Caravan vented disc brakes coming
New AL-KO internally-vented disc brakes for caravans should be available shortlyYou had to be nosey and in the know, but the future of caravan braking made a quiet debut at the recent Queensland Caravan Show in Brisbane, with the first public showing of a new internally-ventilated AL-KO disc brake system on a Desert Storm off-road caravan on the Sunseeker stand.
AL-KO has been offering its own disc brake system in Australia for some time, fitted in conjunction with its iQ7 electric over hydraulic brake actuator as an integrated solution.
However, the new higher-performance vented disc system currently being trialled comes via American axle and brake systems specialist, UFP, which was acquired by the Dexter Group prior to its strategic partnership with Euro-centric AL-KO formed in late 2015.
Until now, the UFP brakes were not specifically made for caravans, with no provision for hand brake operation, but this has been overcome on the latest version being marketed by the global DexKo Group that is expected to join the AL-KO product portfolio shortly.
The advantage of the internally-vented discs with their floating callipers is more even braking application under all operating conditions, such as after passing through water, or emergency braking after long periods of ‘cold’ open road running, with grab-free operation on cold mornings, or after frequent high-energy applications.
As automotive road and race applications over many decades have shown, ventilated rotors can also prolong the life of pads and rotors.
Testing of the new AL-KO vented disc brakes has been taking place for some time in Australia and a prototype system was fitted to the 21ft, 2850kg tare weight Sunseeker Desert Storm off-road caravan that took part in AL-KO’s Toughest Tow Test in Outback NSW mid-last year.
Sunseeker boss Chris Michel, who worked with AL-KO engineers to fit the vented disc bakes in their first production-based caravan application, said in his experience towing the Desert Storm with the system was ‘bullet-proof’.
“Normally you need to play with the balance of your electronic brake controller to suit different towing applications, but with these brakes I didn’t need to touch the settings, whether in traffic or on freeways,” he said. “Quite simply, they produced the best braking performance I have ever experienced on a large caravan.”
The new system works with AL-KO’s existing iQ7 Outback system’s brake actuator, which in the case of the Sunseeker, has been located unobtrusively under one of the van’s dinette seats.
A feature of this system is that stored compressed air becomes an auxiliary ‘hand-brake’ and theft deterrent when the van is disconnected from the tow vehicle, locking the caravan’s brakes on until the air is bled manually, or it escapes naturally from the system over time.
Details of the new vented disc brake system’s availability, its pricing and possible retro-fit-ability, are expected to be announced by AL-KO soon.
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