Got 15 miles ... brake problems ... Mid State RV = AWESOME!
The title pretty much sums up the whole experience; read on only if you want the details.
RV is a 2003 Damon Intruder 373 on the Workhorse chassis with just over 23K miles. Both me and the previous owner were very easy drivers (knew the previous owners son personally).
Prior to leaving for trip I had moved the RV from one site to another to change into a pull-through site to make hooking up the toad and final packing a little easier. I also took the RV and visited WallyWorld and a couple of other stores for final preparations. I never had any hint of any type of failure.
Well, read the title, you know where I am going next. I get about 15 miles out and approach a traffic light that is currently red in color. I apply the brakes, everything is good, the RV slows properly.
Due to light traffic and a smart signal, the light changes before I come to a complete stop. Right foot moves from the stop pedal to the go pedal ... and the engine makes a lot of noise but the coach doesn't really want to accelerate and go any faster. With the light pedal pressure I'm lucky to hit 30 if the current section of road is slightly down hill.
I get maybe a mile tapping the brake pedal with the left foot holding some pressure on the now "anti-stopping" pedal with the right. Yea, it was not very long before I smell the burnt rusty aroma of brake material cooked to a perfect medium rare.
I stop, hop out ... or rather actually take each step out the door in pause with thought. This could have a significant negative outcome to the start of my trip.
By nose detection alone it is OBVIOUS the right rear caliper is hung and dragging. A little wave of the hand around the inside of the dually results in some extra felt heat. This is obviously not good.
I keep hearing this "cyclic" clicking noise. I hop back into the coach, not really ... I'm not that spryly anymore. I turn off the ingnition and hop back outside (get the picture ... I'm just imagining me actually hopping). There is no more cyclic clicking sounds.
However, I do see this REALLY BIG BROWN SPIDER take a peek at me. I think it HAD a nest between the tires before it got too smokin' hot for the critter.
Keep reading if you haven't done your own recall yet.
This stuck caliper can be a major problem if you think about it. I had one guy on the side of the road ask me if I wanted a tow. Yea, ok, so the tow truck shows up ... and they TOW it? How is that going to be "good" for the stuck brake caliper?
I call a good friend of mine and he has a really stupid fast internet connection speed and an awesome computer with big displays. Yes, I could have done all the same searches on my tiny smart phone (a not so micro Samsung Note II), but having someone I could call to do Warp Drive Factor Nine speed of internet searches gave me the information to make mentally make decisions while I was simultaneously dealing with traffic and trying to get out of the way.
The end result was that there really was only one close place for the RV to be taken to for repair. That place was Bryon GA. There is a Camping World on the SouthWest side of the interstate, and Mid State RV on the NorthEast side of the I-75 exit for Byron.
The choice is made, and my friend helps me pick a route to Byron. My Garmin is balking at every turn in the route (probably due to how I have the settings currently set for an RV with properly functioning brakes). Friend used Google maps and set the routing for someone riding a bicycle. Thought that was well done on his part.
I now have over 12 hours to go the ~20 miles to get to Byron; on basically traffic free roads. Did you read above about the guy I stopped to talk to? He was cutting grass and I decided it was a good place to stop for a brake cool down. We talked for a good 15 minutes and only his neighbor went past me.
I keep two-footing the pedals. I alter between driving 30mph for a few tenths of a mile (and waiting for a cool down period) and just driving a constant 5mph. The thing is, I can tell that applying the brake pedal long and hard, or brief stomps is moving things around in the brake system.
There comes this time, after all the stomping, that I think things are OK again. The pedal on the right seems to work like before!
(This is where those of you without the recall done really need to keep reading...)
Of course, Mr Murphy always has a play in everything I do. Now that the brakes seem free, I am approaching a stop sign. So, I apply the brakes gently to keep them free ... the pedal never gets firm where it normally does ... Hrrmmm? I push a little more, the pedal simply squishes more towards the floor with the added pressure. I push harder on the stop pedal, the pedal goes ALL THE WAY to the floor, and the coach just keep rolling right along.
PANIC MODE! I start pumping the brake pedal both long and hard inbetween random bursts of just stomp and release. I don't know what worked, but the RV slowed and stopped.
I left the stop sign and concern about not stopping now became an issue ... quite the opposite condition I started with.
In a moment to get an idea of how safe to continue this might be, I quickly deployed the parking/emergency brake at about 10 miles an hour. The RV stopped reasonably.
Yea, and the brakes were stuck again, the go pedal became an anti-stop pedal again, and the brakes worked as normal again. And, the dragging the rear brake caliper seems to be happening again.
After spiking the parking/emergency brake the RV drove like a whole new monster. It was somewhere in the middle of drag like crazy, and we are not stopping at all.
I managed to make it to Camping World and I did something sneaky. I parked my RV between the RV's they have for sale! I unhitched my Toad and parked it where an early customer might park. I wasn't bothered and I slept great.
At 8:05 AM I called Mid State RV and explained my brake problems. I was asked the VIN of my RV and the lady on the phone explained that my RV was due for the brake recall.
It was only 20-30 minutes later and the lady at the counter asked if I was "Jim". I signed some papers, gave the coach keys her and I started to ponder more about breakfast then the fate of my trip.
Almost three hours later I came back to Mid State RV. No, breakfast at Denny's didn't take that long; I decided to look for a Geocache at the Byron rail station (didn't find it (but I think I know where it used to be before someone drove their vehicle into the caboose since the last find)).
Anyways, it was almost three hours, and the lady at the booth had JUST gotten the finished paper work in hand. She was moments away from giving me a call.
The pads and rotors were fine, all four calipers were replaced. And, it was all at NO COST TO ME.
Next, I was told that the tech reset a fault code in the ABS system for one relay "doing something ( can't remember exact words)".
I found that really interesting. I can believe that the ABS system trying to prevent a skid is what caused my apparent brake failure. I have only ONE time been on ice/snow where the ABS has kicked in, and I remember it being weird to me as the driver when it happened. I just can not remember the event clear enough to know if the pedal pressure response was the same or not.
I read a thread about someone removing the ABS fuse and not having brake failure nor doing the recall.
It appears to me that my experiences indicate that depressing the parking/emergency brake has an effect on the ABS system. If you have a soft pedal condition and you need to stop NOW, I can not see any harm in recommending you engage the parking/emergency brake. I know that will be the first thing I try if I ever experience the soft pedal (on dry pavement) ever again.
Hope this post helps someone.
RV is a 2003 Damon Intruder 373 on the Workhorse chassis with just over 23K miles. Both me and the previous owner were very easy drivers (knew the previous owners son personally).
Prior to leaving for trip I had moved the RV from one site to another to change into a pull-through site to make hooking up the toad and final packing a little easier. I also took the RV and visited WallyWorld and a couple of other stores for final preparations. I never had any hint of any type of failure.
Well, read the title, you know where I am going next. I get about 15 miles out and approach a traffic light that is currently red in color. I apply the brakes, everything is good, the RV slows properly.
Due to light traffic and a smart signal, the light changes before I come to a complete stop. Right foot moves from the stop pedal to the go pedal ... and the engine makes a lot of noise but the coach doesn't really want to accelerate and go any faster. With the light pedal pressure I'm lucky to hit 30 if the current section of road is slightly down hill.
I get maybe a mile tapping the brake pedal with the left foot holding some pressure on the now "anti-stopping" pedal with the right. Yea, it was not very long before I smell the burnt rusty aroma of brake material cooked to a perfect medium rare.
I stop, hop out ... or rather actually take each step out the door in pause with thought. This could have a significant negative outcome to the start of my trip.
By nose detection alone it is OBVIOUS the right rear caliper is hung and dragging. A little wave of the hand around the inside of the dually results in some extra felt heat. This is obviously not good.
I keep hearing this "cyclic" clicking noise. I hop back into the coach, not really ... I'm not that spryly anymore. I turn off the ingnition and hop back outside (get the picture ... I'm just imagining me actually hopping). There is no more cyclic clicking sounds.
However, I do see this REALLY BIG BROWN SPIDER take a peek at me. I think it HAD a nest between the tires before it got too smokin' hot for the critter.
Keep reading if you haven't done your own recall yet.
This stuck caliper can be a major problem if you think about it. I had one guy on the side of the road ask me if I wanted a tow. Yea, ok, so the tow truck shows up ... and they TOW it? How is that going to be "good" for the stuck brake caliper?
I call a good friend of mine and he has a really stupid fast internet connection speed and an awesome computer with big displays. Yes, I could have done all the same searches on my tiny smart phone (a not so micro Samsung Note II), but having someone I could call to do Warp Drive Factor Nine speed of internet searches gave me the information to make mentally make decisions while I was simultaneously dealing with traffic and trying to get out of the way.
The end result was that there really was only one close place for the RV to be taken to for repair. That place was Bryon GA. There is a Camping World on the SouthWest side of the interstate, and Mid State RV on the NorthEast side of the I-75 exit for Byron.
The choice is made, and my friend helps me pick a route to Byron. My Garmin is balking at every turn in the route (probably due to how I have the settings currently set for an RV with properly functioning brakes). Friend used Google maps and set the routing for someone riding a bicycle. Thought that was well done on his part.
I now have over 12 hours to go the ~20 miles to get to Byron; on basically traffic free roads. Did you read above about the guy I stopped to talk to? He was cutting grass and I decided it was a good place to stop for a brake cool down. We talked for a good 15 minutes and only his neighbor went past me.
I keep two-footing the pedals. I alter between driving 30mph for a few tenths of a mile (and waiting for a cool down period) and just driving a constant 5mph. The thing is, I can tell that applying the brake pedal long and hard, or brief stomps is moving things around in the brake system.
There comes this time, after all the stomping, that I think things are OK again. The pedal on the right seems to work like before!
(This is where those of you without the recall done really need to keep reading...)
Of course, Mr Murphy always has a play in everything I do. Now that the brakes seem free, I am approaching a stop sign. So, I apply the brakes gently to keep them free ... the pedal never gets firm where it normally does ... Hrrmmm? I push a little more, the pedal simply squishes more towards the floor with the added pressure. I push harder on the stop pedal, the pedal goes ALL THE WAY to the floor, and the coach just keep rolling right along.
PANIC MODE! I start pumping the brake pedal both long and hard inbetween random bursts of just stomp and release. I don't know what worked, but the RV slowed and stopped.
I left the stop sign and concern about not stopping now became an issue ... quite the opposite condition I started with.
In a moment to get an idea of how safe to continue this might be, I quickly deployed the parking/emergency brake at about 10 miles an hour. The RV stopped reasonably.
Yea, and the brakes were stuck again, the go pedal became an anti-stop pedal again, and the brakes worked as normal again. And, the dragging the rear brake caliper seems to be happening again.
After spiking the parking/emergency brake the RV drove like a whole new monster. It was somewhere in the middle of drag like crazy, and we are not stopping at all.
I managed to make it to Camping World and I did something sneaky. I parked my RV between the RV's they have for sale! I unhitched my Toad and parked it where an early customer might park. I wasn't bothered and I slept great.
At 8:05 AM I called Mid State RV and explained my brake problems. I was asked the VIN of my RV and the lady on the phone explained that my RV was due for the brake recall.
It was only 20-30 minutes later and the lady at the counter asked if I was "Jim". I signed some papers, gave the coach keys her and I started to ponder more about breakfast then the fate of my trip.
Almost three hours later I came back to Mid State RV. No, breakfast at Denny's didn't take that long; I decided to look for a Geocache at the Byron rail station (didn't find it (but I think I know where it used to be before someone drove their vehicle into the caboose since the last find)).
Anyways, it was almost three hours, and the lady at the booth had JUST gotten the finished paper work in hand. She was moments away from giving me a call.
The pads and rotors were fine, all four calipers were replaced. And, it was all at NO COST TO ME.
Next, I was told that the tech reset a fault code in the ABS system for one relay "doing something ( can't remember exact words)".
I found that really interesting. I can believe that the ABS system trying to prevent a skid is what caused my apparent brake failure. I have only ONE time been on ice/snow where the ABS has kicked in, and I remember it being weird to me as the driver when it happened. I just can not remember the event clear enough to know if the pedal pressure response was the same or not.
I read a thread about someone removing the ABS fuse and not having brake failure nor doing the recall.
It appears to me that my experiences indicate that depressing the parking/emergency brake has an effect on the ABS system. If you have a soft pedal condition and you need to stop NOW, I can not see any harm in recommending you engage the parking/emergency brake. I know that will be the first thing I try if I ever experience the soft pedal (on dry pavement) ever again.
Hope this post helps someone.
