On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:53:34 -0700, "Roger Shoaf"
wrote:


"Pete C." wrote in message
.net...
Yes, but for a pickup in particular, the braking gets better with more
weight due to the much improved rear wheel traction.

The problem is not between the rubber and the road, it is in the brakes
themselves.

A brake converts the energy of the rolling vehicle into heat, and the heaver
the load, and the faster the vehicle is rolling, the more heat gets
produced. When the brake exceeds the ability to dissipate the heat that is
built up, the brakes cease to function.

This is why they have those runaway truck ramps on steep hills.


TRUE, BUT.
On an unloaded or lightly loaded Pickup, tye front brakes are doing
all the work, and the rear brakes do nothing - NADA.
Put close to the rated load on the truck and the rear brakes start
doing their job. There is a point where you can stop the loaded truck
more quickly than the empty truck. Varies from truck to truck, and
with load position, but a well loaded pickup can definitely stop as
well, if not better, than an empty truck.
Overloaded is a different story - and what, exactly defines
overloading, brake-wize, varies from truck to truck.
A Super Duty with 4 wheel disk brakes generally has more brake than
tire with single rear wheels.

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