Air brake pods, more commonly referred to as air brake chambers, are circular containers that use air pressure force to help stop a truck. These containers are divided in half by a diaphragm that pushes a rod out toward the slack adjuster. There are two main types of air brake chambers: a front-brake chamber and a rear spring-brake chamber.
This chamber is installed on the front axle of a truck and consists of a single diaphragm. Sizes for this chamber vary, and it's important to have the correct size on your truck. The size of the chamber is directly related to the output pressure on the rod and how quickly your vehicle stops; the larger the chamber is, the more force it generates while pushing the rod out, and the more quickly the vehicle is able to stop. Generating too much pressure can damage your vehicle, but generating too little pressure won't make the vehicle stop quickly enough, or at all.
These are dual chambers that consist of a spring-brake chamber and a service break chamber, designed as an emergency break method. If the truck needs to stop for any reason and there's no air pressure in the chamber, the spring brake pushes the rod into the slack adjuster to stop the vehicle.
When air comes into the chamber from the air inlet, the diaphragm that divides the chamber expands and pushes against the pushrod. The force generated by this push sends the rod outward toward the slack adjuster, which thins the area between the rod and the brake shoes, allowing for friction to slow the vehicle down and stop it.
Brake chambers, depending on their size, can generate thousands of pounds of force while sending out the pushrod; this holds true for both types of chambers. Activating a brake chamber while anyone is working near it is extremely dangerous and could result in broken or lost limbs should an individual be in the way of the rod.
