As a novice in the class 1 world and reading the recent threads about brake failure, I was wondering how you can tell when your trailer brakes aren’t working?
Your unit dives when you brake and takes ages to stop. It’s a scary experience, believe me. If you’re used to driving artics you’d instantly be aware when your trailer brakes have given up, there’s a noticeable difference for sure.
I realised mine had a problem when they caught fire (a la ROBK) on the A46 last week. Dropped the trailer and got the fire extinguisher out then had a look at them. Thought about winding them off a bit as they were catching causing my breaks to overheat and the grease to smoke but called a fitter who wound them off 
. You’ve never seen anyone drop a trailer so quick 
.
Saturday being overtime day,I decided to work.Picked up my trailer,drove 100 yards to exit the site,and realised my unit was doing all the braking.So moved it gingerly to our other yard a mile away,and got our nightshift to tranship the load onto another trailer.
Defected said trailer,and went merrily on my way.Trailer is now awaiting repair.
As has been said before,you’ll know if your trailer brakes aren’t working when your right knee gets a pain in it from having to stand on the brake pedal.
Ken.
as above you have to stand on the brakes to get a reaction also you have to watch you dont get arrested for flashing as the old girl going the other way may misinterpret your actions
when i first passed o drove a old scannie with the taps on the air lines.
no body bothered to tell me.
i was allright going to cannock empty it was when i come back loaded i had the problem.come up to the a5/a461 island and started to break nothing before i stoped i was halfway around the island. bit of a drop the boys of at the pool moment
told them the breaks failled and then they decided to tell me about the taps
jon
You will know when you pull a heavy load and it takes miles to stop.
When you hook up, drive forward then apply the dead man or trailer brake (the other handle on your Scania dash), if it doesn’t slow you then the brakes are faulty. 
A few years ago, I used to do a trunk down to Komatsu, in Birtley, from Bellshill. The job was an 0400 start to get down to Birtley for 0800, with a 3.00m wide load of steel plate on a flat, usualy we came back up empty.
On one trip, as I came up the A725 off the M74, I passed a police car just as they were climbing back into their car, having pulled a wagon. They followed me into the yard and stopped behind me. An extra body climbed out of the car, a ministry wheel tapper it turned out. They asked me if I would mind them checking over my wagon. Obviously I didn’t object, they asked politely and could easily get a warrant if they wanted to (or whatever). After checking everything else, the wheel-tapper climbed under my trailer to check the brakes (which were warm). He got me to appy the brakes what seemed an awfully large number of times, so often that I had to start up my wagon to get some air pressure.
Then he got me to pull forward a bit and had another look under the trailer with me applying the brakes again. He asked me if I’de had any problems on the way up the road, which I hadn’t. Then he climbed on the catwalk. As soon as he touched the yellow line, it fell off into his hand 
. It wasn’t just the yellow hose, it was the male coupling as well.
I hadn’t come all the way up from Birtley without trailer brakes, they had been working fine, you can feel it even with an empty flat. Somehow, the conection had come undone as I had pulled into the yard.
Pat Hasler:
You will know when you pull a heavy load and it takes miles to stop.When you hook up, drive forward then apply the dead man or trailer brake (the other handle on your Scania dash), if it doesn’t slow you then the brakes are faulty.
no trailer brakes now pat,dont do them anymore
AHHHHHHHHHHH but they do, if my memory serve me right, when I took delivery of a new Scania once I asked ‘Where is the trailer brake?’
The dealer told me, “If no extra handle on the dash” (as with later models) “The first stage of the handbrake is a trailer or test brake”
So … pull forward slowly and ease the parking brake on a little, this will apply the trailer brake first. 
Pat Hasler:
AHHHHHHHHHHH
The dealer told me, “If no extra handle on the dash” (as with later models) “The first stage of the handbrake is a trailer or test brake”So … pull forward slowly and ease the parking brake on a little, this will apply the trailer brake first.
its know called a progressive brake then over the notch for handbrake…the only extra brake with another handle is the retarda,which can be in my opinion a very good option but if used to often can lead to brake fade that makes your bum twitch !!
on takeing a scani for test the newer one the secondry brake is the frist 2-3 stages of the hand brake if you do use this BE VERY CAREFUL and use it VERY GENTLEY also make sure the little plastic bit in the red line is lubed on a regular basis a bit of wd40 sprayed in will loosen it up either that or get a new conector
oddsodz:
…the only extra brake with another handle is the retarda,which can be in my opinion a very good option but if used to often can lead to brake fade that makes your bum twitch !!
Useing the retarder should not cause brake fade at all.
I’me not too sure which type of retarder it is, despite driving a 124 420 topliner with it fitted. There are 2 types of retarder, but neither of them have anything to do with the brake system, so they cannot cause your brakes to heat up and so fade.
My 142 has 2 systems for holding your speed steady on a downhill stretch, without touching the brakes.
1, is the exhaust brake system, which is switched on with the switch at the far left of my dashboard. When it is switched on, it is activated by operating the brake pedal. When you release the brake pedal, your speed is stored (until you give it a touch of gas,) and if your speed goes more than about 5kms over that speed, the exhaust brake comes in and tries to slow you down to that speed.
2, is the button on the top of the retarder stalk, This one also has an on off switch next to the stalk. Again, when you reach the speed you like on a downhill, press the top of the retarder stalk. Your speed is stored etc etc (as above) except it is the various stages of the retarder which hold you back.
Obviously you can also operate the retarder simply by operating the stalk.
Simon:
oddsodz:
…the only extra brake with another handle is the retarda,which can be in my opinion a very good option but if used to often can lead to brake fade that makes your bum twitch !!Useing the retarder should not cause brake fade at all.
I’me not too sure which type of retarder it is, despite driving a 124 420 topliner with it fitted. There are 2 types of retarder, but neither of them have anything to do with the brake system, so they cannot cause your brakes to heat up and so fade.My 142 has 2 systems for holding your speed steady on a downhill stretch, without touching the brakes.
1, is the exhaust brake system, which is switched on with the switch at the far left of my dashboard. When it is switched on, it is activated by operating the brake pedal. When you release the brake pedal, your speed is stored (until you give it a touch of gas,) and if your speed goes more than about 5kms over that speed, the exhaust brake comes in and tries to slow you down to that speed.
2, is the button on the top of the retarder stalk, This one also has an on off switch next to the stalk. Again, when you reach the speed you like on a downhill, press the top of the retarder stalk. Your speed is stored etc etc (as above) except it is the various stages of the retarder which hold you back.
Obviously you can also operate the retarder simply by operating the stalk.
but there is a serious concern that the over use of the retarda will glaze over the brakes of a truck thus they are not so good at working!!
That may well be true Oddsodz, but that is down to the driver .
To stop that happening, the brakes need to be applied pretty firmly for a second or so. That way all the brake pads and drums/discs on the wagon get heated up properly and don’t glaze. This will, on the Scanny, reset the speed which triggers everything. Not that you didn’t know all this before, but some newbies may not have
Simon:
That may well be true Oddsodz, but that is down to the driver
To stop that happening, the brakes need to be applied pretty firmly for a second or so. That way all the brake pads and drums/discs on the wagon get heated up properly and don’t glaze. This will, on the Scanny, reset the speed which triggers everything. Not that you didn’t know all this before, but some newbies may not have
true very true,moral of this?dont use your retarda unless you need to! many a scanny has failed its mot cus of the retarda!!!
There is no link with a retarder and the service brakes. the retarder is a generic name for a secondary method of holding speed. A jacobs brake is a retarder, a gearbox retarder like intarder or a propshaft mounted retarder, The brakes are still used normally to slow and stop, The retarder helps them, not replaces them. use it to slow down to keep the brakes fresh and cool. if used equally the shoes or disc pads wont glaze.
Think of it this way:
To descend a steep hill select a low gear and check speed with brakes.
With a retarder. Select a low gear and check speed with brakes.
Its an improvement to a truck, not a replacement for anything except maybe an exhaust brake. The exhaust brake was ok but repeated use burns away the butterfly.
but having drove a 420 scannie with retarda i found that the other driver had used the retarda all the time so the brakes where not as good as they should have been,you could sence that they where dull?,even the boss said that they never had to change the pads/shoes for there mots as the brakes never got bedded in,being only used on low speed…these trucks where used on the continent up and down to italy and swiss,so with the retarda on all the time on the overrun down hill the retarda slowed the truck service brakes where never used,unless you where stopping,which was usually fours times a day