RV Hydraulic Brake Line Failure
Commenting on another post, brake controller gain setting, got me to thinking of an issue that I was plagued with. I bought my unit used (excuse me....preowned). It was 7 years old, full-timed in, and had traveled extensively.
At time of purchase, I knew it had a leak in hydraulic brake system. No problem.... go to auto parts store, buy a section of brake line,remove six tires (lug nuts torqued to 200ft/lb), replace line, bleed system (required 1 qt+ brake fluid), replace tires, retorque lug nuts. Not too bad at home... "Sucks" bad when you have to do it (twice) on the roadside on our first long roadtrip!
We were having the lines "crack" at the flares!!! I decided that there was too much "unsupported" line routed to each wheel. Research found that this was not terribly uncommon on higher mileage trailers (most being "hot-shot" commercial use flatbed trailers used for "many" miles often in off road conditions).
A simple, inexpensive solution..... The lines run parallel to axles and have enough flex that they can be moved some. Get smallest foam pipe insulation you can find (I used 1/2" from Home Depot), and place around line. Then use "zip-ties" to " tightly" secure to axel! This eliminates flex/vibration/movement while traveling. It also offers some protection from stones and other small road debris that may contact lines while on the highway.
I hope that you "never" have this problem! It's a little disconcerting when you have 20K pounds of 5th wheel, that's "NOT" stopping as quickly as you'd like!
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