One of every six commercial vehicles (CV) on the road today has brakes out of adjustment. This fact is provided by “Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance “.

Every year CVSA sponsors a 72 hour roadcheck.In 2014 73,475 CVs were inspected, 29.5% were put out of service for brakes of which 16.7% were out of adjustment.

This means 1 of 6 CVs should not be on the road. To put it another way, you have 500 horsepower engine pulling 80,000 pounds and no way to stop it.Even with 100% braking ability it is still a task to stop one.

In the2013 Roadcheck, the out of service for brakes was 30.1% with 19.5% for out of adjustment.

In the 2012 Roadcheck , the out of service for brakes was 27.8% with 17.5% for out of adjustment.

After having worked in the maintenance of commercial vehicles for over forty years I found that using a tape measure to check brake adjustment left too much room for error.

I came up with the concept of a digital gauge and with the help of Georges Brandan, a mechanical engineer; we developed the digital air brake stroke measuring gauge.

Our digital air brake stroke measuring gauge gives accurate reading every time.

Our gauge is set to zero when brakes are released. With brakes applied we measure the travel of the brake rod .The correct distance is determined by the diameter of the brake chamber and whether the chamber is standard stroke or long stroke. The correct travel distance can be found in FMCSA 393.47,brake actuators, slack adjustors, linings /pads and drums/rotors.

Our gauge has adapters to accommodate longer rod application like the ones used on trailers.