How To Beat CVSA Inspections Part 5 - Spring Brakes and Brake Chambers

The final part of our brake inspection series ends in one of the earlier stages of the braking process: the brake chambers. If the chambers aren't pumping correctly, you're definitely on your way to defective and out-of-adjustment brakes.

Like our other four posts in our discussion about CVSA inspections, we're going to show what the CVSA inspectors are looking for and how you can stay one step ahead.

CVSA Inspection Recap

If you haven't read the first post in this series, here are some need-to-knows as far as CVSA Brake inspections go.

The 20 Percent Rule

As defined by the CVSA the 20 percent rule is "The number of defective brakes is equal to or greater than 20 percent of the service brakes on the vehicle or combination."

Translation: if you have four brakes on a vehicle, and one is defective, then 25% of your brakes are defective and you're deemed out of service. If you have six brakes on a vehicle, and again only one is defective, then 16% of your brakes are defective, meaning you can remain in service (though I would get that brake fixed as soon as possible after the next drop is made).

Fixing Brake Problems Before They Start

It's a cost-benefit to you to have a safe vehicle hauling your shipments across the country. Even if you should be lucky enough to avoid inspection throughout the year, any damages caused from weak brake parts will contribute to costly repairs to your vehicle and incurred liability should another vehicle be involved in the accident.

29% of all major heavy-duty truck accidents are attributed to brakes. We've broken it down into the top five most common parts and how you can avoid future problems by picking the right part from the get-go.

Service Chambers and Spring Brakes

The last brake parts in our brake inspection series concern service and spring brake chambers. When the driver puts his foot down on the brake pedal, it pumps air into the brake chamber at each wheel. This compressed-air moves the push rod which applies the pressure to the brakes that proceed to stop the car from moving.

Without service chambers or spring brakes working effectively, nothing else in the braking system can get its job done. The service chambers are the first line of defense once you press on that pedal. So naturally, inspectors are going to take a deep look into this part to make sure it's working ship-shape. In light-duty vehicles, brake chambers may only last 50,000-70,000 miles. (This doesn't apply to semis.)

The warning signs of failing air brakes include: Squealing noises when stopping - including grinding brakes that produce a rubbing sound and pulling to one side of the vehicle. The first thing that inspectors will look for on these chambers are for any holes or cracks in the housing section of the brake chambers. Not only will the inspectors catch this, but if the pressurized air is getting released before it can get pumped into the brake system, you're not in great shape.

Our Solution: Just like with our manual and automatic slack adjusters, we want to use a stroke tool to measure the brake stroke and make sure our brake chambers are operating properly. Install it at the base of the chamber or spring brake to easily measure the brake stroke.

We want you to make the most money possible over time, but we also want to ensure you're riding with the safest possible brake parts in your vehicle. We look forward to bringing you the final part of this blog series!