Load - sensing devices and braking
Page 57
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REFERENCE was made in Mr. Golding's letter (CM, July 28) to the effect of load-sensing devices on the front brakes of vehicles, and he stated that the fitting of load-sensing devices "impose conditions on the front brakes for which they were never designed".
Both front and rear brakes on modern vehicles are designed to achieve a satisfactory retardation with the vehicle fully laden. Under these conditions the load-sensing valve does not have any effect on the braking ratio and only comes into operation to reduce the braking on the rear axle of the load carrier or tractor in the partly laden or unladen condition.
Under these conditions the front brakes certainly carry a higher proportion of the total braking than they do on a similar vehicle without a load-sensing device but due to the vehicle being less than fully laden, the braking effort required to give the desired retardation is less than when the vehicle is fully laden.
Thus the front brakes are never called upon to do as much work under these conditions as they have to when the vehicle is fully laden—a condition for which they are designed in the first place.
On this basis, conditions are not imposed on the front brakes for which they were never designed.
D. H. BALLARD, Technical Director, Clayton Dewandre Co. Ltd., Lincoln