[LightsChromeHorsepower]

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago

Another way that will work in a pinch is to take a Bic pen, remove everything but the white shaft portion, and cut the air line in two. Put the pen shaft inside the air line, and clamp off with some small hose clamps.

No it won't.

Airline ID = 3/8"

Bic pen OD = 1/4"

And I doubt the ID of the pen would flow enough air to give you a decent brake application.

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by LightsChromeHorsepower

No it won't.

Airline ID = 3/8"

Bic pen OD = 1/4"

And I doubt the ID of the pen would flow enough air to give you a decent brake application.

Not every air line on a truck is 3/8", and you could still use one on a 3/8" line by wrapping duct tape around the ends of the pen before you put it in the air line.

It's not designed to be a permanent fix. It's designed to allow you to get to a safe place to properly fix the air line. All you need is enough air going through the line to allow the brakes to release.

[golfhobo]

Originally Posted by jonp

Great idea. When I get back I'm going to get a couple of hose clamps and through them into my toolbox with a piece of rubber hose.

Whose "great idea" are you referring to? Mine didn't include any rubber hoses. As the previous posts will prove, one cannot be sure of the diameter of the hose that has a hole in it, so one cannot be sure what size of "splint" to insert.

A piece of rubber "bungee cord" can be placed OVER the hole on the outside of ANY hose, and tightened down by a single (or in some cases a double) hose clamp. The air cannot escape through a piece of rubber anymore than it can escape through the walls of a rubber hose.

No need to "insert" anything, or to sever the original hose. Just cover the hole with rubber and clamp it tight.

[LightsChromeHorsepower]

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago

Not every air line on a truck is 3/8", and you could still use one on a 3/8" line by wrapping duct tape around the ends of the pen before you put it in the air line.

It's not designed to be a permanent fix. It's designed to allow you to get to a safe place to properly fix the air line. All you need is enough air going through the line to allow the brakes to release.

I'd feel a lot safer using wire nuts on my electrical system than I would using a Bic pen to repair an air line.

If it's the service line that is leaking you need enough air pressure to APPLY the brakes. I ain't gonna trust my ability to stop to a Bic pen.

The air lines in question here are the ones for a sliding trailer tandem. I've never seen any that weren't 3/8 rubber. Other places on modern trucks, I agree, you can find almost anything these days. That includes lots of plastic, which you cannot repair via any of these techniques, and which I think should be illegal since it melts in a fire, something with which I have had almost as much experience as you.

[Windwalker]

Well, I see there are a few other opinions of how to get going when you have a rupture in an air line, but no arguements about using alcohol in the airlines to keep brakes working.:thumbsup:

[Windwalker]

Originally Posted by LightsChromeHorsepower

I'd feel a lot safer using wire nuts on my electrical system than I would using a Bic pen to repair an air line.

Actually, if you think about it, the barrel of a bic pen will hold the pressure when wrapped with duct tape, or black electrical tape. The bore of the pen barrel will allow enough air through to operate the brakes for long enough to reach real help. If the ends of the hose are pushed over it until they meet, and the clamps near the ends of the hose, you should be able to use the brakes as though they were nearly normal. If it's the air supply (red line), you'll find that the tractor has an orfice that restricts the airflow anynow, and I believe it's smaller than the bore of the pen. If it's the service line, you don't usually apply that much brake unless you have to make hard braking to avoid an accident. And, I believe you'll find that the application won't be that badly affected. A pen barrel could be quite effective in getting you off the highway.

[Skywalker]

Originally Posted by Windwalker

I posted this with new drivers in mind because I know from my days as a trainer that it's one item on the pretrip that is completely overlooked all too often. After reading (and laughing at) Rev's reaction, it would seem that it isn't just the new drivers that overlook it. But, if you have DOT go under your rig with a creeper, you better believe it's one of the things they DO LOOK AT. If they see damage to the surface of the hose, you can get a fine. If they spot a rupture in it, and a leak, no matter how small, you're OOS. Sure, you can move the tractor, but not the trailer.

It was a very good point to make.... checking the air lines and springs under the trailer.

I got DOT's (Level 1) a few years ago in Montana.... the only defect found was some light abrasion on an air line that was rubbing on the axle.... It was a Monon box...the kids at Monon apparently never bothered to really measure the lines before they just whacked off a chunk and installed it. The DOT Officer pointed it out to me....and I grabbed my container of "zip ties" and made a chain with them that lifted the airlines away from the axles and he put a sticker on the tractor, but not on the trailer....no fine, but he did say that the repair I did satisfied him. I told him it would be fully repaired as soon as I got to a terminal....

They can fine you for that kind of thing.... and I have always made it a point since then to look at the hoses much closer...though now its not a problem since tanks don't tend to have that problem...but we still look.

What I might also suggest is that if you don't know how to adjust brakes...LEARN how and get good at it, and get used to going under your trailer to do a pull test and take wrenches with you. Get certified as a brake inspector.... because "automatic slack adjusters" are not always "automatic"

[Lngtaltxn]

Originally Posted by Windwalker

:rofl::rofl::rofl::clap::clap::clap:
(Still laughing throug the tears streaming down my face...)
Chances are that if you roll through a state scale with the make-shift repair, they won't stop you. If you do get pulled around back, and inspected, and they don't agree with it being a legal repair, you're still OFF THE ROAD while waiting for a service truck. But, I've taken one of these repairs from just north of the OR line, up to Seattle to pick up a load, and pulled it all the way back to Wausau, WI with no problem at all. There, the shop replaced the line, and gave me my repair kit back. I've never had the chance to have one inspected by DOT and find out what they have to say about it.

Got a ticket on Raton Pass for illegal air line connector. I have an aug airline running to the rear of my tractor made out of 3/8 neopreme. At that time I had it slipped over a brass barbed adapter screwed into the rear air tank with 2 aircraft clamps,
.
The insp caught it when under the truck. Had to replace the barbed adapter with a quick connect fitting and all was legal.

Lngtaltxn

[LightsChromeHorsepower]

I was in the yard about 3 AM one day last week, doing a pre trip & filling out my always accurate & never creative log book when Al showed up.

Al is 74 years old. He started driving log trucks, off road, when he was 15. He claims 60 years in the saddle & I won't argue. He didn't know my Dad, but he knew a lot of Dad's contemporaries, and was/is friends with all of our local old school, big straps from back in the glory days of the 1960's & 70's.

A lot of our drivers don't seem to like Al because they think he's a lot of bluster. I listen to him, and I can assure anyone that he knows his sh#t about mechanical issues, especially Cummins PT fuel systems. I was around in the 70's & I know that the stories he tells about that era have at least a germ of truth to them.

So I ran the Bic pen idea past Al.

"Where in the H#!! did you get that idea?"

"Well Al, I actually read it on the internet, on a truckdrivers website I visit sometimes."

"Sheeeeyit. Lemmee tell ya, there aint no way a godd#@%n Bic pen is gonna do that. And what in the H#!! are you doing on the internet, talking about trucks? Don't you get enough of these d#m%@d things while you're at work? If you're gonna be on the d#@%ed internet you at least ought to be looking at pornography!"

I think Al is right.

[Windwalker]

Originally Posted by LightsChromeHorsepower

I was in the yard about 3 AM one day last week, doing a pre trip & filling out my always accurate & never creative log book when Al showed up.

Al is 74 years old. He started driving log trucks, off road, when he was 15. He claims 60 years in the saddle & I won't argue. He didn't know my Dad, but he knew a lot of Dad's contemporaries, and was/is friends with all of our local old school, big straps from back in the glory days of the 1960's & 70's.

A lot of our drivers don't seem to like Al because they think he's a lot of bluster. I listen to him, and I can assure anyone that he knows his sh#t about mechanical issues, especially Cummins PT fuel systems. I was around in the 70's & I know that the stories he tells about that era have at least a germ of truth to them.

So I ran the Bic pen idea past Al.

"Where in the H#!! did you get that idea?"

"Well Al, I actually read it on the internet, on a truckdrivers website I visit sometimes."

"Sheeeeyit. Lemmee tell ya, there aint no way a godd#@%n Bic pen is gonna do that. And what in the H#!! are you doing on the internet, talking about trucks? Don't you get enough of these d#m%@d things while you're at work? If you're gonna be on the d#@%ed internet you at least ought to be looking at pornography!"

I think Al is right.

Part of the idea is to be able to move the rig off the side of the road, and if not back home, at least to a facility where a proper repair can be made without the hazard of remaining on the side of the road, and avoid the cost of a ROAD SERVICE CALL (about $300).

If you have ever seen a broken down truck on the side of the road get rear-ended, the safety issue is not a small concern. Last summer, in Florida, on southbound I75, and just south of the Ocala Scale, J B HUNT was on the side of the road with triangles out. A 4-wheeler ran under the back end of his trailer. There is little doubt in my mind that someone died when it happened. The front of the car was under the back of the trailer all the way up to the roof, and the front of the roof was buckled. They had to jack up the loaded trailer to get the car out from under it, then get the people out of the front seat.

The choice is simple... Do you want to sit on the side of the road and wait for that to happen? Do you want to be involved in something like that? Or will you take a bic pen and get it out of there before something like that does happen? The more time you spend on the side of the road, the greater the hazzard, and the more you increase your chances that something might happen. Once you have air, you can move off the side of the road and to a facility that can do a proper repair.

But, the very best insurance of all is to check your hoses and springs to make sure you don't have a problem.