Further down this forum is a thread about CDL.In the replies is a reference to air brakes. Do you guys have to have a separate authorisation to drive a truck with air brakes? What is the reason> I am curious because I used to drive trucks over here and there is nothing in our licensing on this subject.Phil
 

Yep, we have a separate endorsement on the license to allow us to operate a vehicle equipped with air brakes. You have to pass a written test, then a hands on practical test in such a vehicle the attain the endorsement.
 
Yes.........it is separate....Because so many people think there is some sort of magic associated with air brakes, not alot of people really understand a whole lot about them. Mostly it is about adjustment and leak testing. I would take air brakes over juice (hydraulic) brakes any day!!
 

They want to know that you know how to watch the gauges for leaks and to test the braking action of a low air condition, operation of slack adjusters, etc. I think its left-over concerns from the days when air brakes were new to the truck drivers.............
 
It is actually more about the delay in actuation and release that is the concern. I have to listen to it every 8 months at the continuing ed classes we are required to take.
 
Air brakes is not really a endorsement. It is a restriction much like eyeglasses or automatic transmission.

The reason it is a seperate test is all trucks do not have air brakes. If you own a truck without air brakes there is no need to study and pass a test questions on air brakes.

Just a sample of the kind of questions asked.
1. What is a dual air brake system?
2. What are the slack adjusters?
3. How can you check slack adjusters?
4. How can you test the low pressure warning signal?
5. How can you check that the spring brakes come on automatically?
6. What are the maximum leakage rates?
 
Talked to a farmer from WA one day that said that he always had a problem with hired hands not understanding the air brakes on his trucks. They would take off down a hill and not down-shift the tramsmission; they used the air brakes to hold back the truck on the downhill. By the time they went over a could of hills, the system ran out of air and they didn't have any braking power.

So a driver needs to know something about the system and how to drive with air brakes.
 
Hay Man, "over here" is England. I saw the list of questions posted by John, none of these are asked over here.The only question that comes near your list was " If the air gauge is going down, what do you do?" The answer is "Walk round, listen for leaks, if you hear one, ring your boss."
As for going downhill using the brakes only, that is a FAIL on the test; go down hill in lower gears, use the exhaust brake, cycle the footbrakes on and off. DO NOT keep your foot on the brake pedal.
As someone says, your tuition is still based on the days when air brakes were new.
I think, reading your answers, a combination of your examination and ours would be a good idea. Phil
 
I think there is more misconception concerning air brake systems than anything else in the transportation world. He fact that their have been many advancements in air brake system makes it worse.

Yes you do need an air brake endorsement to drive an air brake system. It is an endorsement, it says so right there on the license. Is it for more money? Maybe, but the average knucklehead today NEEDS more training to operate an air brake equipped vehicle.
 
Hoof print, if the guy is such a knuckle head that he needs specialized training on the braking system, should he be in charge of a rig that may weigh 100,000 pounds or more and bends in the middle?I would expect that a man hoping to drive big rigs would have some knowledge before applying for the job. I know I did. Phil
 
My NY class B CDL(straight trucks) has one endorsement(tank) and no restrictions. I let the hazmat expire. I believe it would list no air brakes as a restriction if that was appropriate.
Seems like I recall hearing that they changed the pedal "pumping" action recommdation to continuous pressure. Apparently drivers were running low on air before they ran out of brake.
 
Here is a question John, Our municipality has a dump truck with a 25,990 GWVR and it has air brakes. The driver of this truck does not have a CDL. Something does not seem right?

The last I knew, drivers of personal motor homes with air brakes do not have any restrictions. That does not make any sense to me.
 
Bob, we are taught to change to a lower gear before descending hills so that the compressor on the engine runs faster to compensate for the increased use. Pumping the brake pedal gives time to let the brake discs cool a little between each application of the brakes, this helps prevent brake fade.Phil
 
Our municipality has a dump truck with a 25,990 GWVR and it has air brakes. The driver of this truck does not have a CDL

He does not need a CDL. Just because something has air brakes does not mean you need a CDL. It must have a GVWR of 26001 or more first.

The last I knew, drivers of personal motor homes with air brakes do not have any restrictions

Same answer. Personal motor homes are exempt from CDL rules.
 
My wife once drove a variety of school busses, and she needed an air brake endorsement on her CDL 'cause one or more of the busses she drove had air brakes.
 
The air brake endorsement is just like the hazmat endorsement, if you are driving a hazmat load(1001#) or an air brake truck you must have a CDL(it was in last weeks mandatory training at work) RVs are exempt, they are not trucks, even if they are built on the same chassis as the Freightliner I drive everyday is built on. Our wonderful government at work.
 
Here is a question John, Our municipality has a dump truck with a 25,990 GWVR and it has air brakes. The driver of this truck does not have a CDL. Something does not seem right?

The last I knew, drivers of personal motor homes with air brakes do not have any restrictions. That does not make any sense to me.


Under 26000... Does not need CDL
 
My Freightliner is 26,000 gross and had air brakes, but I don't have a CDL. Been stopped at the scales, and foir random checks on numerous occasions and it's not a problem.
 
(quoted from post at 19:09:28 03/31/13) My Freightliner is 26,000 gross and had air brakes, but I don't have a CDL. Been stopped at the scales, and foir random checks on numerous occasions and it's not a problem.

Because the GVWR is under 26,001 lbs. It's an Air Brake Restriction. People call it an "endorsement" because it goes under the endorsement section of your license, like doubles or triples, tank, HazMat, Steel Coils, etc.

If I could have gotten people to do just one thing back when I was still with DOT it would have been to learn about their air brake system. I must have had 100 guys give me the "I've got automatic slack adjusters, I don't need to check the brake stroke." Heard it so much I got the operators manuals from the auto slack adjuster companies. They'd spout off and I'd show them the manual where it said they still need adjusting. I'd run them off a copy of the manual they could read while sitting there OOS.
 

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