Frozen Truck Brakes? Pro Fixes & Prevention Hacks

Описание: Truck Brakes Frozen in Snow? Pro Drivers Share Quick Fixes & Prevention Tips!

What’s the worst nightmare for truckers driving in snow? Frozen brakes! The heavy truck in the video ran into this exact trouble—the brake pads froze solid to the brake drums, leaving some wheels spinning while others wouldn’t turn at all, and the brakes completely failed. Luckily, veteran drivers have shared some tried-and-true tips!

Why do brakes freeze? It’s actually super simple. When snow on the brake drums melts into water after parking, the water freezes solid between the brake pads and drums once the temperature drops, gluing the two parts together. This issue is hard to spot when the truck is empty; you’ll just end up wearing down your tires without noticing, and it’ll cause major problems once the truck is loaded. On top of that, water getting into the air tanks or frozen exhaust valves can also lead to brake drag, making the wheels turn inconsistently.

So what’s the quick fix when brakes freeze? These handy tricks from pro drivers work like a charm: either drive over a speed bump to jolt the ice loose with the vehicle’s vibration; use a blowtorch to heat the brake drums and melt the ice; or if all else fails, give the brake drums a few taps with a hammer— the vibration will free them up. Some drivers say they struggled to tap the brakes loose when this happened to them in Qinghai, proving these tricks are really effective!

Want to prevent this from happening? Here are some pro tips: when parking your truck at night in snowy weather, don’t engage the parking brake right away—wait a few hours before setting it, and the pads and drums won’t freeze together. Add antifreeze to the air lines to stop valves from freezing up, and drain the air tanks regularly to keep water from building up in the air lines. Nail these small details, and you’ll have way fewer headaches hauling loads in the snow!