The Automotive Blog

How to Use A Decelerometer For Trailer Brake Tests

Trailer maintenance requires to be as professional as truck maintenance, Carrying out a inspection brake test on trailer doe not mean an expensive Roller Brake Test.

Research has concluded that using a product like BrakeCheck to test trailers brakes is beneficial but will not indicate a below par efficiency on a particular wheel or brake, although using an Infra Red Thermometer as well will increase your awareness of a faulty brake or a low efficiency brake.

VOSA’s Mark Pattison has stated “A decelerometer is not the ideal method to test the braking of a vehicle and trailer combination. However it is of some use. You are correct that the checking of individual wheels would not show up in a test result. The way to use a decelerometer is to first test the drawing vehicle on its own. Then connect the trailer and the deceleration rate should be similar i.e. the trailer is doing its fair share of work. This is not an exact science but would be enough to give you confidence the trailer brakes were working.”

This system is ideal for commercial operations to improve maintenance records for trailers and increase awareness of a trailers brake performance between the annual roller brake tests. Offering a print out of the combination tractor and trailer performance with brake temperatures will improve quality procedures and health & safety paper work. It is often said in today’s age paper work to protect directors and managers from the corporate manslaughter or health and safety law is essential.
aide automotive have designed an inspection sheet for trailers using the BrakeCheck and thermometer, if you require a copy email info@aideautomotive.com with subject heading Trailer Inspection Sheet.

aide automotive also recommend to test the pressure on brake chambers, this will increase your past rate for trailer parking brakes.

To discuss trailer brake testing further call aide automotive on 0115 8456471.

Brake Testing In Ireland

Irish Sales Of BrakeCheck Soar As Truck Inspections Brake Tests

Ireland Brake Tester Sales Soar!!

Since 2011 Irish Operators have been advised to carry out regular brake testing when inspecting a commercial vehicle.

Now two years on we have seen the word passed round and with a high amount of interest we supplied over 20 BrakeCheck Printer Kits to Ireland in December 2013.

BrakeCheck has been proven to be an excellent inspection sheet brake tester for all commercial vehicles with over 11000 testers sold since 2002. With many commercial operators and repairers using the BrakeCheck to conduct a VOSA accepted brake test on every inspection, BrakeCheck is the number 1 decelerometer on the market today!

Richard Lee Compliant and Enforcement Manager of the DOE in Northern Ireland has recently accepted the use of a decelerometer for heavy goods inspection sheet brake testing. Richard states “I can confirm that a decelerometer may be adequate for checking brake efficiency on some vehicles especially if it is linked to a printer and a record of the brake test can be recorded. This would be consistent with our Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness which has a section (5) detailing safety inspection and repair facilities.”

The DOE are now advising commercial vehicle operators, commercial repairers and in house workshops to complete regular inspection sheet brake test, The BrakeCheck is the tester! BrakeCheck will conduct a Service, Secondary & parking brake test with ease and store in its memory for later printing via PC or portable printer.

Simple and quick to use review this product further at www.brake-tester.co.uk

Brake Tester

Unstuck Is Revolutionary Product To Free Vehicles From Snow Or Ice Stucks

Unstuck®   – Keep Your Vehicle Moving This Winter!

aide automotive are pleased to release a new product in the UK.

Unstuck®    is a compound of materials to help a vehicle quickly removed from a Stuck snow or ice situation.

When a vehicle gets STUCK by ice or snow, the impact begins, the cost to the fleet operator can run into hundreds of pounds in lost hours, late delivery fines and if a tow truck is called, a call out charge can be in the region of £300!

So between the logistics time lost, delivery fines, and the check written to the towing company, a Vehicle STUCK could run into hundreds of pounds!

K winters have shown a change in recent years with prolonged periods of minus temperatures and sporadic snowfalls.

A recent Daily Express article reported.The 2013/14 UK winter is reported to be record breaking! Forecasters are warning the entire country is set for a horror freeze which will bring brutal winds and fierce blizzards.

Jonathan Powell, forecaster for Vantage Weather Services, said: ‘We are looking at a potentially paralysing winter, the worst for decades, which could at times grind the nation to a halt.”

So be prepared with Unstuck!!!

UnStuck is designed from the ground up for increased traction than traditional sand, salt or grit will offer. UnStuck is able to work in temperatures as low as -60 to a positive 32 degress.

UnStuck is environmentally friendly and will actually reverse the decades of acidity that has been inflicted on the environment.

For the low cost of a bag of UnStuck each truck should be equipped and ready for the winter!

With limited stock available for the 2013/14 winter, contact aide automotive on 0115 8456471 or email shoponline@aideautomotive.com to enquire.

Read More by clicking on UnStuck CV.

Unstuck Truck Quick Release From Snow & Ice

Load Security Purge By Vosa

Vosa Pays Greater Attenetion To Truck Loading and Securing

VOSA & the Health & Safety Executive are pressing hard to prevent trailer unsecured loads. Although most operators think of the goods within the trailer, the Pallet Truck could be classed as an Unsecured Load.

Here at aide automotive ltd we have a simple lock for the pallet truck that will stop goods and curtain damage from a runaway pallet truck!

Also with VOSA & the HSE fining drivers and operators for unsecured loads the Lee Lock will cover the pallet truck’s security.

Lee Lock is designed to lock the pallet truck in place at all times, hence reducing any chance of the truck slamming into other pallets, slashing the curtain side and as the pallet truck slots into the lock, also there’s no chance of any back injury from lifting as a common practice is to lift a truck into a tyre.

Lee Lock has been installed in the Heygates Ltd ‘s trailer fleet, Stuart Lobley commented “With today’s high standards of road safety we have installed the Lock for a few years now, a simple but effective product.”

Richard Cannon of Abacus Transport Ltd Said “With the Lee Lock in place I have peace of mind that if stopped by VOSA we will be compliant, as we are a hazardous product transporter safety is our priority.”

The Pallet Truck Lock – Lee Lock can easily be retro fitted to any trailer, the T Bar Lee Lock Handle is used to secure the Pallet Truck under the floor mounted plates.

Click on Pallet Truck Lock to enquire about prices!

Pallet Truck Lock

BackStop Trailer & Truck Reversing System is a modern hi tech reversing aide for commercial rigid trucks and trailers.

The BackStop system is an attractive product for transport managers to improve health & safety standards.

Reversing is often the cause of vehicle damage or human injury. Fines have been issued to transport operators for employee injury and high costs in repairs for simple low speed reversing incidents. One incident in 2011 when an employee received crush injuries cost the UK transport operator a total of £15,000 in fines and costs.

For RCV’s aide automotive offer a Radar Sensor system. BackStop The Refuse Vehicle Reversing System automatically applies the brakes when an object such as a person or obstacle is in close proximity to the rear of the vehicle. This is achieved by measuring the phase shift, BackStop Radar can accurately map and detect people or objects behind the vehicle.

The RCV Reversing system only detects a target which is moving towards the sensor, so static parts of the vehicle like bin lifts or parts of bodywork are ignored, even though they may be in front of the sensor. This makes it ideal for Refuse Collection Vehicles or heavy plant with just a single sensor mounted centrally.

Click on aide automotive to enquire about pricing.

Refuse Collection Vehicle Reversing System

Van drivers in the West Midlands have been warned to be on guard for metal thieves, who are targeting catalytic converters.

PC Sean Lowe of the Dudley Police Local Priority Team says: “A number of vehicles are being targeted – particularly vans. So, to address this issue, we have launched Operation Boss Cat, to specifically tackle the persistent issue of catalytic converter thefts.

“In the current climate, and with precious metal prices still rising, the demand for parts that contain them is growing and the risk of theft of catalytic converters is on the increase again.”

Police patrols will step up their visits to theft hotspots and to scrap dealers in the region, and will also be offering free property marking of catalytic converters at several MOT garages across the borough, allowing officers to easily identify stolen car parts via ultra-violet light.

CatGuard is a Catalytic Converter Theft alarm.

CatGuard is fitted to a vehicle in less than an hour and if thieves attempt to remove the Catalytic Converter theft alarm will be activated. This will result in a 114 decibel siren or voice alarm giving a deafening warning along with a high intensity flashing strobe to drive the thieves away.

Contact aide automotive for more information – 01158456471

Stop Catalytic Converter Theft

Truck Cameras for Haigh Transport

Haigh Transport Fit On Board Cameras From Supplier aide automotive ltd

Haigh Transport Ltd, based in Ellerton, near York, have fitted the MI Witness Forward Facing camera following a trial system supplied by aide automotive ltd.

Road incidents and cash for crash a concern for the road haulage industry. Haigh Transport have moved forward with installing Incident Cameras to protect against road criminals and also to help improve insurance claim evidence.

Tony, of Haigh Transport, said “I think on board camera systems will be a must for haulage operators in the coming years. We had an incident in Nottingham which I believe was a cash for crash, but without any evidence it is hard to prove. I first looked at low cost flip down cameras about a year ago, and following testing concluded the camera to be of low quality in hard & software. aide automotive presented a range of cameras suitable for our needs and progressed with a trial of the MI Witness camera. Once the footage was reviewed I had no hesitation in placing an order to cover the fleet. Camera technology is an ideal way for me, as the director of our company, to see what exactly happened within a road incident. I would recommend the MI Witness camera to any vehicle operator.”

aide automotive specialise in cameras for Trucks, Buses, Coaches and government vehicles. The MI Witness Driver Recorder is a high quality camera with the option of a second channel camera for side or fuel tank view.

Contact aide automotive to see how incident cameras can help your fleet!

On Board Driver Camera for Trucks, Buses, Vans, Cars Or Coaches

aide automotive market products to prevent vehicle fuel theft.

A bus driver steels thousands of pounds of Fuel from Bakers Dolphin over a three-year period.

The accused was fired by the Weston-based coach firm after 38 years service once the theft was discovered in April.

Michael Collins, prosecuting, told magistrates at North Somerset Courthouse on Monday that the bus driver had prompted suspicion by turning up to work regularly 30 minutes before he was due to start at 5.30am.

He would fill jerry cans with diesel before driving them back in his bus to his home in Highbridge. Having dropped them off, he would then start working and his criminal activity was not spotted because the early start meant he was never late.

He was caught after the firm installed extra CCTV cameras to his vehicle and checked vehicle logging records.

Upon arrest, he admitted taking an estimated £9,000 worth of diesel.

To reduce Fuel Theft Contact aide automotive Limited on 0115 845 6471 or email: info@aideautomotive.com

Code Talk Trailer Diagnostics Interface to now cover Wabco TEBS E.

Code Talk is a hand held trailer diagnostics manual for trailer repairers of older ABS systems or the latest EBS systems.

The diagnostics hand set will communicate with a trailer’s ECU, reading and clearing ABS/EBS fault codes on Wabco, Knorr Bremse and Haldex systems. Trailer workshops can eliminate fault finding by reading the ECU codes to determine where a fault lies. Being able to clear historic codes is ideal within a service and inspection.

Technical system applications:

Haldex ABS
Wabco ABS
Knorr Bremse ABS
Haldex EBS Generation 1,2 & 3
Wabco TEBS E & D
Knorr Bremse EBS Gen 1

Future updates will cover newer systems and with no annual software fee, Code Talk is the best and most cost effective diagnostics kit in the world!

Code Talk also acts a remote control for the TrailerCheck product range, further information on lighting wires, voltages and pin out information via the display makes this product an ideal investment for any trailer workshop.

Contact aide automotive ltd for prices of Code Talk Trailer Diagnostics and any direct questions.

Cost Effect Trailer Daignostics