Bowmonk Brake Check Hand Held Tester

The BrakeCheck is our portable, DVSA-approved Brake Tester.

bowmonk brake checkThe Bowmonk BrakeCheck is a fully self-contained, user friendly, portable brake tester, used by workshops, government traffic authorities and Authorised Test Facilities (ATF’s) around the world to record the braking efficiency and percentage of braking imbalance of all classes of vehicle from a Motorcycle to an HGV, in a matter of minutes.

The BrakeCheck is also approved by the DVSA for performing the quarterly voluntary brake tests now required as part of the interim safety inspections.

The Bowmonk BrakeCheck determines braking efficiency of both the Service Brake (Foot Brake) and Hand Brake by measuring the rate of deceleration from a speed of around 20 mph until the vehicle comes to rest.  Secondary brake testing is an option at no extra cost.

Designed to be self-compensating, the instrument will indicate on the LED screen when it is positioned level enough to perform a brake test, with a generous tolerance to ensure that this is easy to achieve.

The unit indicates whether the vehicle pulls to the left or right during braking, and is also capable of measuring and displaying acceleration.

Test results can be viewed on the display panel or downloaded to a PC for saving or printing.  A printed report can also be produced at the time of testing using the portable infra-red printer.  Please see the BrakeCheck Accessories page for more information.

The device operates on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack and will power-down after a period of inactivity to conserve energy.

Product variants for different vehicle types

The BrakeCheck is available in a number of variants which cover all common and specialist vehicle types, including forklift trucks and quarry vehicles.  Please click on the “Model Variants” tab above for more information.

The Bowmonk brake check features:

  • Fully portable hand held device.
  • DVSA Approved.
  • Easy to use.
  • For use with all vehicle classes.
  • Tests service brake and handbrake.
  • Suitable for ABS equipped vehicles
  • Portable Printer available.
  • Download data to your PC.
  • 3-Axis Accelerometer
  • Measures Peak Deceleration Front/Rear
  • Measures Average Deceleration Front/Rear
  • Measures Peak Acceleration Left/Right
  • Vehicle pulls Left/Right indication and value
  • Calculates Stopping Distance (displayed in metres or, by special request, feet)
  • Calculates Test Speed (displayed in km/h or, by special request, mph)
  • Can be used for Hand Brake Test
  • Audio Signal
  • Measures Ambient Temperature in °C and °F
  • Battery charger supplied, with appropriate plug for destination country
  • Operates for approximately 5 hours or approximately 120 tests on full charge
  • Can be used after 5 minutes of charging
  • Battery charge indicator
  • Automatic level compensation
  • Simple LED indicator system
  • Easy to use
  • “Calibration Required” indicator
  • Three digit readout
  • Display can be read in sunlight
  • Internal self-diagnostics
  • Test results are stated in ‘G’ units and are accurate to +/- 0.02G (results can be stated in m/s² by special request)
  • Size: 170 x 80 x 35 mm
  • Weight: 0.4kg

Optional Varients

BrakeCheck (all vehicles)

The BrakeCheck is the only DVSA approved kit for testing all classes of vehicle, including:

  • Motorcycles and Quad bikes / ATVs (requires optional handle-bar mounting kit)
  • Passenger Cars
  • Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV), e.g. vans
  • Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV), e.g. articulated and non-articulated trucks
  • Passenger Service Vehicles (PSV), e.g. buses, coaches and minibuses

BOW801 – BrakeCheck

Stores 1 Service Brake & 1 Hand Brake test into memory.

BOW801KIT – BrakeCheck Kit

Includes a BOW801 BrakeCheck, a wireless printer, a spare printer paper roll, a carry case and a CD with documentation.

BOW801S – BrakeCheck with Secondary Test

Stores 1 Service Brake, 1 Secondary Brake & 1 Hand Brake test into memory.

BOW803 – BrakeCheck Plus

Stores 99 Service Brake & 99 Hand Brake tests into memory.

BrakeCheck TT (Trailer Test)

The BrakeCheck TT (Trailer Test) is very similar to the standard BrakeCheck unit, but has the facility to display separate results for the truck and trailer braking efficiencies.

Note that, as with any portable brake testing device, the BrakeCheck TT is not DVSA-approved for trailer brake testing.  To gain DVSA approval a test device must be able to determine whether the wheels have locked up, which is not practically possible with a portable device.

BOW820 – BrakeCheck TT

Stores 99 Service Brake, 99 Hand Brake and 99 Trailer Brake tests into memory.

BrakeCheck FLT (Forklift Truck)

The BrakeCheck FLT (ForkLift Truck) is very similar to the standard BrakeCheck unit, but has been developed with a leading forklift truck manufacturer to take account of the slow speed and tilt of forklift truck vehicles.

BOW801L – BrakeCheck FLT

Stores 50 Service Brake and 50 Hand Brake tests into memory.

BrakeCheck4Quarries

The BrakeCheck4Quarries is very similar to the standard BrakeCheck unit, but has the ability to perform inclined parking brake tests.  It is also able to prompt the user to enter the condition and type of surface on which the brake test will be carried out, selectable from the following options:

  • Wet ground
  • Dry ground
  • Snow or ice
  • Tarmac

BOW812 – BrakeCheck4Quarries

Stores 99 Service Brake and 99 Hand Brake tests into memory.