Brake chambers of the right standard are a critical part of an effective brake system, the Australian Trucking Association’s Senior Engineering Adviser, Chris Loose, said today.

Mr Loose was releasing the ATA’s updated Technical Advisory Procedure on compliant brake chambers. The advisory procedure was developed by the ATA’s Industry Technical Council.

“The use of substandard brake chambers could create an unstable vehicle combination by mixing different brake chamber sizes and brands, negatively affecting the brake balance,” Mr Loose said.

“This technical advisory procedure was originally produced to counter a run of very premature brake chamber failures, and it is a timely reminder that use of the lowest cost item or a substandard part does not save costs if it then suffers a failure.”

The updated technical advisory procedure includes information on acceptable air brake chamber build standards, a brake chamber compliance table, and warnings against disassembling spring brake chambers.

Mr Loose said brake chambers were also critical to vehicle compliance.

“The use of substandard parts does not just risk brake effectiveness and an early failure, but may also void compliance with the Australian Design Rules,” Mr Loose said.

“Changing a part number or the performance of the part can require testing or analysis of the parts in question to ensure that they are equivalent and will maintain the performance of the originally tested component or system.”

This is the latest in the ATA’s series of technical advisory procedures, which provide best practice guidance for trucking operators, maintainers and suppliers about key technical issues. The compliant brake chamber procedure is available here.

Media contact:          Donna Jeremiah/Anne Nguyen                      02 6253 6900 / 0417 211 441