I would agree that you are wide open for a lawsuit, atleast, if you deactivate an anti-lock system.
I don't know if it's a felony or not but you could be found liable if your actions of deactivating the ABS caused the loss or property, bodily injury or death. Those last two can be very expensive.
Killing someone because you have to is one thing. Causing an accidental death, especially because of my lack of attention or negligence would be about impossible to live with. Especially childeren, it just really bothers me when something bad happens to kids.

 

Ford Trans Tech, if you re-read my post you will notice that I have ABS working again - I tried it shut off for just one day, laid on the brakes good on an empty 4-lane road (SB Telegraph after a heavy rain) to simulate situation you described with the dead family, and while the truck didn't swap ends (I let off just in time) it got way too close to that - I'd imagine with a weighed-down rear end with good tires situation would be different, however right now I'd rather not gamble. I did modify the RABS a bit tho, in the form of ditching the stock spring and installing a stiffer one - it seems to recover pressure much faster now, overall pedal feel was greatly improved, and I felt more comfortable with the whole thing. Then for the last two days I've been working on making sure that once the RABS kick in my front brakes can make up for the lack of stopping power from the rears - anyone interested in that, read here. Overall I must say that with the new booster and the stiffer RABS spring it's like stopping a whole lot different truck, anti-lock works great, front axle stops like no tomorrow, and there's no pedal fade at all.

 

I personally like my brakes to do what I tell them to do not what a computer says but that is me. My 99 will probably stop quicker than my older trucks but it a 1/2 ton at 1/2 to 1/4 the weight when loaded.
We now have abs on the big trucks to control skidding this became law in the 70's then repealed and now is back all 3 of my semi's have a warning sticker on the dash telling you she wont stop wile bobtailing. lots of trucks now are autoshift caused lots of wrecks on slick roads when the trucks shifts at the wrong time it doesen't savy traction but you dont have to learn to shift. some trucks have antiroll warning some even cuts back the power when you need it most.drivers used to know when their truck was turning over.
These improvements are so companys can find enough drivers wether they can handle a truck or not. but it's safety.

 

OK, since I'm the one that started this post, let me say this: when I originally posted, we had a 28' race car trailer hooked up (it stays hooked up 9 months out of the year). The braking seemed to be awesome with the RABS spring gone. HOWEVER, I have since unhooked the trailer and drove the truck a few times. It indeed has way too much rear brake and will lock up all 4 rear tires very easily on dry pavement and would quickly cause a crash in icy or snowy weather. I have realized this is not the correct remedy-we will be replacing the entire RABS valve instead of disabling it. I was absolutely wrong to imply that this was a "fix"-it is not. While the pedal is firm and solid, do yourself a favor and just replace the valve assy. Thanks.

 

Yay, one more ABS convert. Interesting thing tho, my buddy's '86 F250 (SRW) will not try to go stupid on you, it's very much like a RWD fullsize car - yeah, it slides a bit, but not much, and definitely nothing even close to the stunts my dually tries to pull on me. That truck has no ABS and don't seem to really need one, mine on the other hand is something I'd really hate to deal with without the ABS working the rear brakes for me.

165, what brake controller are you using? That, and how you have it set up, will make a great difference in the rig's braking behavior - I also tow a 28' (or was it 30', not sure anymore) car hauler, and I honestly rely mostly on the trailer's own brakes to stop it - took me a bit to figure out a good setting for it, but in the end if I get on the brakes the thing just STOPS - no swaying, no sliding, no jacknifing, none of that, I'd hate to be the guy behind me if I have to do an emergency stop on the freeway.

 

The 86 is what I have no computer brain power but comepletely different if your proportion valve goes out you still have major problems.

 

In fairness, the 1986 trucks were callibrated to work without ABS, the newer trucks are not so tampering with them should not be taken lightly and some form of recallibration would be needed to delete the ABS without causing wheel lock problems.

I've driven in snow with vehicles equipped with ABS and I was not impressed. One of the first things they tell you about ABS is that breaking distance is likely to increase compared to conventional breaking systems and I can say that is certainly true for both hard dry pavement as well as snow from personal experience.

 

im, glad you fixed it
but the problem is the deactivation you described to test it will be used to bypass the system by those that wouldnt even consider the safety issue
and as stated before earlier trucks were calibrated with the proportioning valve so their conventional brakes work well
i have been with ford since the late 70,s and have several vehicles with abs and i wouldnt want one without it
it is the best safety system so far , and i have to disagree with the above statement about ice or snow whenever it ices here i always lock my brakes to cycle and test the system and it always stays under control
most people tend to treat the brakes like conventional brakes and dont hold the pedal pressure this defeats the system operation
my explorers will stop in much less time than any conventional system will
and its a proven fact a skidding tire has little or no braking effect unless it stays in contact with the pavement

 

Oh yeah, completely forgot about the prop-valve, that thing sure makes a difference. And I've noticed the same thing about ABS users, they try to modulate the pressure themselves, instead of just getting on the brake pedal and letting the electronics do their thing - that may make sense wit RABS systems if you're worried about locking up the fronts (which I can now do even on dry pavement), but with the vacuum-assisted brakes that ain't much of an issue with our heavy diesels...