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Disc brake incomparability leaves hauliers disillusioned
Page 16
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• by Rabin Meczes Confusion over the compatibility of some disc-braked axles with certain trailers and tractors is leaving customers disillusioned about their move to disc-braked trailers.
Stan Ostia of Stan Ostle eic, Sons in Cumbria says the discs on three BPW-axled Feldbinder tanker trailers performed as expected during their first year of operation. But since then they have had to be replaced, along with the pads, every three to four months because of discs cracking or brakes seizing.
"I had to take the vehicles off the road at one point and I've now had drum brake axles put on by BPW instead," he says. "But they won't meet the cost because they say the tractors and trailer are mismatched so it's not covered by the warranty."
Staffordshire-based tankerhire firm WO Tankers has had a similar experience, also with BPW axles on Feldbinder trailers.
MD Ian Buxton says: "We've had dramatic problems. The discs are just failing and there are severe overheating problems. About 90% of the trailers we've had fitted with discbraked axles—I'd say at least 80 trailers—are affected.
"We've now cancelled all outstanding orders for discs though we still have around 50 trailers with them. It's costing us an absolute bloody fortune."
Turners (Soharn) has also had problems with BPW axles, this time on Feldbinder tanker trailers and Southfields curtainsiders.
"Our problems have all been with vehicles in locations where they're asked to do more than average braking—par ticularly hilly ground," says general manager Frank Rycroft. "The latest batch of trailers we've ordered are coming on drums."
According to Roger Thorpe, customer services manager at BPW, only a handful of customers have been affected—he says the fault lies with trailer builders: "These are specific issues that have been with us for years. Most UK trailer builders have got ft right, but the braking setup on some imported ones is not really suitable for our market."
In nine out of ten cases the problems can be resolved by fitting an adaptor valve to modify the braking characteristics for better balance between tractor and trailer, he adds,
But Feldbinder works man
ager Ian Swann says it's not that simple: "In terms of the relay valve, that is not included in our approved brake calculations so we're not in a position to fit it without a new approval for a new braking system," He adds that problems have been experienced with other axle manufacturers, not just BPW, and that it seems to happen particularly to vehicles operating in arduous conditions.
None of which helps the users, Including one angry operator who preferred not to be named. "We were told the valves on our tractors were misaligned and that was causing the problem," he says. "But my view is that at the end of the day the disc-braked axles are simply not fit for my purpose."
Unsurprisingly, BPW dis
agrees: "We make perfectly good drum-braked axles and perfec% good disc-braked axles," says Thorpe. "We're not responsible for the design of the semi trailer or the braking system. This is not a manufacturing defect and these users should do what we've already told them to do—take up the compatibility issue with the trailer builder."
In the meantime, he says, anyone thinking of moving to disc-braked trailers should ask themselves if they really need to and if their operation is suited to discs.
Feldbinder's Ian Swann stresses that anyone moving to discs should have the predominance setting on the truck and trailer checked and adjusted by the tractor supplier after no more than the first 5,000 miles.