Hydraulic brakes on one hand, air brakes on the other

Building a better brake system had continued to challenge engineers for more than a century, as a changing world has demanded correspondingly advanced brake technology.

Things have come a long way from the days when wooden blocks, cotton, and even camel hair were incorporated into brake systems. Hydraulic systems, antilock brake systems (ABS), and traction-control technologies have continued to evolve in the automotive world, and have been infused with enough advances that such technologies from companies such as Mico can now be incorporated on the largest of off-highway trucks.

Air-brake systems have been the large-truck standard for quite some time. Initially developed for railcars, George Westinghouse modified his invention for use in road vehicles and patented it in 1872. At that time, and for many decades to come, air brakes offered advantages over other braking systems. The system made coupling a tractor and trailer easy since the lines could be disconnected and reconnected while losing nothing but air. Multiple units could be controlled from the cab with a single brake pedal. Even when multiple units were not necessary, as with large haul trucks and other off-highway vehicles, air brakes remained the standard.