One topic I rarely see being discussed is braking issues, especially when rock crawling or wheeling on terrain where the vehicle is climbing a steep incline, like at the Cinders.

I learned very early on both my 1986 Longbed, automatic, and later on my 1985 Standard Cab, 5-speed.

While climbing a steep rock obstacle, the weight on the front tires practically goes to 10s of pounds instead of 100s of pounds.  The front tires have almost no traction.  Gravity is pulling on the vehicle.

If forward motion is stopped or the vehicle runs out traction, or you want to back off the obstacle, NOW… the rear brakes are taking almost all of the braking force.

So, what happens when the rear brakes cannot put enough pressure to stop the rear wheel from rotating?

I’ve experienced and I’ve seen to many times.  The vehicle begins to roll backwards and always out of control.

I used a piece of aluminum flat bar to raise the proportioning valve swing arm lever as though I had 1,000 pounds in bed.

This caused significantly more hydraulic pressure at the rear stock drum brakes. I also installed semi-metallic shoes to get a little more braking friction.

This modification made a very significant difference when rock crawling when having to rely on almost entirely on my rear brakes.

Here’s the trade-off… my pickup was also my daily driver.  When braking on the street, if I hit the brakes a tad too hard, the rear wheels would lock up.  With 33” tires at 25 PSI, this made a very loud and low-pitched screeching sound of tires skidding, and the back end would want to come around.

Fortunately, I got used to it very quicky, like driving in the streets with lockers.

I am pretty sure there were a few times when the rear tires locked up as I was coming to a stop and the vehicle in front of me could hear the tires screeching, I’ll bet the driver pooped his pants!

I’m sure there are other valving options, I just did not have to go that route.

Gnarls.