Loose says brake chambers are also important to ensure vehicle compliance
The Australian Trucking Association (ATA’s) updated technical advisory procedure (TAP) on compliant commercial vehicle air brake chambers includes information on acceptable air brake chamber build standards, brake chamber compliance information and warnings against disassembling spring brake chambers.
ATA senior engineering adviser Chris Loose says choosing the right brake chambers is a key step to ensure an effective braking system.
“The use of substandard brake chambers could create an unstable vehicle combination by mixing different brake chamber sizes and brands, negatively affecting the brake balance,” Loose says.
“This technical advisory procedure was originally produced to counter a run of very premature brake chamber failures, and it is a timely reminder that use of the lowest cost item or a substandard part does not save costs if it then suffers a failure.”
Loose reminds users that getting the brake chamber standards right is also important to ensure compliance with the Australian Design Rules.
“Changing a part number or the performance of the part can require testing or analysis of the parts in question to ensure that they are equivalent and will maintain the performance of the originally tested component or system,” he says.
The updated brake chambers procedure has been developed by ATA’s Industry Technical Council.