Brake Checks At Truck Stops

Part of the pre-trip is the brake checks. Being a courteous type of individual, I don't want to be annoying my neighbors with pumping of the brakes and the resulting noise. What I have been doing is moving to a remote part of the truck stop to do this, but some truck stops are so limited on space you have no place to not bother someone. Another possible solution is to go through the fuel pumps and perform the check. Don't know if this is frowned upon. What do you experienced drivers do?

When you say you're pumping the brakes for a brake check - you're not pumping them down to test that the warning signal comes on, are you? If so, don't bother. You don't have to do that. They teach it at school so people understand the system and how it works, but you don't have to test that on the road. The biggest thing is to make sure there are no audible leaks in the system and that the compressor is working. Also, do a pull test to make sure the fifth wheel is locked in properly.

If you're just pumping them a couple of times to make sure everything is acting properly, don't worry about the trucks around you. As you know, truck stops are really loud and trucks are coming in and out all the time. If someone is the type to wake up easily with normal sounds like that, then they'll simply have to learn how to sleep through it. And they will. They'll learn to ignore it. You obviously don't want to go out of your way to be an obnoxious jerk, but you don't have to worry about disturbing anyone while doing your normal routine. That's just life in the trucking industry and it's one of the many things people will adapt to.

Brett, thanks for the quick response. I am pumping them down to check both the warning and that the brake valves pop, per school/DOT check list. I was also under the impression that bleeding them down all of the way will allow the automatic brake slack adjusters to work as advertised. Guess I can either stop doing them or not worry if I don't do them due to no place to avoid excessive noise. Explains why I NEVER see/hear anyone else doing them.

Part of it is my background, but there is always a reason for the check list items so I will continue to do them at the yard and when there is an adequate area.

At school they teach you to pump them down to test the signal and to make sure they pop out automatically so you know how the whole system works. But there's no reason to test that on the road. It's kind of like double-clutching - they know they last time most people do it is during training and 99% of the drivers on the road float gears but they teach it anyhow so you understand it.

As long as you have full air pressure, there's no leaks, the trailer is securely hooked up, and the compressor is working then you're good to go as far as the in-cab check goes. Of course you want to get out and look at the brakes to make sure everything is as it should be. You also want to release the trailer brakes, keep the tractor brakes locked, and get out to listen for leaks. Without releasing the trailer brakes there's no air pressure in the trailer brake lines so you wouldn't hear a leak.

But I wouldn't bother with the pump-down test. It's not necessary.

Brett I am surprised that you would give this advice. The "school brake test" does need to be done for two reasons. And the poster got one of them correct...it does indeed adjust the brake slack adjusters and for the most part keeps the brakes in the legal area for the push rod travel that dot looks at.

The 2nd reason is you will have to preform a brake test if you are pulled into a scale house for inspection and if you don't know how or forget how then you can very well being asking for a ticket. Simply if you don't practice the brake test you will forget part of it.

Brakes can be one of the most important items on the truck and always needs to be fully checked out during pretrip inspections. Failure to fully checkout the brake system by doing a simple 2 minute test is not an option for me. It does not make that much noise and most drivers do not mind what little noise there is cause they know you are doing your job.

Ya can do it like I do and the dot will do on an insp press and hold ur brk with ur window down listen for leaks ,release walk around trlr with trlr bark off just tractor brk engaged and listen,then while trl brk is off pull the red air line off its quick and less annoying within secs ya will have no air pressure

Oh should say this be carefully for the sucker has pressure ya can go safer Rte and apply ur trl brk then pull airline then release air bark it does same without the sudden gust of air

Yes ya can Crazy but ya do not get to test the trailer air system that way. Just the trucks air system.

When ya release the brks before disconnecting the air line and doin a walk around ull hear if there's a leak though,I know its not the logic way but hey if ur worried bout ur neighbor right.now for me I'm so tired of today's style of driver I try to make as much noise as I can,I even went to the extreme of pounding on my trlr door lacth that stuck at times with my mini sledge.that was BC a flatbedder decided I wanted to listen to his garbage music ,he might have liked it but I didn't so when I figured he was sound asleep I tried to awaken the dead.

The "school brake test" does need to be done for two reasons. And the poster got one of them correct...it does indeed adjust the brake slack adjusters and for the most part keeps the brakes in the legal area for the push rod travel that dot looks at.

Slack adjusters automatically get adjusted through normal brake usage. You don't need to go out of your way to pump the brake pedal 50 times in a row to adjust them. Otherwise, 98% of the trucks in the country would have brakes out of adjustment because I'd be surprised if 2% of the drivers out there do a pump-down test even twice a year.

The 2nd reason is you will have to perform a brake test if you are pulled into a scale house for inspection and if you don't know how or forget how then you can very well being asking for a ticket.

The scale house is not a CDL testing facility. There is no law saying you have to know how to test your brakes or you'll get a ticket. The law says the brakes have to be in safe working condition and that the driver is responsible for that. But you can not get a ticket if you don't know how to do a pump down test. If they want to check your brakes in a scale house they'll tell you exactly what they want you to do. They're not quizzing you on your ability to pre-trip a truck.