Smoked the brakes yesterday-update on test

DanLefoot wrote:
Thanks Fireup.
I'm talking about Montezuma's grade dropping into Borrgo Springs. Been down it many times over the years. 1st timing smoking the brakes.
Good to know that at 25,000 miles It isn't likely that I damaged anything.
I was traveling with a 6 month old Golden Retriever. Was his first trip and I simply may have been paying more attention to him and less on what I was suppose to be doing down that hairraisng descent.
Coach is due for a new set of tires so I'll have the brakes checked out at the same time.

Dan

Dan,
You're certainly welcome. As stated, we recently moved from SD CA to LHC AZ and, where we moved from was RAMONA. We made several trips to the ole' Borrego dez. Went down that Montezuma grade a few dozen times myself. And, that's where I too, got those brakes a bit on the "warm" side. I liked going down it during the week, preferably in the mid-morning time. I get way less traffic pushing me around then. That means, I can descend that grade at whatever speed I choose and not really hold anyone up.

Those morons that designed that grade, put way less turn-outs on it than is what's needed. But, in any case, on that particular grade, on our coach, an '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with C-7 330HP CAT, I let that exhaust brake do about 90% of the work. I stab the service brakes a bit at a time, around the middle of the grade. But, as I get closer and closer to the bottom, I sometimes have to stab at them just a bit more. And, before I actually level out, I too will smell them talking back to me.

It's a given on that grade. Our previous coach, a '99 Fleetwood Bounder, 34V with the early version V-10 and no auxiliary braking, I used them (the brakes) so much on that grade, that by the time I approached the stop sign at the school on S-22, I WENT RIGHT THROUGH IT, YEOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good thing there was no cops around.

Anyway, as Brett suggests, do your test of that exhaust brake and see what you see. Have you ever lubed it? On some coaches, it can be a serious pain in the a$$ to get to. On some, it's cake. You can actually test its movement by disconnecting the air supply and manually supplying air to it at home but, sometimes that's not as easily done as said.

If I was still in San Diego, I'd buzz down the hill, (to wherever you have your coach) and go through some things with you. But, that's not as easily done, coming from Lake Havasu. Good luck and, be sure to let us know of the results of your inspection(s)
Scott