Continued parking brake problems

[Joel Weiss]

Last year, after having replaced the parking brake caliper, air actuator and pads I thought I had finally resolved my parking brake problems.  Unfortunately, that is not the case.  To make a long story short, my new hardware has all been destroyed by heat and we were close having had a fire.

I've gone back through the maintenance records for my coach, both mine and those provided by the previous owner.  It appears that replacement of the caliper, pads and/or air actuator has occurred roughly every 30,000 miles or less.  I know I've never driven with the brake on, so this is far too much maintenance on this item IMO.

I've done some additional internet research and out of the probably ~150-200 PT's built in 1999-2000 there are far too many internet references to coaches being disabled by faulty parking brakes.  Mike Premus, parts manager at BCS, told me that he's sold 4 parking brake calipers in the past 12 mos which seems high considering that there are probably only ~100 of them still on the road.

What we've done is make a considered decision not even to bother with having a parking brake after having invested >$3k last year in it.  We have a set of trucker chocks and a solo driver could also use the front jack (very gently) to hold the MH in place once it has been stopped.  I realize that I have to be careful not to be moving forward at all when applying the jack, but I don't think that's going to be such a problem

What I'm also trying to figure out is whether or not there exists an alternative.  I've already discovered that the air-actuated drum brake used on Patriots and other Beavers will not work.  What I'm trying to find out now is whether or not the Safari Panther used the same system.  The Panther had hydraulic brakes rather than air-over-hydraulic but I don't know about it's parking brake.

[Dave Atherton]

Joel, here is a suggestion that may correct your parking brake problem. Looking back into early days
many mediums size trucks and buses had what is called a Micro lock control that is connected into
Brake line close by the master cylinder. How the micro lock works just push down on brake pedal
and hold in place and flip a little handle on micro lock and your unit will not move.  To release the
brakes press down on brake pedal and move micro brake handle to off. Real simple and trouble
free. Today the micro lock brake system are still in use. Easy to install.
Dave Atherton Retired Cat mechanic

[Joel Weiss]

Thanks Dave.  I'll check into it.

ADDED LATER:
I checked with the shop I'm at and they are very supportive of installing one of these rather than fooling around with the old parking brake.  As you are probably aware, they are made for trucks of all weights.

For reference purposes they are sold under the name Mico (not Micro) and Mico is a WABCO company: https://www.mico.com/sites/default/files/document-pdfs/80950152Brake%20Lock%20Application%20Guide.pdf

[Dave Atherton]

Joel, been awhile since the Mico brake setup but remember that is what I had on my service
truck. The nice part with Mico setup, you are locking all wheels and not the drive line as parking
brake does. Dave Atherton Retired Cat Mechanic

[Keith Moffett Co-Admin]

This sounds like a good idea but is there any concern over a slow pressure loss in the hydraulic brake system like a caliper backing off or something similar?
Not knocking the idea but without a park gear in the tranny, you sure wouldnt want this to happen.

[Edward Buker]

Seems like a far better idea then having no parking brake. This concept has stood the test of time by being still in use.

One downside maybe clamping all the brake surfaces on between the pads and rotors or shoes and drums and leaving them that way when they are wet for extended periods. You may form more than surface rust between those interfaces. This can be managed to a great extent by the owner with awareness.

This seems like a good path for owners like Joel.

Later Ed

[Joel Weiss]

Seems like a far better idea then having no parking brake.

Exactly!  There's absolutely no reason why, on long stays (like at our winter place) I can't chock the coach and release the hydraulic brake.  But for typical travel stays of a few days to a week that shouldn't be an issue and it sure will be better than the parking brake that Beaver installed.  In my Internet searching on the topic I found multiple posts from PT owners who had written "parking brake failed and immobilized vehicle and even one, from an exasperated owner (someone I even know) who wrote "I like this coach but I'm giving it up because I can't deal with this brake problem."

We're planning on getting the system installed on our coach this summer and I'll let people know how it performs.  The only people who really will be interested are probably just the couple of 1999-2001 PT owners on here, but at least they will learn something useful.

However, on a related note, one that is appropriate to anyone owning a coach with hydraulic brakes (or air over hydraulic), in the past year I've now replaced six of the brake lines and I caution everyone to examine theirs carefully.  The rubber portions of those lines probably have become brittle and the metal could be subject to internal corrosion from water in the brake fluid (even if you have flushed the lines periodically).   These lines could be time bombs unless you watch them carefully or replace them. 

For example, this week while my coach was in the shop for an unrelated problem, the technician noticed that the brake line entering one of the front calipers had rusted through and fluid was leaking.  I was very lucky in that the leak appeared to have just started and the coach still had usable brakes. We had new lines fabricated and installed.  The technician subsequently told me that some of the metal "ends" of the lines snapped in his hands as he removed them, they were so brittle from corrosion.

The lines I've replaced have been in the $100-150 (each) range which I didn't consider too bad.  I can warn you that removal and replacement of the lines to the front calipers is an awful job and not one that most people will want to attempt on their own.  The shop that did the work has a huge lift capable of holding large coaches.  They put mine on the lift, raised the fuel tank a few inches, and then used the coach's own front jack to lift the front to enable the wheels to "droop down".  The technician then "wriggled his way up and over the fuel tank to retrieve the lines from the frame members through which they ran.  If you can visualize this, it was pretty awful.  If they didn't have the lift I think they might have had to remove the front axle and the fuel tank.

Anyway, the shop suspects that in the process of installing the Mico system they will find other segments of the brake lines that need replacement.  I told them that that was fine with me, since brakes are nice things to have!   

[Ron Johnson]

Thank you Joel for your concise report on this issue. My Coach is one of the 'few' that can benefit big-time from this information so again, Thank you!!

[Marty Bailey]

I have a 2000 Patriot and mine stop working. (The previous owner wearing the pads down to metal and no service to the system). I took the caliper off and had to rebuild it, it was corroded and grease was dried up. It has worked good since. There is an adjustment you make when first setting them up and you must make sure they don't bind on the slides.

Marty