Broken down I65 exit 34.

[BlackButte]

Blew right front tire on 5vr, broke the rigid brake line for to my disc brake as well as the hydrulic connection to the leveling jack. Coast Net said they cannot find anyone to make brake or hydraulic repair at Roadside but will have tire changed and deal off the lines so I can limp it somewhere safe. The closest safe spot I can find is 35 miles away. Is this a reasonable fix? Anyone have experience with a 15,000 pound 5be without brakes?

[laknox]

tinner12002 wrote:

troutrod wrote:
Blew right front tire on 5vr, broke the rigid brake line for to my disc brake as well as the hydrulic connection to the leveling jack. Coast Net said they cannot find anyone to make brake or hydraulic repair at Roadside but will have tire changed and deal off the lines so I can limp it somewhere safe. The closest safe spot I can find is 35 miles away. Is this a reasonable fix? Anyone have experience with a 15,000 pound 5be without brakes?

That's one thing I don't like about the RV companies that are putting things in the tire area like brake lines and level up hyd lines, in the event of something like that happening you've incurred much more damage and cost to repair let alone the safety aspect of it. I said something to DRV about it and they just shrugged it off like it was no problem.

Yep; might cost them an extra $3 to run longer lines to prevent just this from happening. What's the "cost" of a pissed off customer who just might not be back? Ever since I saw the first pic of major tire damage on here, I wondered what it would take to make a 1/4" sheet aluminum wheel well liner.

Lyle

[tinner12002]

troutrod wrote:
Blew right front tire on 5vr, broke the rigid brake line for to my disc brake as well as the hydrulic connection to the leveling jack. Coast Net said they cannot find anyone to make brake or hydraulic repair at Roadside but will have tire changed and deal off the lines so I can limp it somewhere safe. The closest safe spot I can find is 35 miles away. Is this a reasonable fix? Anyone have experience with a 15,000 pound 5be without brakes?

That's one thing I don't like about the RV companies that are putting things in the tire area like brake lines and level up hyd lines, in the event of something like that happening you've incurred much more damage and cost to repair let alone the safety aspect of it. I said something to DRV about it and they just shrugged it off like it was no problem.

[BlackButte]

Sorry for the delayed reply. It’s been kinda busy here.

Coach Net stayed in touch but it took a couple of hours for them to get a mobile tech on that Saturday night. Good reason for traveling on a weekday instead of a weekend. They final got a guy from a nearby TA Truck stop. They had already told me they would take care of the service call but they could not arrange for anyone to repair the lines. The tech would only be able to secure the lines and change the tire. I would then have to limp my way to a repair facility.

The tech arrived to change the tire but had not been told about the broken lines. He did agree to take me 5 miles away to an Advanced Auto that was still open. He also pulled the broken section of brake line.

Side note....there were no bolts holding the brake caliper to the mount. These are the original brakes with only 5200 miles. The tech said my three other brakes still had the mounting bolts.

Advanced Auto was unable to find a replacement hose using the numbers on the broken line but they did manage to find a cap to seal the brake line.

We limped into the Jellystone campground five miles away without any brake fluid leaks from the capped line.

When we let out the slides for the night one of the hydraulic lines shot out about 2 to 3 ounces of fluid. Seems the hydraulic system for the slides is continuous with the system for the leveling legs. To close the slide I had to clamp the two broken hydraulic lines with vise grips.

After traveling two hours at 45-50 mph with the emergency flashers, I noticed the broken hydraulic lines were still having a slight drip and the corresponding slide to the broken line for the leveling leg had opened almost a quarter inch. I bought two battery terminal connectors and used those to clamp the hydraulic lines. I then zip tied both the clamps and hoses out of the way in case either separated from the other. I didn’t have any further slide movement during the trip.

We finally made it to our repair facility without b raking or other problems. They told me it is not uncommon for them to find missing brake caliper mounting bolts when oil bath hubs are converted to grease hubs. They stated that during the conversion process it seems the mounting bolts are sometimes reused without the use of lock tight. They found two other brakes each with one missing mounting bolt. They also identified wear on the inside of the wheel from the caliper. This is what caused the tire failure.

PCM1959,

The tire that blew was an Akuret tire. Kinda ironic huh? When we took delivery of the 5vr, the guy at Southern RV in Georga assured me Akuret were well known in the RV world. On our way home for the first time with the trailer we got a goose egg on the sidewall of one of the Akuret tires. None of the six RV dealers we contacted had ever heard of Akuret tires. Can you believe it? One of them did call me back after contacting the tire jobber for Akuret tires. The jobber said there were none in Georgia and we would have to wait five days to get a replacement. We didn’t wait. DRV did make good getting us a timely replacement. This Friday Goodyear G614 RST LT235/85R16 Load range Gs are to be mounted.

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions and concern.

[CabinetmakerII]

Troutrod, Did you make it safely?

[ljr]

ljr wrote:
My problem didn't involve hydraulics but I've used Mr. Mobiles RV Service (850-398-6318) near where you are. If they can't help I bet they know who can.

Oops! I jumped to the conclusion that you are on the portion of I65 that I'm most familiar with in AL.

[ljr]

My problem didn't involve hydraulics but I've used Mr. Mobiles RV Service (850-398-6318) near where you are. If they can't help I bet they know who can.

[Ivylog]

Flatten the broken ridged line, bend 180 and hammer again to seal the line... you now have three brakes, not a big deal for 35 miles or longer if needed.

[laknox]

pcm1959 wrote:
Sorry to hear about your trouble and wish you a safe journey to a safe spot for the repair. Please update us on your repair as well as what kind of tire blew.
At the Tampa show last year, the Kodiak rep told about a device they are trying to develop. Its installed where the lines split off to each wheel. It will shut off the fluid to the wheel that looses a line in a situation like a blow out. So you at least have 3 brakes to use until you can repair. I hope he has an update on the product when I see him in January at the Tampa show.

Bet you could find small, manual, valves that could be plumbed into the hard lines for emergency use.

Lyle

[rhagfo]

Mobile repar sure has gotten lazy!!!
Could easly be a road side repair.

[pcm1959]

Sorry to hear about your trouble and wish you a safe journey to a safe spot for the repair. Please update us on your repair as well as what kind of tire blew.
At the Tampa show last year, the Kodiak rep told about a device they are trying to develop. Its installed where the lines split off to each wheel. It will shut off the fluid to the wheel that looses a line in a situation like a blow out. So you at least have 3 brakes to use until you can repair. I hope he has an update on the product when I see him in January at the Tampa show.

[midnightsadie]

just a tip,I,ve smashed a brake line shut one time so I had some braking.

[midnightsadie]

if you gotta go real slow put the flashers on, good luck spounds like you got it.

[BlackButte]

Thanks, will proceed carefully.

[BobKrogstie]

I had to tow my 15K 5er 47 miles one time with no brakes. Using a combination of slow careful driving, gearing, heavy duty brakes on my RAM dually, and exhaust brake I made it without incident. 35 miles sounds doable to me.