The influence of the cargo weight and its position on the braking characteristics of light commercial vehicles

The influence of the cargo weight loaded on the vehicle and the total gross mass of the vehicle on the braking characteristics is often researched from the road safety reason. However, there is not enough knowledge about the influence of weight and load distribution on the loading area of small trucks or vans on their braking characteristics. This article presents the results of measurements of braking decelerations of the van of N1 category and the braking characteristics of a vehicle loaded with different cargo mass with different cargo locations on the loading area. The impact of the longitudinal cargo position on the loading area on the load of the individual axles and thus on the braking deceleration of the vehicle was investigated. The influence of the height of the center of gravity on the dynamic axle load during braking was also determined. Method of direct vehicle deceleration measurement was used by a decelerometer. There were calculated cargo weight and cargo position influences on the dynamic axle load during braking according to the vehicle deceleration.