bill h
el segundo
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westernstar wrote:OK now I read every one of these posts. Lots of ideas. I spent 20 plus yrs hauling logs on the Oregon coast. So I think I can tell you all something about brakes. 1st water is a good idea. Before the Jacobs was invented the venerable exhaust was in use. Good but to help it most of the truckers had a water tank mounted behind the cab. This tank would then be pressured up a couple of pounds, then when you had a long grade ahead you opened the valve which sent a stream of water onto the top of each drum. You turned it on before heat build up. This allowed us to really smoke down off of some impressive grades. Thinking about this I dont see that it would be difficult to put water to the brakes. We have the tank, and the pump, just need solonoids and hoses to the wheels. Think about it -----no more runaways.
The only hitch I see is that many MHs have disk brakes now, and putting water on disks cools OK, but wet disk brakes don't stop as well, as many motorcyclists have learned.
Bill and Susan
84 Barth 30 tag powered by ht502/Thorley, Gear Vendors OD
Siamese Calvin and Airedale Hobbes
4WD Toyota toad
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Don and Eileen
Here, there, and everywhere (formerly MA)
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Joined: 09/28/2003
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I've read this post while trying to find out more about this route. We're traveling from east to west -- we'll be heading from Rapid City to Jackson, WY. We're not in our mh right now -- we've finalized our house sale and are in a 26 ft. Penske truck. We've done route 14 west to east in our motorhome, but haven't had the occasion to drive 16. We know we can dip down to Casper, but I can't tell you how much we dislike that area and would prefer to go a more scenic route. However, if we're going to be risking ourselves going over 16, we'd prefer not to do that.
Suggestions???
Don and Eileen
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tropical36
Southwest Florida_USA
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Joined: 07/11/2004
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There's no risk...just don't do the dumb things that we did. If you have hydrahlic brakes...change the fluid and use DOT4. When going down these long steep grades of 6% or more, always use low gear. Jam your brakes down for 3 to 5 sec. at a time to hold your speed...let them up as long as possible for the cooling effect...and no riding or pumping the pedal. You said you're in a rental truck right now, so if it's fairly new, then the brake fluid should be ok...as within a 3 yr. period.
"We are often so caught up in our destination that we forget to appreciate the journey."
1998 36ft. National Tropi-Cal, with a tag axle and one slide, on a 1997 P32 Chevy chassis....7.4 Vortec Engine
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bill h
el segundo
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tropical36 wrote:When going down these long steep grades of 6% or more, always use low gear. Jam your brakes down for 3 to 5 sec. at a time to hold your speed...let them up as long as possible for the cooling effect...and no riding or pumping the pedal.
Some experienced mountain drivers say pick a speed you are comfortable with, and the lowest gear that will do it. As soon as the speed builds 5 mph above, get on the brakes to get it 5 mph under. Repeat.
Quote:You said you're in a rental truck right now, so if it's fairly new, then the brake fluid SHOULD be ok...as within a 3 yr. period.
The only assumption I will make on a rental truck is that they are often badly used and poorly maintained. I would have the fluid replaced with a known high performance fluid before any mountain descents in a rental truck.
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1492
Virginia, USA
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Joined: 04/08/2005
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Dynasty40 wrote:He knew he had a problem but didn't wait long enough to correct it. If your brakes heated up, how long would you wait to resume driving? Food for thought....Dennis
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Jarlaxle
New England
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My bus's brakes, while good (it IS a class 7 truck chassis), are still hydraulic drums. The system has been gone-through completely, and I've done everything I could to improve it: all flex hoses are new, the drums were sandblasted clean, then painted with one coat of flat-black chassis paint for heat dissipation, as were the wheels. The shoes are extreme-duty metallic material, that actually stop BETTER hot. (Enough that, if pulling out on a morning that isn't sweltering, I usually ride the brakes for a couple hundred yards to warm them up.) The fluid is DOT5 silicone, which is in every vehicle I own except my new Magnum. It simply doesn't boil. I'm happy for that, for this reason:
Liz and I were going through Vermont, towing her big (K-5) Blazer and heading for the Green Mountains. I was being careful, sticking to the posted speed for trucks on downgrades. About halfway down what was posted as a 5-mile 6% grade (certainly worth caution, but not THAT big a deal), I noticed the brakes were fading a bit. I was in 4th gear, with the axle in low, at 40-45MPH. I wasn't about to try downshifting going downhill, so I decided to try to pull it down as slow as I could while I had brakes that, while obviously hot, were still stopping pretty well. I hit the 4-ways, hit the WHOA! pedal, and pulled it down to about 25MPH. The road leveled out somewhat for a couple hundred yards, and I was able to drop to third gear-high range. I came down the rest of the hill at about 25MPH, smelling hot brakes the whole way. At the bottom, I pulled into the first place I saw big enough to accomodate a bus & toad, and checked the brake fluid. It was fine--full & not discolored. Liz had gone back to unhook the Blazer, and came back with a tight grip on her pendant, muttering prayers in Spanish. The Blazer's brakes were not working. The Brake Buddy was plugged into the lighter, but the lighter's fuse had blown. I had just taken a 7-mile 6% grade (I checked the distance on the way up) with an UNBRAKED 5500lb truck hooked up.
Liz followed me in the Blazer to our destination, and the bus stopped just fine after letting things cool & doing a couple of hard 25-30MPH stops to break up any glaze. I checked them out the next day, pulled a front wheel; nearly having a stroke at what I found, I pulled a pair of duals in back. The brakes had gotten hot enough that the paint had blistered on all four drums. A very thorough check followed...astoundingly, no damage other than paint. I'm absolutely sold on metallic linings & silicone fluid.
John
1984 Ford B-700 school bus conversion, Thomas body
A bunch of other vehicles
3 nutty cats (Maya, Vierna, Briza)
One lazy dog (Marmaduke)
One wife (Liz)
"A wasted youth is better by far than a wise and productive old age"
-Jim Steinman
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tropical36
Southwest Florida_USA
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There's a difference between just brakes that are overheated and what we refer to as boiling brake fluid. I had some boiling going on coming down that same mountain going east from Powder River Pass, just 9 days before this infamous accident. I didn't stop until I got into downtown Buffalo and that's when mine pretty much failed. I don't know how long it took to get them back, after limping into Indian Campground. I tried them about two hours later and I still didn't have anything to speak of, but then in the morning they were pretty much OK, but not up to par, so I had the brake fluid changed before heading out of town.
Story short, if your fluid is the problem, then you'll know if you got brakes before you'd dare move, but be prepared for a long wait.
I suspect the accident victim, pulled over for a cooling rest, whereas the brakes warmed up a little more, then started down the mountain again, using the brakes considerably, until the fluid eventually boiled.
* This post was
edited 10/04/08 08:01pm by tropical36 *
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Jarlaxle
New England
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Quote:There's a difference between just brakes that are overheated and what we refer to as boiling brake fluid
Which is why I use DOT5 silicone fluid. It's almost impossible to boil.
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bill h
el segundo
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Jarlaxle wrote:Quote:There's a difference between just brakes that are overheated and what we refer to as boiling brake fluid
Which is why I use DOT5 silicone fluid. It's almost impossible to boil.
I wonder how many brake fade problems are boiling fluid and how many are just too much heat on the pad and disk.
The question would be, which sets in first, boiling fluid or mechanical/thermodynamic brake fade.
In racing, I have experienced brake fade without fluid boiling.
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Gale Hawkins
Murray, KY
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Joined: 07/22/2007
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Very few brake systems are designed to stand up to the use of DOT5. If you want higher boil points (no known reason to need higher boil points) on could look at DOT 5.1 that is a direct replacement for DOT3 and DOT4 and does not require require replacing washers/seals as with DOT5. BMW has seen some issues moving to DOT5 due to not being designed to use it.
When a car like Corvette stays away from DOT 5 it speaks volumes to me but then I from KY the home of Corvette.
Seriously do a lot of reading if you are considering DOT5 because it could effect the lives of those you love.
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