KZ Sportsmen Owners beware

Trying to get an engineering design issue or alteration through customer service is like asking a pig to sing.

I'd suggest you start a file at the NHTSA. That might get their attention.

Similar story: I awoke from an afternoon nap hearing someone/something hammering on my house. It sounded like a hammer hitting my plumbing. I went outside to find a gas company lackey pounding on the active piping connections on my meter. When asked why, she responded that they looked rusty. I forthwith threw her off the property threatening police action if she ever came back.

I called the gas company customer service and not only were they disinterested but told me the meter was theirs and they could do anything they wanted with it. A referral to a supervisor got me some sympathy but no call back to say what had been done with that employee or if any hammers had been removed from tool boxes. I checked the meter for leaks and there were none. Good thing, as the service tech that was supposed to look over the situation never showed.

I guess in both these cases, they are just waiting for something bad to happen before reacting.

OK, so to update this dilemma. After going back and forth between the dealer and KZ Customer Service 2 or 3 times each and each blaming the other for the installation of the brake lines, I finally got KZ to call the dealer and figure out between the two who actually installed the brake lines on my trailer. Bottom line is that the factory installs the Surge Brakes and all components to include the brake lines and the dealer puts in the fluid and bleeds the brakes. I asked if the practice of installing them ON TOP of the axle would be reconsidered and she said “NO”. She stated that that is the way they had always been done in the past and are still done now. I asked why and she said that they had not found it to be a problem in the past. She did allude that they had seen the crimping on a “couple” before but wouldn’t get specific.
So, I am glad mine are fixed and I won’t have to worry about it in the future. The hundreds or perhaps thousands of other KZ travel trailers with surge brakes however should worry.
I understand that maybe it is uncommon for a trailer to bottom out but I don’t think it is uncommon enough for the factory not to take steps to alleviate the problem if it does. It would not even require any additional expense, just a simple rerouting of the existing lines upon installation. If not, then there should be “bump stops” installed in case of bottoming out to prevent the lines from crimping. Just about everyone towing a travel trailer has hit a big bump, RR tracks, ran over a curb or whatever that could easily lead to the suspension bottoming out. In my case, I can’t remember every hitting a bump or road hazard all that hard while towing. It could have easily been done during the two years it was used as a rental. We all know how people treat rentals. But bottom line is that is it a reasonable possibility for the suspension to be bottomed out which inevitably would lead to crimped brake lines with the way they are installed now and have been for a long time by the factory.
Why the company wouldn’t even consider changing the current practice after being warned of the potential problem is beyond me. They are ripe for a big law suit. I guess that is when they will “Review their installation procedures”. After someone is killed or injured because the trailer they were pulling didn’t have functional brakes. And this is after they were informed of a possible problem. Does this remind you of the GM ignition recall issue?
The KZ Customer Service representative was very apologetic, cooperative and forthcoming but I think someone above her pay grade needs to take note of this issue now.
If you own a KZ travel trailer with surge brakes, I highly recommend that you get under the trailer and check your brake lines or at least have it checked by a competent mechanic. Waiting until you are going 70mph down the interstate and having the car in front of you lock up their brakes is not the time to find out that you don’t have working brakes on your trailer.

On a related note, surge brakes lock up when backing up unless you 1) mechanically lock them out, usually there is either a lever that you move to lock them out when backing up then snaps back when you pull forward, or theres a hole to stick a pin in, be sure to remove it or no brakes. 2. an electric solenoid hooked to the reverse light circuit (that's why a 7 wire connector has reverse as a wire), there's two types of solenoids, one is a "blocking" and the problem with that is if you have the brakes on when you shift into reverse, the brakes are locked on, so be sure to have your foot off the brakes when you shift into reverse. I'm bringing this up because if your brakes haven't been working for a while, if you get them all fixed up you might have a surprise the first time you try to back up. One more thing, in the boating world, I found the surge brake actuators only last a few years, but since you probably won't be backing your TT into water up to the axles, yours may last longer.

Oh, thanks spadoctor. i will consider that.

those coils are there for a reason...the absorb shock in the system as well as vibration. Look under the hood of your truck at the master cyl and you will find coils.

Thanks Ford. I will probably get some pre-made lines from a parts store and bend them myself. I should be able to rent a bending tool from them and I am reasonably mechanically inclined. I am just wondering if I need to replace the line coming from the front of the trailer as well to get rid of the curly-Q along the frame rail. I was warned that it tends to trap air in the lines and makes bleeding them difficult.

I would weld bump stops to keep the U bolts from hitting the frame. And convert to either hydraulic (they work extremely well) or to the more traditional electric brakes. It is your trailer now, not a rental and you can have it anyway you want it as it will have a dedicated tow vehicle.

that about a DA,dumbass, way to route metal brake lines.. Hell if they had move the line from 12 o'clock position to 3 or 9 position on axle the line would not get crushed on hard impact of axle to frame.

Not a hard fix but make you wonder who the heck thinks that type of stuff is a smart way to route them.

esox07 wrote:
Yes, surge brakes with drum brakes. They certainly don't look like replacements. Here is a better overall picture with labels. I don't think the individual brake lines would need a flexible line in them since they are attached to the axle which moves in unison with the wheel hubs. It has the one flexible line from the main line to the hub on the axle.




TUCQUALA: by the way, I grew up in Winona, MN where they made your canoe.

Thanks Ford. I will probably get some pre-made lines from a parts store and bend them myself. I should be able to rent a bending tool from them and I am reasonably mechanically inclined. I am just wondering if I need to replace the line coming from the front of the trailer as well to get rid of the curly-Q along the frame rail. I was warned that it tends to trap air in the lines and makes bleeding them difficult.

esox07 wrote:
Since the dealer was using it as a rental, I am wondering if maybe they didn't retrofit it with surge brakes to accomodate vehicles without a brake controller? My brochure shows surge brakes as an "OPTION" so maybe they converted them over after delivery. I just can't believe a factory would let something like that get out the door. I have a message in to the dealer/salesperson that sold me the trailer.
Thanks to everyone for the advice/help.

The "conversion for rental theory" makes the most sense to me. I honestly can't see a Manufacturer installing something so amateurish!!
Your discussion with the dealer may be interesting!
Keep us posted, please.

Yet another good reason why NOT to buy an ex rental....

I have had my KZ for 8 years and have never found anything remotely that bad... I really hope it was added after the fact and not by KZ...

To the OP , you could also get your measurements together and go to a hydraulic line shop and have them custom bent to the exact lengths and shape... They will bend , flare , whatever you request... We use them when repairing our forklift's hydraulic lines when they rupture... A lot cheaper than buying from the pre made hose from the manufacturer...