TIL I was running my crane brake way too loose for 3 years

Had a job in Fargo last month setting steel and the load swung way more than usual on a pickup. Old mechanic came over after and showed me the brake was practically freewheeling. He tightened it maybe two turns. Night and day difference. Anyone else ever get complacent on a basic adjustment you thought you knew?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai_chen221d ago

Night and day difference" is exactly right. I had a similar thing with my truck winch last year, turned out the brake was barely grabbing from being way too loose over time. Just a couple turns on the adjustment nut fixed it, felt like a totally different machine. Once you get used to a certain feel it's easy to miss how bad it's gotten until something snaps you back. Good call catching it before something went wrong.

harperp2421d ago

You can overthink a simple brake adjustment though.

evan54321d ago

Take it from me and @kai_chen2 though, sometimes a tiny tweak hides a bigger problem that comes back to bite you.