34' brakes

[Ted III]

Dan & Donna, in all sincerity I am most interested in the final results of this hard brake pedal. I think that if we all knew it was okay we could live with that. If Mike E's thought works he needs to present us with drawings, parts list and complete simple installation instructions. Possibly visit each of us and install his creation.

Ted & Carol
2005 Alpine 2005 34' FDDS
2006 PT Cruiser GT

[Ted III]

Dan & Donna, in all sincerity I am most interested in the final results of this hard brake pedal. I think that if we all knew it was okay we could live with that. If Mike E's thought works he needs to present us with drawings, parts list and complete simple installation instructions. Possibly visit each of us and install his creation.

Ted & Carol
2005 Alpine 2005 34' FDDS
2006 PT Cruiser GT

[Indio]

Ted........... I'm with you

I would also very much like an clear understanding of this braking situation. While there are many very important systems on our motorhomes, brakes tend to come in handy when they are needed.

Seems that most have this "hard brake" issue, me, I have the opposite........ Mine work just fine, and not any more difficult to operate that Julie's Navigator. Maybe mine is defective?

What I do not get is why "yakama" does not jump in here with something like, "hey guys this is a charistic of a hydraulic system trying to stop a 40,000 lb motorhome, it's okay... not to worry" Not being an expert on these things ( maybe air would be better ), I opted for the hydraulics thinking it sounded like a good idea, and the selling dealer reccomended the option.

We have a great forum here, and I have both enjoyed sharing and have learned a great deal from the participants postings...... met a few wonderful people too. This forum is organized primerly for Alpine Owners manufactured by WRV, but we never hear "boo" from them. I can understand that they may not want to participate for fear of opening up a "can of worms"......... okay, I get it regarding questions like which dump valve do I pull, or is everybody happy with you baking oven. Read the book, WRV did do a good enough job on these two subjects. But, jeeze, brakes are pretty important. The two links that Mike posted for the manuals were great, and most informative.

I would assume WRV reads this stuff, thinking maybe their purpose is to lurk out there just to learn from us. As, EngineerMike may have given them a great cost savings by shortening the hydraulic lines by four feet on every 34-36' unit built. That would equate to hundreds if not thousands of feet of a raw material that seems to not have a ceiling for cost at the pumps. After a number of dissertations, I think I understand that us guys with forty footers do not have an issue with this. It could have been so easy for WRV to have clarified this, then no mystery. We have an "Alpinemaker" as a participant?, we had "AccessoriesMike" that use to be a little helpful on the fly, although nothing official of course.

I havent't been on any other forums for comparision, but I would make a wager that our little niche in the Owners Corner would rate right up there. I think myself like most made a valued decision in buying an Alpine, and even with "issues".......... we are a proud lot. I have had a few problems, fixed and improved upon what was delivered to me..... and continue to enjoyed every trip we make in our coach.

Getting a little carried away here......... POINT, if it's important and about safty, come on WRV participate with us.

Just my opinion of course, "keep the rubber side down" ( like that one )

Walt

[Tom and Patty]

It would be nice to have some "tech" advice. Like Walt, thanks to people who answered our questions and made us feel at ease, this forum was the only reason we purchased a used Alpine instead of another larger manufacuters brand.

Everyone here has such good advice. It would be good to have someone at OE tell us, "You are on the right track."

[EngineerMike]

There was another forum, Alfa I think, where the mfgr had a regular participant. At least one good idea for not doing that is that from time to time some sleaze-bag attorney buys a motorhome. And then finds that tech advice & problem solving is available on line. And then some goofy home-spun advice doesn't get corrected by the factory guru. And then the lawsuit is filed to punish the factory for doing a lot of good deeds. Too sad, but that's environment. Mfgr's may have other good reasons also.
Walt- I actually agree w/WRV on sticking w/standard parts, where practical, throughout the line of motorhomes they make, including using the 40' hyd. lines on shorter coaches. So long as WRV solves the attendant issues, of course, like cooking the excess loops ('course I mighta opined differently had mine cooked already). This reaches its pinnacle in the engine, tranny, rear end assemblies, where servicability is truly critical, and I think WRV has a great no-muss-no-fuss formula there.
Ted- My thought isn't a cure, only a way to monitor the hyd. pressure to assess if there is an issue in the area that Walt so poetically pointed out is "handy," i.e. brakes that work. It seems like a verrry low probablility trouble spot that Cedar is in (and his service choices are limited, complicating things further), so I'm only thinking about the gauge out of an abundance of caution. I'm told there are in-line hyd.pressure reducers that are adjustable; don't think installing one of those is warranted given the low breakdown percentage.

[Ted III]

Mike, you certainly know I was kidding and I thouroughly agree with the gauge idea. It certainly would tell something that would give us some kind of guide which in itself would be most helpful.

QUOTATION OF THE DAY

"You get a lot more authority when the workforce doesn't think it's amateur hour on the top floor."
GEN. MICHAEL V. HAYDEN

I think that is a great quote!

Ted & Carol
2005 Alpine 2005 34' FDDS
2006 PT Cruiser GT

[Cedar41]

It would be nice, when your brakes almost catch your coach on fire and you call WRV, they have "SOME" idea what was wrong!!!

[Oregon Coyote]

I am a bit late in viewing your post but it is surprising that there was no response. What do you mean your brakes almost caught your coach on fire? I have yet to own a DP of any brand but I have many years behind me driving various trucks on the road. Drum brakes when overheated can conceivably get hot enough to set a tire on fire. But it would seem next to impossible for disc brakes (used on Alpine) to get hot enough to burn anything. But it would great to know what prompted your post.

Norm

[Cedar41]

It was the very dark smoke coming out from the right front tire that we thought would start the fire. Our brake pedal will not come up and we were driving with the brakes on. The right is adjusted tighter is seems.

We have replaced two parts we bought from WRV ($1000) and it is still not fixed. The shop can not get WRV to advise them further. We are not sure where to turn now. Any advise?