GM’S eboost trailer-brake a novel idea
Let’s imagine for a second you’re hauling the family camper down the highway, driving five over the speed limit because you just really want to get to the campsite.
Cresting a ridge, you see Bullwinkle standing on the yellow line.
That extra 9,000 pounds of Heritage Glen fifth-wheel adds immensely to any truck’s stopping distance. But GM thinks it has come up with a solution.
Currently in concept form, this idea starts with the pickup’s eboost braking system. GM engineers integrated a trailer with a similar eboost system, plus upgraded hardware components such as brake rotors, calipers and tires.
With eboost on both the truck and trailer, plus proper software to enable communication, the stopping distance improved by up to 20 per cent when hammering the brakes at 100 km/h. This let the truck’s electronic brain command trailer braking at a new level by using the existing seven-pin trailer-wire connector without the need for any extra connections.
In case you’ve forgotten, eboost shows up on the Corvette as well. In that application, the unit combines four components — master cylinder, vacuum booster, vacuum pump and electronic brake control module — into a single unit. This not only saves space but permits a computer to help determine which wheels need the most brake force.
While it is just a concept for now, trailer-haulers will welcome any invention that gets a pickup to halt more quickly during emergencies.