Brake on scapers

[oversize]

OK why is it that nearly ever scraper i move which are mostly cat seem to have no brakes, has it always been the case or is dropping the bowl to stop just a new thing as most of the scrapers around the area i work are about no younger then 10 to 15 years or older, it is no fun loading one on to trailer with out brakes

 

[fiat41b]

well my 433b's do have brakes somewhat that work, air leaks need fixed for me i had new parking brakes installed and the operators keep burning them out by taking off with them on i actually had to throw dirt on the parking brake before to put out the fire so now i just leave the parking brake unhooked unless i have to work under mine safty and health regulations.

 

[ronnie]

it's nothin new for over 20 yrs. now i been around scraper's and very few have a pedal brake the first scraper i got on did'nt even have a pedal in the floor you got all the brake you'll ever need in your right hand even when loading i can see where if you ain't acustom to not having brakes would scare you some but take your timeand keep the bowl close to the trailer thats how we do it all the timeafter sometime you won't even think about it anymore

 

[stumpjumper83]

Scrapers have brakes, when did they start doing that? Anytime I was ever runnin too fast, lay off the thorottle, and lower the bowl, stopped me everytime.

 

[ronnie]

i guess i worded that worng at one time it had brakes but the entire pedal was gone and there was a hole where the pedal was around here they just don't worry about fixin them simply because you don't have a pedal brake dose'nt mean it's broke in my 20yrs. i have never been on a b,c,or d that they worked on and did'nt mind it if i was haulin or loading on a trailer i'm not acustom to brakes some are and some ain't is that better

 

[surfer-joe]

Well, all scrapers have brakes, excepting tow-behinds. Biggest problem is, that way too many operators use them too much, instead of using the retarder or planning ahead and gearing down before they have to slow down to the proper speed in the cut or fill. That wears the linings -- which are none too big on most machines anyhow -- rapidly and then the dern things are out of adjustment or cammed over.

Not too many scraper mechanics are really crazy to perform a brake job on a scraper. It's a lot of work and can be very messy. The work area is very small and the parts are heavy as an anvil. A lot of mechanics don't know how to properly adjust scraper brakes either, which means they are often ineffective because they are too loose.

But, others are right, you always got a thirty ton brake in your right hand, or should have anyway. That will get you stopped and in a big hurry too. One of the reasons you always keep the bowl down close to the ground. Only machines that are a little slow this way are the electric Wabco's and Letourneau's. Long time back they had a quick drop feature on them, but as the machines in that day and age didn't have seatbelts, it was an idea quickly dropped. (no pun intended)

 

[Panhandler Bob]

Many so-called operaters do not know how to release parkin brakes, especially terex. Burn em up then ya a'int got none.:drinkup

 

[Panhandler Bob]

Surfer Joe I agree whole heartedly not planning ahead is a big problem, not only with braking but also with how they work the cut,fill, or spoil. Alot can not see 5 minutes ahead let alone 5 hours,days,weeks, or months.:drinkup

 

[Dug Overburden]

Scraper brakes

Hi Oversize, in California the scrapers have never had any brakes! I think most still have thier 1st set. Use to be the mechanics would cut the brake rods as soon as they arrived. Of course now with saftey & Attorney iltigation, they actually maintain the brakes.

Here is a tip on loading Cat scrapers that have no brakes. You can get close to where you need to be & moving real slow in 1st gear,then put the shifter in reverse as the machine reacts work the shifter between forwad & reverse to control your movement. Another tip is to pull on the ejector lever at low RPM's & will stall the engine.

Never assume a scraper has brakes, if you going to be on pavement check them 1st always treat them as having no brakes.

OK why is it that nearly ever scraper i move which are mostly cat seem to have no brakes, has it always been the case or is dropping the bowl to stop just a new thing as most of the scrapers around the area i work are about no younger then 10 to 15 years or older, it is no fun loading one on to trailer with out brakes

 

[oversize]

thanks dug over burden i will have to do it next time i have to load one on my own

 

[td25c]

My wabco c-pull has brakes.Air "s-cam" type on the rear,On the front it has air operated clutch packs.They work ok when it's empty,but not when loaded.

 

[LonestarCobra]

Surfer Joe is right on about the proper operation of brakes. Our scrapers told on the operators when they ran the same hours and some were getting new brakes 2 times to the others 1.

 

[bill5362]

We are going to covert our 412B to air brakes with S cams. For now we just drop the bowl slightly and get a little tighter grip if we need to stop quickly.

 

[hiballer627]

Brakes are a luxury at my company. Push-pulling can be interesting for the second scraper, and frustrating for the front! It takes a while to get used to tagging up smoothly using the bowl to match the front guy's speed, but we manage most of the time. (The mechanics don't listen anyway) The machines that have working brakes are usually reserved for the greenhorns so they can get accustomed to the operation. Makes for less close calls when new guys aren't so sure....

 

[rare ss]

we used to convert all our 633D and 639D with double acting boosters (spring applied/air release park brake) safety plus

 

[sprknranger]

It gets very costly to maintain brakes on a fleet of scrapers. I was taught that brakes on scrapers are only meant to stop you in the yard to park. Most green scraper hands that I've worked with use the brakes instead of other means (and hydraulic pressure on the ejector or apron is NOT other means!!) to slow themselves while coming down grades loaded and you will burn through a set of brakes real fast that way. So if a company were to maintain brakes on their fleet with reckless operators burnin them up then that really eats up any profit to be made. And it's hard enough for a company to make much profit on a job these days.

 

[BrianHay]

One thing to note that likely most already know but a truck driver loading a CAT scraper for the first time may not know.... surprising how many experienced scraper operators don't know.

CAT Scrapers do not shift into first gear on their own unless the shifter is actually positioned to first gear. If you put the shifter in anything but first it shifts automatically but starts out in second.

In first gear it will crawl, in second it actually trucks along purty good......Could make a world of difference for someone loading one for the first time.

The majority of the scrapers I have operated have not had brakes. I have helped mechanics change them and what an ugly/expensive job. It is becoming more common these days though that they do have them, safety eh, times are changing.

I have been asked before at safety meetings if my brakes work and I couldn't answer, didn't know. I did not have need to use them yet at that point lol

 

[sprknranger]

Yea it's amazing how many people I've come across that don't realize that first is a "manual" gear on cat scrapers and the rest just dictate which gear you "top out" at. Most people I've run with were just told to "slam her in 8th and floor it!" but there is so much more to it than that to be a good scraper hand. Sorry for getting off topic, it just irks me to see operators that are ignorant about the machines the run.

 

[Vantage_TeS]

Another thing to mention, most times having a scraper in 1st gear gives it enough torque to run through the brakes so it's not recommended in situations where you have to idle along and then try to stop. Neutral is your friend when you've gone far enough.

 

[WabcoMan]

Brakes - What a luxury !
The only time our gear had brakes was after they came back from the dealer or had a major overhaul.
That usually lasted a week.
After that, the bowl WAS the brake.
The only thing that seemed to keep its brakes for any length of time was one of those nasty little 613's but I guess I was too busy uncompressing my spine to worry too much about it.