on chuck! I did spend a lot of time sanding the rim free of rust and the same for the lock ring, a bit of grease for lube, seated pretty on the 3rd attempt.
 
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Paystar

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Mar 13, 2008
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253
Location
Ontario, Canada
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Retired trucking owner/operator
I was wondering about discs. I have read all the hype about how great they are. And I like the fact that the MTO/DOT do not know how to inspect them, therefore no brake OOA fines. But me being in the on/off road dump truck business I had my doubts about how well they would survive in the mud and dirt and dust.
 

Truck Shop

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I was wondering about discs. I have read all the hype about how great they are. And I like the fact that the MTO/DOT do not know how to inspect them, therefore no brake OOA fines. But me being in the on/off road dump truck business I had my doubts about how well they would survive in the mud and dirt and dust.

Disc brakes of any kind just don't last long in mud or a dirt environment. Just this week we replaced pads all the way around on two tractors that run 80,000 gvw. with 210,000 on one and 225,00 the other.
Plus both two axle trailers that that go with those tractors received a brake change also. And don't be fooled by the idea DOT doesn't know what to look for- If the caliper inboard thrust plate next to the
inboard brake pad can be wiggled or moved or there is a visible gap between it and pad that means the auto adjuster inside the caliper is toast. And DOT will find it. You can bet your last buck on that.
 

dieseldog5.9

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Aug 11, 2014
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614
Location
New Hampshire
There is a difference between truckers and truck drivers. Just did a brake job in a customers 2003 Mack triaxle dump. The pit is on one side of the mountain work is on the other side, truck runs heavy, 85k daily, truck runs 6 days a week 8 months a year. He wanted the brakes done because in 15 years never had any brake work, so why not, I changed brakes that had years of life left.

A friend of mine wrenches for a local logger that claims he has a driver that will get 600k out of a set of shoes hauling 110k consistently.

I hauled a pc120 excavator for a friend, he followed, commenting that my brake lights were out he didn't see any brake lights down a couple mile long hill till I got to the stop sign at the bottom he said they worked again.
 

Truck Shop

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That's true every thing has it's place, But out here the grades are---well there grades up to [10% for 4.5 miles-Jackson hole] Stevens Pass 7 miles of 7%. White Pass 8 miles of 6% off and on.
Cabbage Hill 6 miles of 6%, Lookout Pass 6 miles of 6%, Pipe Stone 6.5 of 6 and 7%, White Bird 8 miles of 7.5%, Oakridge 8 miles of 6%, Rye Grass 11 miles of 5% then 6%, Mary Hill 5.5 miles of 6%,
Then there is the Infamous Lewiston Grade dropping down whats called the breaks to the Snake River 6.5 miles of close to 7.7%. But the killer grade is the Rattle Snake on Hwy's 129 and 3 that runs
from Asotin Wa to Enterprise Or. The sign at the top on the Washington side says {Beware 6.5% Grade For The Next 13 miles}. Loggers mainly run that road. I have driven down everyone of these
in a truck trailer or semi tractor at one time in my life.
 

Birken Vogt

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Nov 30, 2003
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5,305
Location
Grass Valley, Ca
Certainly nothing wrong with having the skills to run the Jakes and save the brakes but I say brakes are there to be used. If you can go down the hill another gear higher and have to use the brakes a little bit there is no harm in that. Time is money. Just keep them below a dull red and everything will be OK.
 
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