where to start???

[lonfu]

Originally Posted by buelldude

Well thanks for all the replies, I did walk away from that deal. The one thing is with all the info on the web I cut my search down to workhorse and 8.1. It seems its a great setup and the place to start.
So I'm going to look at another one, this time its from a private owner. Its a 2004 Fleetwood Fiesta 26Q, 54K on the drive parts. I started off wanting a toy hauler but couldn't find any in that good shape. I figured with the price being higher and so few to pick from that a reg class A/C would work with a trailer behind it. Here goes???????

I have a 26 class A, I ended up with a 16 foot Carlson dove tail car hauler with surge brakes. I built some 4' high removable plywood sides for it and have a tarp cover for the top if I need it. Have hauled toys on it as well as several cars and my 753 bobcat. I wouldn't bother with a full covered trailer unless you plan to a lot of tools in it. I built a locking 4' section in the front part of the bed for my tools, but it was difficult to water proof it perfectly. For some reason the car haulers are less of a target for thieves, my insurance for it is $10 every 6 months. When talking to other full timers with big box trailers they seem to get pretty regularly while I've never had a problem.

[buelldude]

We are going to get this one, its a 2004 Fleetwood Fiesta 26Q. I did figure out the brake type setup. Old school manual, step on the pedal and pull the release and under the rig its said ABS, not what I had said in a earlier post. So we drove it and was rather surprised, power was good and its going to take a bit to get use to the brakes. We like it because of 2 different reasons, 1- short and will fit where we have to park it. 2- price was good to see if this is what we want to do with our time.
I do have to say I haven't seen many like this as far as the storage space. It doesn't have levelers so we are going to need to do blocks. I don't know if it would be cost effective to put them on or not???? Where would you buy that type of setup?
I should have it by the weekend.

How many miles have you guys been able to put on a set of brakes, I can only guess that they have never been done.

[lonfu]

Originally Posted by buelldude

We are going to get this one, its a 2004 Fleetwood Fiesta 26Q. I did figure out the brake type setup. Old school manual, step on the pedal and pull the release and under the rig its said ABS, not what I had said in a earlier post. So we drove it and was rather surprised, power was good and its going to take a bit to get use to the brakes. We like it because of 2 different reasons, 1- short and will fit where we have to park it. 2- price was good to see if this is what we want to do with our time.
I do have to say I haven't seen many like this as far as the storage space. It doesn't have levelers so we are going to need to do blocks. I don't know if it would be cost effective to put them on or not???? Where would you buy that type of setup?
I should have it by the weekend.

How many miles have you guys been able to put on a set of brakes, I can only guess that they have never been done.

I've mentioned in my other posts, that when the pads wear down, the brake pedal level goes down too. there are no adjustors on these disc brakes. You don't mention which chassis you are looking at, but with the p30 chassis, I have found that the calipers need to be "cleaned up" once in a while. I have 127k and have never worn out a set of pads, but usually have to replace them because the brake pedal level gets so low I don't like the feel of it. The caliper usually freezes on the caliper frame and it refuses to slide until pulled apart and cleaned. I too have a 26 footer. the most difficult part is getting it up on the 6 ton jack stands. Lastly, on 1998 p30 chevy chassis, I have a parking pall and manual drive line parking brake. I believe the different body manufacturers could order different ebrake options in some years. Because of my past 3 moho's and problems with drive line ebrakes, I installed a rear electric "hydraulic brake lock solenoid" on mine so when unloading my boat I didn't have to worry about it slipping down the ramp and sinking to the bottom of the lake.

[lonfu]

Originally Posted by tomwalt

Readers digest version for mid 90's and on:
The 4L80 series xmission doesn't have a parking prong/pawl on P30 series truck chassis due to chassis weight, so GM built a a self contained hydraulic parking brake system to automatically lock the drive shaft when the shifter is in 'Park'. Thus the term Automatically Applied Parking Brake.

Here's a link to site that supports all known info on the AAPB:
AutoPark parking brake system help, troubleshooting, and repair

On my 1998 p30 chevy chassis, I have a parking pall and manual drive line parking brake. I believe the different body manufacturers could order different ebrake options in most years. Because of my past 3 moho's and problems with drive line ebrakes, I installed a rear electric "hydraulic brake lock solenoid" on mine so when unloading my boat I didn't have to worry about it slipping down the ramp and sinking to the bottom of the lake. I have found that this combination seems to work really well.

[twinboat]

Disk brake pad wear is not directly related to brake pedal travel.

It is true that that sticking calipers, loose wheel bearings and contaminated brake fluid will affect pedal travel but not thickness of the pad.

In a proper operating disk brake system, as pads wear, the pistons move out of the caliper to compensate for the wear.

There is nothing in the caliper to return the piston, except the deflection of the fluid seal.

As the pads wear thin, the seal allows the piston to move out beyond the deflection range, automatically maintaning the proper gap between the pads and rotor.

This is why you can drive until all of the material is worn off the pad and get the dredded metal to metal brakes.

[edgray]

Originally Posted by lonfu

On my 1998 p30 chevy chassis, I have a parking pall and manual drive line parking brake. I believe the different body manufacturers could order different ebrake options in most years. Because of my past 3 moho's and problems with drive line ebrakes, I installed a rear electric "hydraulic brake lock solenoid" on mine so when unloading my boat I didn't have to worry about it slipping down the ramp and sinking to the bottom of the lake. I have found that this combination seems to work really well.

I'm not disputing the fact that your p32 chassis does not have the infamous J71 AAPB, but I don't believe ANY of the GM 4L80-E trannies include a park pawl. The GVWR of the chassis was used to determine IF the chassis could use a manually applied PB rather than the required AAPB on the heavier GVWR products, and I doubt the coach builder had an option to determine the type of PB since that was DOT mandated by GVWR.

To test my opinion all you need to do is shift to "P" and not apply your manual PB while stopped on an incline. If the coach rolls, you don't have a pawl in the tranny and must rely on proper manual application of the PB. This assumes your electric brake solenoid is not automatically activated by shifting to park.

[buelldude]

I have the P32 chassis with manual brake. I am looking around for shocks, they are the originals that came on.
Ok we are talking about this brake thing, I take it that putting it in park isn't enough?

My vin# 5b4kp57g333370680

I also read in the WH chassis guide that I have the 4L85-E, that is a beefier trans from the 4l80.

[edgray]

Originally Posted by buelldude

I have the P32 chassis with manual brake. I am looking around for shocks, they are the originals that came on.
Ok we are talking about this brake thing, I take it that putting it in park isn't enough?

My vin# 5b4kp57g333370680

I also read in the WH chassis guide that I have the 4L85-E, that is a beefier trans from the 4l80.

That is a 2003 Model P32, with a 15,000 GVWR, which did not require the J71 AAPB, hence the manually applied PB. Putting it in "P" might keep it from rolling away, but why take that chance??? IMO, you should always apply the PB if you're gonna leave the driver seat. YOURS does not "automatically" apply, like most of the heavier GVWR P32 chassis.

If you want the entire build sheet, send an email to: edgray1@gmail.com

[lonfu]

Originally Posted by edgray

I'm not disputing the fact that your p32 chassis does not have the infamous J71 AAPB, but I don't believe ANY of the GM 4L80-E trannies include a park pawl. The GVWR of the chassis was used to determine IF the chassis could use a manually applied PB rather than the required AAPB on the heavier GVWR products, and I doubt the coach builder had an option to determine the type of PB since that was DOT mandated by GVWR.

To test my opinion all you need to do is shift to "P" and not apply your manual PB while stopped on an incline. If the coach rolls, you don't have a pawl in the tranny and must rely on proper manual application of the PB. This assumes your electric brake solenoid is not automatically activated by shifting to park.

Yes, when I'm on a slight incline I can hear and feel the parking pawl release. Since I rebuild autotrannys I know what it feels like. There is a cable that runs directly from the ebrake pedal to the drum on the back of the tranny. Since there is no pad adjusters on the ebrake I rarely even use it unless on an incline. I understand what and how autopark operates. When I ordered my coach one of my specifications was that it was not installed on my chassis.

I'm sure you already know this but Winnie only does custom orders. Dealers have to order a coach for it to be built. They do not build them "enmass". I ordered my coach. For example, I had to pay Winnie $200 to not put stickers on my coach. I painted it myself. In order to get the CB antenna I had to pay for the CB even through they didn't install it. I had to pay extra for a spare wheel and tire.


In 98 the 26wu was available with 3 chassis options. one ford and 2 chevy. I ordered the heavier 14.8k chassis with 19.5 wheels rather than the lighter 11k with 16" wheels since I knew I was going to be towing my rather large boat. (5500klbs) Since a dealer must order a unit, they usually order this size with the smaller chassis so that they can sell it for less. I figured I would never be able to get the extra $ that I paid for the heavier chassis but I never planed to resell it. I just saw a 11k 26wu model up at Walker Lake when we spent the night there. That model sits a little lower to the ground and has a better ride than mine does. But..... I can tow my boat, Bobcat and 7klb car hauler any where I want and have done so.

[lonfu]

Originally Posted by buelldude

I have the P32 chassis with manual brake. I am looking around for shocks, they are the originals that came on.
Ok we are talking about this brake thing, I take it that putting it in park isn't enough?

My vin# 5b4kp57g333370680

I also read in the WH chassis guide that I have the 4L85-E, that is a beefier trans from the 4l80.

P30 and the p32 chassis are the same thing so don't get confused when the parts guy looks at you funny. Autozone has some Gabriel gas filled for a little less than $50 each. Friends of mine have spent $200 each on the higher dollar units but the performance is about the same as the $50 units until you get to the coil over shocks in the $500 range. I added front over load springs and upped the size of my roll bar, but the biggest improvement are the roller bearing bell cranks. But these days they are big $$$$ at $300 each. (need 2) The original bell cranks were just a piece of pipe with a conical shaped piece of cast steel inside that had to be adjusted from the top by tightening a nut. Trying to keep them adjusted to prevent the coach wiggle waggle was a PIA. Most folks thought the wiggle waggle was due to the thinness of the front wheel base, but in reality it was these cheap a... bell cranks.


link for the bell cranks that I installed on my coach 18 years ago.


http://www.supersteerparts.com/produ...7-chassis.html

[lonfu]

Originally Posted by twinboat

Disk brake pad wear is not directly related to brake pedal travel.

It is true that that sticking calipers, loose wheel bearings and contaminated brake fluid will affect pedal travel but not thickness of the pad.

In a proper operating disk brake system, as pads wear, the pistons move out of the caliper to compensate for the wear.

There is nothing in the caliper to return the piston, except the deflection of the fluid seal.

As the pads wear thin, the seal allows the piston to move out beyond the deflection range, automatically maintaning the proper gap between the pads and rotor.

This is why you can drive until all of the material is worn off the pad and get the dredded metal to metal brakes.

Exactly, at least that is how the engineers designed them to operate. But it doesn't. I've owned the same coach for 18 years, and again had to replace the pads because the pedal just gets low from pad wear because there is no adjusters in the system. 3rd set on the rear, 4th set on the front 128k miles. None of the pads have been worn more than 50%. I even replaced the front rotors thinking they would help, but no, no difference. Yes, new MC and hydraulic booster.

Some times planning a thing and how a thing actually works over a long period of time are not the same. To fix a thing you have to be willing to observe what it does and rather than what it is suppose to do and repair it so that it preforms it's task.

[lonfu]

Originally Posted by buelldude

We are going to get this one, its a 2004 Fleetwood Fiesta 26Q. I did figure out the brake type setup. Old school manual, step on the pedal and pull the release and under the rig its said ABS, not what I had said in a earlier post. So we drove it and was rather surprised, power was good and its going to take a bit to get use to the brakes. We like it because of 2 different reasons, 1- short and will fit where we have to park it. 2- price was good to see if this is what we want to do with our time.
I do have to say I haven't seen many like this as far as the storage space. It doesn't have levelers so we are going to need to do blocks. I don't know if it would be cost effective to put them on or not???? Where would you buy that type of setup?
I should have it by the weekend.

How many miles have you guys been able to put on a set of brakes, I can only guess that they have never been done.

yeah do the brake pads, check the inside brake pad slot, both top and bottom. Use emery cloth and a file to smooth these suckers out. Most shops won't bother with them unless they replace the rotors. Bleed and check how close the brake lines are to the exhaust manifold. You may need to make a heat shield.

I wouldn't bother with the jacks unless you are at least 145 years old. I've had blocks that I made in my wood shop for the last 18 years and have been perfectly happy with them. Plywood on the bottom then 2 pieces of 2x6 (side by side) with the ends trimmed at 45 degrees. Next step up, same 2x6's, end trimmed to 45 degrees with plywood on top. I put a rope on back side and painted them. Be sure to measure the compartment where you will store them, make them no longer that will fit. these one piece units work much better than any of the 2 piece stuff. I just flop them into place and DW drives on to them while I supervise. Of course I'm smart enough not to stand in front of the coach when she is driving.....

[lonfu]

here are some pix of my brake job.

Pix in this forum is very difficult to work with.
1. after flat file taking off metal particles from metallic disc pads
2. before flat file, see metal spots
3. inner disc pad slot before emery cloth and file
4. inner disc pad slot after, wear grooves like this can cause pads to hang up
5. Use brake pads with stainless steel anti-squeal pads.
6. upside down inner disc pad slot
7. clean all surfaces with emery cloth.


after flat filing to remove metal brake particle build up

[cbramsey]

Originally Posted by edgray

If your wife isn't thrilled with the floor plan.....don't buy it, regardless of price.

Very true!!!