Textar: Camper vans should go for quality when it comes to safety-related chassis parts
For many holidaymakers, travelling with a motorhome or camper van means independence and boundless freedom. To ensure this journey doesn’t come to an abrupt end halfway through, the mobile home should be inspected regularly – especially if it has been standing unused for a long time.
A comprehensive vehicle check is a must. Especially safety-related parts such as tyres, axle parts and brakes should be checked by a specialist workshop. After all, these parts are exposed to high loads in motorhomes, camping buses and vans.
Compromises in quality can have fatal consequences; especially as these vehicles are often loaded to the hilt – and sometimes beyond – at which point the high centre of gravity quickly pushes the chassis to its limits.
Special attention should be paid to properly functioning brake components, as they play a particularly important role in the safety of the vehicle: In an emergency stop, with the help of hidden components the brakes must slow the entire weight of the vehicle within a few seconds, so that the vehicle comes to a halt. It’s incredibly high load for a few square centimetres of friction material.
Textar, the manufacturer of disc brake pads and drum brake linings, recommends that campers first dry brake parts before leaving their vehicles for long periods of time.
“In order to avoid damage when stationary, it is important to dry-brake the brakes before a longer period of time off – especially if you have been on a winter holiday with your vehicle and road salt may have been involved. Otherwise, heavy rust can form on the brake discs after just a few days, which you can no longer brake down easily,” explains Norbert Janiszewski, technical sales support at Textar, TMD Friction.
“If the discs and pads have to be replaced, only quality parts from renowned brands should be used. The reason is that in terms of weight, motorhomes and camping buses are in reality travelling at the limit or even above it – a forbidden state of affairs – which in turn necessitates a certain safety reserve,” he added.
The Textar expert for safe braking also recommends using engine braking when driving downhill to avoid overheating the brake and, in the worst case, stepping on the brake only to find that there is no stopping power left. Motorhome owners should also keep an eye on the brake fluid and have it changed regularly to prevent brake failure due to bubbling, for example.
Textar produces brake discs and pads for many popular vans, which it says are also in great demand as base vehicles for motorhomes – including, for example, for Fiat, Volkswagen, Ford and MAN. This is because the friction lining specialist spends a lot of time and budget resources on research and development – from the right mixture to extensive testing on test benches and road trials.
The result of more than 135 years of experience in the development of reliable and safe brake solutions is self-developed formulations of up to 43 raw materials for brake pads, which are precisely matched to the respective vehicle and its brake system. Environmentally friendly materials free of copper and antimony are used.
Textar also sells brake discs that guarantee good braking performance under a wide range of operating conditions. They also score points with long durability despite high stress, reduce noise and ensure a stable pedal feel without jerking when braking, which contributes significantly to safety.
The high-quality brake spare parts of the Textar brand are not only available for the most popular models such as the Fiat Ducato III (Type 250), Peugeot Boxer, Citroen Jumper or Ford Transit, but also for less popular or larger motorhomes over 7.5 tonnes, up to truck chassis.
As one of the leading manufacturers of brake pads, Textar also supports the shift towards sustainable mobility, and its portfolio already covers more than 99 per cent of the European vehicle population of electric vehicles and hybrids, which also includes the electric-powered base vehicles for motorhomes.