Low air pressure issue

[cybertooth2020]

Hey truckers, just wondering if anyone else is having this issue. Once I've completed a job and go to park the trailer in designated area, before I can do this I get low air pressure etc, etc. Can't move out of the way. This goes on for quite some time and will not re-set. This is happening in ATS and ETS2. Too frequently to be part of the game. If I shut down the game and re-open, this warning is then re-set. Frankly, becoming quite annoying. Any ideas on how to fix? This is happening on almost evey job.

[Capt Fuzzy]

Hmm, sounds like a setting somewhere may be turned on or off...
I've never had this issue myself, so I don't really know what else, other than a setting somewhere, that could be causing this. Unless you have mods installed that are conflicting with something...

[Hypertext Eye]

If you have realistic air brake turned on, then when you run out of air you have to wait for the tank to fill back up. You can speed this along somewhat by revving the engine (in neutral gear).

[cybertooth2020]

Thanks for this, don't know what setting this would pertain to. Also occurred once all mods had been removed. Had to do this recently with updates.

[cybertooth2020]

Will try your suggestion and see if this makes a difference,
Thanks.

[TW]

In game settings turn of the air brake simulation......

[Fury6]

Besides being too careless with service-brake usage, air-line leakage is proportional (at least, I *think* it's proportional) with truck damage levels.

If your truck damage is higher than a certain level (I think ~10%) then with 'Air-Brake Simulation' turned on you will get air-line leakage which will be a constant drain on the air system. At high enough leakage levels the air pump may not be able to keep up with the air system drain once you get into the low RPM stop/start conditions of city or/and terminal operations.

[edit]
While turning off 'Air-Brake Simulation' as suggested by others above certainly eliminates the problem, it really just ducks the root issue, which is incorrect/poor service-brake usage practice or a broken truck ;).

[cybertooth2020]

Thanks for all of your input, will test this out and see if there is a difference. However, just for the record damage is usually less than 5%. But will go back in settings and try this.
Thanks!

[Fury6]

Originally posted by cybertooth2010:

Thanks for all of your input, will test this out and see if there is a difference. However, just for the record damage is usually less than 5%. But will go back in settings and try this.
Thanks!

If the damage is less than 5% typically, then the issue really is poor service-brake usage practice.

Air brakes require a more disciplined and thoughtful approach to both brake application *and* driving habit. To put simply, you should drive in such a way as to minimise brake application requirement and apply the brake as minimally as possible (the further you depress the brake pedal the more air you drain from the system, try to use the lightest possible brake application that still gets the vehicle stopped in required distance).

This is why IRL you will see a loaded truck roll quite a long distance at relatively low speed when pulling up to a stop. He's trying to use the vehicle's rolling friction and engine braking to do as much of the slowing as possible to keep service-brake application light and minimal.

In terminal operations, you should be aiming to travel slowly enough that brake application is hardly even necessary at all, typically driving in such a way as to allow the vehicle enough time and space to roll to a stop on it's own.

Of course, how you choose to drive is entirely up to you and there's obviously no *real* issue with you driving however you like. Just some background information FYI only.

[cybertooth2020]

This is great info. Didn't realise this is the way that air brakes work. So, in fact, should I have the retarder set and use less braking?

[Goose_Few]

^ This, use your engine brake / retarder as much as you can, and air break (Pedal) just when you really need a complete stop.
That will change how you drive, need a lot of room to do a stop, turn, etc. but that is how I like it. Do need to plan your rute and be aware of everything outside.

[Fury6]

Originally posted by cybertooth2010:

This is great info. Didn't realise this is the way that air brakes work. So, in fact, should I have the retarder set and use less braking?

Use the engine-brake whenever possible certainly, though as far as retarder is concerned manual gearboxes typically don't have them. If you choose to use a gearbox with retarder installed then absolutely use it whenever you can.

Using your service-brake to maintain speed downhill, for example, is especially a big NO, IRL. You choose the gear and speed that your combination will hold on it's own without braking (known as the 'control speed'). Constant use of (even 'light') service-brake in this situation is dangerous as the heat build-up will eventually cause 'brake-fade' and render the vehicle unstoppable in a runaway condition - most usually catastrophic.

[Hypertext Eye]

To be honest though, the air brake simulation in this game is really generous, and you don't run into trouble using the air brake for everything unless you're just bad at parking a trailer. But the retarder can't help you with parking...

[Fury6]

Originally posted by Hypertext Eye:

To be honest though, the air brake simulation in this game is really generous, and you don't run into trouble using the air brake for everything unless you're just bad at parking a trailer. But the retarder can't help you with parking...

Yes indeed, true enough though for anyone not actually used to, or aware of, air-brake system operation it can be easy enough to drain the air-tank with (what they would consider to be normal & reasonable) brake usage.

[edit]
Also to expand a little on the retarder/engine-brake operation, as Hypertext says they're no use to you when parking... but further to this - The retarder is only truly useful at higher rolling speeds and becomes increasingly less effective with lower rolling speed. Also the engine-brake, while certainly still effective at low speeds, typically isn't used for low speed retardation (besides many city ordinances outlawing their excessive/unecessary usage within the city limits or designated areas).
--

Something I forgot to mention for the OP - If you do find that you've drained the air system to a point where the brakes lockout, the normal recovery procedure is to release the brake and idle in neutral at ~1500 RPM to drive the air-pump. In the game you can even recover a little faster and easier by just simply standing on the accelerator rather than holding the 1500 RPM.

[cybertooth2020]

To all of you who have contributed to helping me come out of the darkness as concerns air braking systems, THANK YOU. I, personally, do not drive a truck and would not have guessed at nor was I aware of the idiosyncracies regarding this issue. Thanks for the education. And I also realise that in driving in any of the sims that it is not just a matter of pressing the accelerator and going. I'll be back at some point looking for more.
Keep on truckin!

[BareFoot]

i find a physics mod ( any of them do really ) and set the braking intesity to the lowest setting (all the way to the left ) some of them make it so you almost dont even have brakes until your down to like 20MPH , it helps you by forcing you to use gears/engine brake and adjust your driving habits to not rear end everything , i learned alot more about gearing, following distances and braking capabilities by doing this