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2026
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Don't panic if your truck's brakes pull to one side—remember these handy tips
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Brake pull is a very common vehicle problem. A lot of truck drivers pay a lot of attention to it at first, but sometimes even after fixing it, the issue comes back. After repeated repairs, especially if the pull isn’t too severe, people can get tired of maintenance, which can eventually lead to accidents. Many truckers probably know someone who’s had an accident caused by brake pull.
▎Four main causes of the problem – the main issue is torque
There are mainly four reasons for brake pull. The first one is a big difference in tire pressure between the two sides, which makes the vehicle unbalanced and causes uneven friction, leading to brake pull.
The second reason could be that the left and right tires are worn unevenly, with a big difference in friction, causing the brakes to pull to one side.
The third reason is that for models without brake clearance self-adjusting arms, the difference in brake clearance between the left and right wheels is too big. This causes the braking times to be different from the start, and the different response times can lead to braking pulling to one side.
The fourth reason is vehicle deviation caused by different braking torques. Large differences in braking torque are mainly due to different brake air pressures, varying wear on brake pads, or oil contamination on brake shoes or discs (for disc brake vehicles).
▎Higher risk of scrapes and skidding – brake deviation can be terrifying
After explaining the possible factors that cause brake deviation, let's talk about the dangers it can bring. Here’s a true story about someone I know personally.
At the time, he was driving a 9.6-meter three-axle small truck. After unloading in Pingliang, Gansu, he was returning empty to Tianshui, Gansu, eager to load cargo. He was driving a bit fast because there was no highway between Tianshui and Pingliang, only national roads. While taking a curve and needing to slow down, he slammed the brakes, but the front wheels veered due to brake deviation. The truck slid and went out of control, eventually crashing into a hillside. Luckily, there were no other vehicles at the time; otherwise, the outcome would have been unimaginable. The cab was dented, the front wheels popped and got stuck in a drainage ditch, repairs cost a lot, and including lost work time, the total loss was at least 30,000 to 40,000 yuan.
In most cases, when the brakes pull to one side, people just simply adjust the brake clearance and keep testing, without doing a thorough inspection. Only when an accident happens or during a vehicle inspection when it fails the test do they think about repairing it. It would be better to check and repair early to ensure safety.
▎How to maintain and repair: remember a few handy tips
First, when inflating tires, you need to pay attention to air pressure balance. Generally, our truck tires have an air pressure of around 12-13 psi. If the brakes pull to one side, you can check whether any tire is slowly losing air and causing low pressure, and it needs to be repaired or inflated in time.
After driving a truck for a while, you need to check the tire wear. To save money, truckers often use tires to the very end, sometimes even when the tread is completely worn down. At that point, you need to rotate the tires to try to even out the wear on both sides so braking feels balanced. For example, if the rear tires are worn more, you can move the front tires to the back (assuming front and rear tires are the same size) to balance the friction on both sides as much as possible.
Driving a truck without automatic brake clearance adjustment arms means adjusting the brake clearance is a routine task for us truck drivers. If our brake response times are inconsistent, we need to adjust the brake clearance. By adjusting the brake clearance, we balance the brake response times to ensure the vehicle's overall braking force is even. If repeatedly adjusting the brake clearance still doesn’t fix the issue, you need to head to a service station or repair shop to check whether the entire braking system has been contaminated by oil, if there are faults in the brake air circuit, or if the brake pads are excessively and unevenly worn, and so on.
● Editor’s Note
Brake drift might not seem like a huge problem, but it’s also not trivial. Even if nothing happens, it can give you a real scare. But if an accident does occur, it could easily lead to vehicle loss of control with immeasurable damage. So, anytime your vehicle feels off or anything affects safety and normal use, get it checked and repaired immediately. Don’t delay! What starts as a small problem could ultimately turn into a 'serious illness!'
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