General Boards > General Discussion

Types of brakes for towing

<< < (6/9) > >>

Bill Sprague:
I have the Brakemaster too.  When I step on the MH brake pedal, a little light glows showing me the brake pedal moved in the car.  Being "proportional" to the air pressure going to the air brakes, I am confident it presses harder if I press harder on the MH pedal.  Yet, I have no idea the actual force being applied.  Since the power brakes on the car are off,  I presume it take more force that I apply with my foot.  Nor do I know if our Ford, with the brakes off, react the same as Joel's and Jerry's cars when their power brakes are off.  

Can anyone tell how hard their system presses the car pedal?  Is it a feather touch?  A moderate pressure? Or is it pushing hard enough to make a real difference?  

Jerry Carr:
Bill I don't have a clue maybe if you had a scottie or 2 and I can give you a ride and we can check it out

Bill Sprague:

--- Quote from: Jerry Carr ---Bill I don't have a clue maybe if you had a scottie or 2 and I can give you a ride and we can check it out
--- End quote ---
Jerry,

You've "hit the nail on the head"!  In my 8 years of motorhome ownership I have not found anyone that can say if the brakes in their toad apply a little, a lot or too much braking.   They "work" but, do they work appropriately and effectively for the vehicle weight, road conditions and any real urgency to stop?

When I pulled a trailer that weighed about the same as my truck, I could tell when the trailer brakes worked right.  When I pulled a boat that weighed twice the truck, I could really tell.  Now that I pull a car that weighs 10% of my motorhome, I don't have a clue if the Brakemaster pushes the pedal with the right amount of force for typical stops or panic stops.  

So who gets the scotties?  The one who drives the motorhome or the one riding in the toad looking trying to measure effectiveness.  

Steve Jewell:
This is what I did to check mine. Get an infrared thermometer then go for a short ride whith coach and towed vehicle. Then stop and check temperatures of all rotors and drums (make sure you check where pad or shoe makes contact). Rotors will more than likely be hotter than drums. I check mine on a few trips as I ajusted it now they all run about the same temperature (I have all disc brakes). If you are worried about the engine brake turning on towed vehicle brakes install a swith so you can turn off brake light feed to towed vehicle when engine brake is on.

Steve

Edward Buker:
This has been an interesting problem over the years with no solution regarding testing and calibrating the effectiveness of the toad braking system. If you went one step further with Steve's approach, it would seem that you could actually reach some level of calibration. If you took your car out with cool rotors and set a speed, say 40 MPH, and put the brakes on for a moderately hard stop, not panic stop just a bit aggressive. Repeat that say three times in a row in a short stretch of highway and then immediately measure the rotor temps using an IR gun. Now you know what the rotor temperatures would be with a set of calibrated stops from a set speed. Once the car rotors are fully cooled, hitch the car up to the coach, go 40MPH and repeat the three stops in approximately the same manner. Again measure the car rotor temperature. If about the same then you are done. If it is much warmer or cooler adjust the brake settings accordingly. While this is not perfect it would make sense to have the car brakes performing about the same regarding pad pressure as they would normally for these stops. The heat in the rotor is all generated by friction so it is a good measure of the braking energy being generated. seems like a good idea...

Later Ed

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page