Rear brakes smokin'!!

[Hatman]

On I 95 north of Baltimore. Very heavy 60 mph to zero and back to 60 again, over and over and over. Started smelling something hot and the TPS fired off on both of the rear inner duals being over temp. Thought I saw smoke so I pulled over at the next exit. Indeed. Smoke coming out of right rear wheel wheel. Tire temp not too hot, no visible oil or fluid. As best I can tell it's coming from the rear brake shoes. Let it cool down for 20 minutes and have now driven to a Flying J for dinner and give them a chance to cool. Any thoughts on the cause? I was just at Spartan and they didn't uncover any issues. What proportions the front vs rear braking in these? Any other words of advice?

Mark
1999 American Eagle

[John_S_]

I understand Sunday afternoon traffic and weekend traffic with 95 backed up from Richmond to Baltimore and then up a bit more to NY. There is no good time to travel but you need to check your brakes and see the balance. I have never had that issue in that kind of traffic. I do travel a bit slower and try to keep my distance but you are right on idiots.

[hipower]

mtrumpet wrote:
Just a curious diagnostic thought...By chance, when your brakes were smoking and you eventually were able pull over to check them, were you able to smell anything? Burning oil/fluid would smell different than hot brake pads which may help to point you in the direction of a possible problem, if there is one.

My thoughts were similar to yours. Generally the smell test will lead you in the right direction. A recent service may have pushed grease from the S cam fitting onto the shoes or a leaky axle seal may be the culprit. The possibility of an automatic slack adjuster over adjusting the one brake may have one wheel over braking also.

Traffic like what the OP was dealing with is difficult to navigate wihtout using your brakes a lot and not getting much cooling time in between heavy uses.

[mtrumpet]

Just a curious diagnostic thought...By chance, when your brakes were smoking and you eventually were able pull over to check them, were you able to smell anything? Burning oil/fluid would smell different than hot brake pads which may help to point you in the direction of a possible problem, if there is one.

[bshpilot]

Horsedoc wrote:
Would love to have a TPMS, but as many have said, the leaking aspect overshadows that. I may try to pick up an infrared thermometer. I trucked for a few years in a former life and blew a couple of recaps off the trailer. That was in the day when the 'cold caps' were all the rage. They were fine until one turned loose - then it was not pretty!

never had a leak....in fact the only problem i did have was a cracked valve stem (should have had 'em change 'em when they put new tires on).....the valve stem was fractured at the nut/wheel - over a year after i had new tires put on & had driven several 6 or 8000 miles that year.

I went over to my coach / storage bay to turn the fridge on for a trip & turned my TST TPMS monitor on and discovered my front steer tire was down to 80 lbs....took me a while but eventually (w/ some soap and water) i found the leak....aired the tire up and took it to the shop.

if someone is threading the cap/sensors on properly i see no chance for a leak - they even have security caps to keep the sensors from spinning loose - i ran 'em for a year & then removed the caps & have run w/out the security caps for 2 years now.

initially i was fearful of theft but to solve that i put a little dab of thread lock on the valve stem - but I've never had anyone mess w/ 'em. you could do the same thing (and continue to use the security caps) to prevent loosening too....but again its a non issue.

if thats not enough to calm fears then go w/ the INTERNAL sensors (5 or 10 yr battery life) from TST...theyll never LEAK or be stolen !

[et2]

Hatman wrote:
After our stop for dinner the brakes were fine the rest of the way. I do think the front/rear balance is off and will have Spartan check things out. If you've driven on I95 DC/Philly/NYC corridor you know slowing down and/or using your exhaust brake a great theories but no grounded in the reality of the situation. Even in the far right lane, if you leave the smallest gap in front of you it's quickly filled by a four-wheeler who immediately decides to slam on the brakes. Sunday afternoon traffic back into the city isn't the usual 20 mph trudge, but a 0 to 75 to 0 slinky that repeats for way too many miles. No fun in a 40 DP for sure!

Thanks for the quick feedback.

So your saying there was not or probably not a cars length between you and the car ahead of you when hitting speed ( to maintain that tiny gap) ? Then you heavily applied the brakes over & over maintaining that small gap?

I can understand why they overheated. You really didn't save yourself any time by keeping that gap, as you ended in pulling over to stop your MH from having a brake fire.

We have all been there, it isn't worth the trouble trying to fight the idiots. We do everything we can to avoid traffic. Leave odd hours, leave on a day most people don't travel ( avoiding Fridays & Sundays).

[bshpilot]

ArchHoagland wrote:


I agree with you. However after seeing so many posts of the problems with the TPMS systems it looks like they are a bit of a pain.

haven't had a single problem w/ my TST system in 3.5 yrs (20k+ miles) and that includes the sensors screwed onto our jeep wrangler tires.

TST makes systems w/ several options (screw on, flow thru, & in tire sensors) - i use their screw on (user changeable batteries) and change the batteries every year (i found replacement "watch" style batteries for 34 cents each / including shipping).

its amazing how much time i was spending checking tire pressures (and dragging out my Co2 tank)...now just flip the switch. TST / Truck Systems Technology

[Horsedoc]

Would love to have a TPMS, but as many have said, the leaking aspect overshadows that. I may try to pick up an infrared thermometer. I trucked for a few years in a former life and blew a couple of recaps off the trailer. That was in the day when the 'cold caps' were all the rage. They were fine until one turned loose - then it was not pretty!

[ArchHoagland]

bshpilot wrote:

ArchHoagland wrote:
I use an IR gun every stop to check for dragging brakes and low tire pressure.

what if you never stop ? or don't stop for hours ?
I can appreciate the laser thermometer tactic but its only good when you stop.

a good TPMS monitor that also monitors temperature will alert you long before you stop.

I agree with you. However after seeing so many posts of the problems with the TPMS systems it looks like they are a bit of a pain.

[bshpilot]

ArchHoagland wrote:
I use an IR gun every stop to check for dragging brakes and low tire pressure.

what if you never stop ? or don't stop for hours ?
I can appreciate the laser thermometer tactic but its only good when you stop.

a good TPMS monitor that also monitors temperature will alert you long before you stop.

[bshpilot]

Hatman wrote:
On I 95 north of Baltimore. Very heavy 60 mph to zero and back to 60 again, over and over and over. Started smelling something hot and the TPS fired off on both of the rear inner duals being over temp. Thought I saw smoke so I pulled over at the next exit. Indeed. Smoke coming out of right rear wheel wheel. Tire temp not too hot, no visible oil or fluid. As best I can tell it's coming from the rear brake shoes. Let it cool down for 20 minutes and have now driven to a Flying J for dinner and give them a chance to cool. Any thoughts on the cause? I was just at Spartan and they didn't uncover any issues. What proportions the front vs rear braking in these? Any other words of advice?

Mark
1999 American Eagle

Ive got the TST system & while I've never seen smoke rolling off the brakes - my experience is the same in heavy stop & go traffic.

once traffic opens up it doesnt take long for the brakes (and tire temp) to fall back within its normal range.

[ArchHoagland]

I use an IR gun every stop to check for dragging brakes and low tire pressure.

[Hatman]

After our stop for dinner the brakes were fine the rest of the way. I do think the front/rear balance is off and will have Spartan check things out. If you've driven on I95 DC/Philly/NYC corridor you know slowing down and/or using your exhaust brake a great theories but no grounded in the reality of the situation. Even in the far right lane, if you leave the smallest gap in front of you it's quickly filled by a four-wheeler who immediately decides to slam on the brakes. Sunday afternoon traffic back into the city isn't the usual 20 mph trudge, but a 0 to 75 to 0 slinky that repeats for way too many miles. No fun in a 40 DP for sure!

Thanks for the quick feedback.

[ccxnola]

My first thought - use the gears to reduce speed - NOT the brakes!!
With almost 60,000 miles on our MoHo, the brakes on the rig (according to the most recent inspection 2 months ago) are 'almost like new'!!

WHY?? the previous owner and I both use the Allison transmission to reduce speed and ONLY use the brakes to actually stop - or in one instance, an emergency stop to avoid a big problem and there was no time to downshift!!.

Give it a try - it's easy to do and it's better for the equipment.

[wallynm]

Did you use you exhaust or jake brake. No real reason to keep pumping the peddle.

Hatman wrote:
On I 95 north of Baltimore. Very heavy 60 mph to zero and back to 60 again, over and over and over. Started smelling something hot and the TPS fired off on both of the rear inner duals being over temp. Thought I saw smoke so I pulled over at the next exit. Indeed. Smoke coming out of right rear wheel wheel. Tire temp not too hot, no visible oil or fluid. As best I can tell it's coming from the rear brake shoes. Let it cool down for 20 minutes and have now driven to a Flying J for dinner and give them a chance to cool. Any thoughts on the cause? I was just at Spartan and they didn't uncover any issues. What proportions the front vs rear braking in these? Any other words of advice?

Mark
1999 American Eagle