The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Parking Brake or Emergency Brake?

If I'm rolling along in a AD 1/2-ton at say 30 mph, and I hit the emergency brake hard, should properly adjusted brakes lock up and skid the rear tires or just slow me to a stop? For me, it's a moderately fast stop but not a skid. I'm wondering if this is normal or if my brakes need adjustments. The thought of using my brakes in a true emergency is a bit unsettling.

The most effective brake is non-skidding. If the tires are locked up you are out of control. This doesn't answer your question I know. I don't know what "should" happen in the example given.

that brake is actually a parking brake [sometimes "hand brake" but never "emergency brake"], meant to keep a stopped vehicle from rolling, if you also have it in gear .... in an emergency - good luck

if you lose braking when moving at any speed, start down shifting, use the "engine brake", when you're slowed enough, turn off the ignition .... and head for the nearest soft landing

Bill

Trivia: it looks like GM/Chevrolet called the "hand-brake" an "emergency brake" prior to Advance-Design trucks. ( Here is a reference in the 42-46 Shop Manual )

In most of the Advance-Design years, the Shop Manuals use the term "parking brake" (it was a hand-brake in 1947 but I do not know what it was called by GM).

more trivia: in the 57 owners manual, the under-dash handle is labeled "parking brake", and the floor mounted lever [for driveshaft style] is labeled "hand brake", although in the shop manual both styles are refered to as "parking brakes"

Bill

I've always regarded them as parking brakes that can be used to stop the vehicle if your regular brakes fail. As a parking brake they should hold the vehicle in place even on a hill. If they won't do that they need to be adjusted or serviced.

Back in the old days these were refered to as emergency brakes and if working properly would lock up the wheels. As time went by the name became parking brake. I cant tell you exactly when this change occured,but today they are ment to keep the vehicle from rolling when parked not to stop you while traveling altho I have brought several cars in with no brakes by using them.

Hey, you're tooling along and your brakes fail. Now tell me, are you going to try every conceivable way to come to a safe stop or are you going avoid using the "parking brake" just because you believe it's not intended for such uses?

It's a parking brake when you're parked and it's an emergency brake in an emergency.

Use it as required, you won't void the warranty

Depending on the situation, there may be no time for downshifting. If I'm approaching an intersection or other cars, and I lose my normal hydraulic brakes, my reaction will probably be to yank it to nuetral and stomp hard on the "parking" brake. I'd rest a little easier if my "parking" brake was giving me more grab. I'm mainly interested to know how other trucks behave under these conditions. Of course the thought of dual master cylinders and disk brakes has crossed my mind, but for now I'm staying original. Thanks.

why ever would you put it in neutral, when turning off the key with it in gear would provide as much or more braking power than the hand brake and take less time???

I'll give it a try next time out, but I'd expect with properly adjusted brakes the park brake would lock up the tires, not nearly as good as using the engine in 2nd and then quickly 1st, you might try practicing with down shifting and double clutching to give your brakes longer life

Bill

I'm going to date myself here, but I remember in a '56 driver's ed. class the teacher explaining how to stop a car/truck in an emergency, with the emergency brake! He said don't be timid, pull it out sharply,(if you had that kind of brake) or step on it firmly. The ideal was to bring the vehicle to a stop asap. I've never tried it but I suppose you could lock up the rear wheels if you applied them hard enough but if you've ever used mechanical brakes you know that would take a LOT of pressure.

Fair enough. So I guess the right sequence would be to turn the key off, stomp on the parking brake, and pray the cars in front of me are at least 100 feet away!
I hope I never need to try this.

I recall last year there was a horrific story by a fellow Bolter describing how he was nearly killed in a big truck as a result of failed brakes. (Can someone find this and post a link?) His story should be a stern warning to all of us to know how to minimize personal injury if your brakes fail.

Back in the day, how to handle brake failure was part of driver training. The object of the game is to maintain control and walk away with minimal injury.

Things to do depending on the situation:
~ Don't panic.
~ Jam on the emergency brake. Even if you lock up your rear wheels you will still maintaing some steering control.
~ Downshift and turn engine off unless you have one of those steering columns that lock with the key off.
~ Swerve left and right to slow your forward momentum but not so violently as to cause the vehicle to overturn.
~ Sideswipe objects along the side of the road. Prioritize life before property!

The very first thing I did to my truck was to install power disk brakes and a dual master cylinder.

air brake failure .... and someone undertook to repair that

Bill

Back in the late 60's, I lost my brakes coming up to a red light at the busiest intersection in town! I laid on the horn and did a lot of fancy steering real quick!--around the car in front of me, into the oncoming lane, then a right turn into the cross traffic. (Thankfully, not hitting anyone or getting hit!) Only then did it occur to me to use the hand brake, which I then did. After I got off on a side street and took a few minutes to collect my wits, I then drove the rest of the way through town, and then home 15 miles using the hand brake. After that, I drove it another 7 miles to a different town, where our mechanic replaced the brake hose that had blown.

How about calling it the “Traction Control Lever”

Back in the ‘50’s my Dad showed me how to pull out of a snow bank or iced up road shoulder using the “emergency brake lever. The trick was to engage it just enough to apply a load on the drive line while going very easy on the gas pedal.. This SOMETIMES stopped the one wheel from spinning and transferred power to the other wheel.

Exactly what present day computer controlled traction control does.