New 1999 Beaver Brakes - 2 (almost 3) Tows and a Fire Need Advice!

[barbara hazzard]

Our 1999 Patriot Concord had the original rotor disks and the front ones were cracking so we shelled out several thousand for a brake job that included four new disks and pads all around.

Driving home from the mechanics shop our right front brake caught fire after about 15 miles.  The shop sent a big rig tow truck to pick it up and allegedly replaced the front brakes pads and checked the rotor for warping.  The shop claimed the replacement pads on the front were not properly glazed at the factory.

Since then we had it towed in once again for excessive heat at that wheel.  They could not find a cause but put a new seal on the hub as it was leaking. 

Now with less than 200 miles on the brake job we went on a shake down cruise yesterday got about 3 miles at 35 mph.   The smell of burning pads was back (but no fire).  We think it is coming from the right front wheel again. We drove home and one neighbor asked about the burning clutch smell another commented on the smell asking what it was. 

The shop is closed today but we aren't moving the coach until they give us guidance.   

Suggestions on what they should check?  They are part of a chain of name brand TRUCK tire stores; no RV shops close by we so used them.

[Gerald Farris]

Barbara,
It sounds like you have a bad caliper or brake hose (a bad brake hose can act like a check valve) on that wheel. There is no reason for a qualified technician to repeatedly miss a problem like this, it is a simple system. If I had spent the kind of money that you referred to, I would not accept the coach back until the problem was corrected and at their expense.

Gerald   

[Joel Weiss]

Barbara,
It sounds like you have a bad caliper or brake hose (a bad brake hose can act like a check valve) on that wheel. There is no reason for a qualified technician to repeatedly miss a problem like this, it is a simple system. If I had spent the kind of money that you referred to, I would not accept the coach back until the problem was corrected and at their expense.

Gerald

When we had our rear brakes replaced last month I told the shop foreman that I wanted the hoses replaced also.  He vehemently concurred with that decision and said that hydraulic brake systems almost always need new lines at the 10-15 yr point.  The lines removed from my MH were extremely brittle and I'm pretty confident that this was what caused my brake lock problem last summer.

Joel (AKA docj)

[barbara hazzard]

Gerald, thank you for your extremely quick response!!!

Thanks for the recommendations especially the comment on the hose as a possible culprit! That would not have occurred to me. 

The caliper sticking was supposedly check out the last time but I suspect that laziness or arrogance prevented the issue from being fully investigated the 2nd time the coach was towed in.  Hopefully the re-inspection will be more productive this time especially now that I have your suggestions. 

We live right out side of Washington, DC in Bethesda Maryland.  If anyone has a recommendation on Beaver Technicians or Mechanics in the Baltimore/DC/Frederick/Northern VA area please provide input.

There is another branch of the same Regional Chain we used closer to home but they were backed up when the initial work was being done.  To avoid delays I drove about 30 miles to get the work done in another city.  For the redo I will be trying to get the work done locally as the other mechanic seems to be remiss when it comes to successfully completing tasks the first time.

I will start with the local branch manager tomorrow and work my way up to the regional manager if necessary.  After that the gloves will come off if they don't make this right.  I will go to the brand name service company and then on to credit card used to pay for the repairs. 

 I will post some interesting other details in a separate post that may help some others with front and rear alignments.  Also I will post some info on the ride height adjustment which was critical in getting our coach to behave properly on the road. A word of warning given to me by a former Beaver Mechanic.  Do not do the Road Height Adjustment yourself it is dangerous.  That can be done by any truck mechanic who has experience in setting road height on a big truck; it is the same protocol for coachs and trucks.   
   

[barbara hazzard]

Joel, thank you for the comments on the hoses.  I do not believe the mechanic replaced the hoses with the brake job so my husband is on his way out to the driveway to guide his creeper under the coach.  He is hoping he can check the hoses the easy way   If they are older hoses we will add that information to the email we have prepared for the regional manager.  Either way we will have the shop check the hoses as dirt might have gotten into the system when they worked on the brakes (it isn't the cleanest shop I have ever seen). 




 

 

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Barbara,
We don't have any BAC member reviews on service in MD but RV Service Reviews at  http://www.rvservicereviews.com/StateList.asp?state=MD has some. Hopefully it can be of some help in selecting a shop.
The BAC member reviews are located in the Supplier Credits, Comments and Kudos board.
Steve

[Joel Weiss]

Joel, thank you for the comments on the hoses.  I do not believe the mechanic replaced the hoses with the brake job so my husband is on his way out to the driveway to guide his creeper under the coach.  He is hoping he can check the hoses the easy way   If they are older hoses we will add that information to the email we have prepared for the regional manager.  Either way we will have the shop check the hoses as dirt might have gotten into the system when they worked on the brakes (it isn't the cleanest shop I have ever seen). 

Fabbing the hoses took two days (even in Elkhart where there's a lot of people to do that kind of work) and was expensive ($100 each) so if you didn't experience this kind of delay and cost then they probably weren't replaced.

I have to thank Gerald for having put the bug in my head about getting them replaced.  He had made a comment in a previous thread that often hoses are overlooked until you've replaced all the other parts in the brake system.  With new calipers, rotors, pads and hoses my brakes work better than they ever have in the past.




 

 

[john brunson]

Can anyone provide a standard issue replacement?? Something like an Altrom or TW distribution hose?? A custom built hose is like 4x the money... 

[Joel Weiss]

Can anyone provide a standard issue replacement?? Something like an Altrom or TW distribution hose?? A custom built hose is like 4x the money...

The custom hoses we had made in Elkhart were ~$100 each.  It was the only way to get the length we needed with the appropriate fittings.

[john brunson]

i cannot imagine the OEM (Beaver) using a custom hose.... it has got to be borrowed from a medium duty truck .... the trick is figuring out which one

[Gerald Farris]

John,
A custom hose is not that expensive for a coach manufacturer. The hose can be purchased in rolls at wholesale prices and the fittings are by the case since the same fittings are repeatedly used. The only extra cost would be the needed crimping dies that can be used for years, and about 10 minutes of time for a production/tool room worker . In fact a custom hose might even be cheaper for a production line operation because it gives more design options.

Gerald

[john brunson]

it just seems unreasonable... I had three hydraulic hoses made for my backhoe last month at the local NAPA~ cost $15 each...ugh