Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
RV Trip Planning Discussions

Go Back   iRV2 Forums > iRV2.com COMMUNITY FORUMS > iRV2.com General Discussion
Click Here to Login
Join iRV2 Today

Mission Statement: Supporting thoughtful exchange of knowledge, values and experience among RV enthusiasts.
Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on iRV2
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 02-11-2017, 04:03 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
Chinookers's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 13
Blue Ox Patriot / Honda Fit Problem

I would appreciate any comments or suggestions concerning a major problem I experienced on my first tow with a Blue Ox Patriot 2012 in my 2013 Honda Fit.

Here is the background:

I have a 21' Chinook Premier motor-home (E350/Triton V10) and never saw the need to have a toad. My wife, however, has progressively hankered after getting one, and this year I finally relented.

So I bought a 2013 Honda Fit Base, one owner, good condition and had a local hitch installer fix it up with Blue Ox base plate, tow bar, Patriot 2012 brake system.

Yesterday I picked up the Honda from the installer and towed it home, a distance of about 15 miles.

Before I towed it home, the installer instructed me on how to connect the hitch, and how to position the brake system, and he actually set up the Patriot system for me.

Leaving his lot the Patriot was set at '4'. The first time I dabbed the brake there was more braking effect from the Fit than I expected, and it took a second or two for the brake to release. I dialed the system down to '2' and drove home.

On arriving home the first thing I noticed was the smell of burning brakes from the Fit. The front wheels were VERY hot. Further inspection showed that the brake pedal was so spongy it could be fully depressed to the floor, although, checking the reservoir, there was no loss of fluid. I presume the heat had boiled the fluid and was now full of bubbles(?).

The brakes are now shot and I will be taking the Fit to my regular mechanic for repairs this coming week.

Obviously the Patriot system had been applying some level of braking all the way home, even though the RV control unit's 'active' light was NOT on. The installer had shown me how he checked and tested the position when he set up the brake unit and the positioning had looked logical to me.

Maybe if I had pulled a toad before I would have been more sensitive to the drag of the brakes but I just figured the RV was having to work a tiny smidgen harder than usual because of pulling a car. The V10 is powerful, the Fit is light, and to me at the time it really did not seem like the car brakes were dragging. I guess the V10 just easily overpowered them.

After removing the brake unit from the Fit I towed it back to the installer to see if he could explain what had gone wrong, but he had no good answers. He says he will call Blue Ox to see if they have ever encountered this type of issue.

So I'm now looking at what will probably be a fairly expensive repair to the Fit's brakes, and once done I'm going to be as nervous as heck to use the Patriot system again for fear of burning out the brakes all over again. The last thing that I want is to have to constantly stop every couple of miles to check if they are overheating.

So what do you think went wrong? Was it the way it had been setup? Is this something that has happened to others? Is it a fault with this particular brake unit? Do other Honda Fit owners use the Patriot system satisfactorily? How can I test to make sure it doesn't happen again? Anything else you can think of or suggest?

Appreciate all your help.
__________________
Our blog: Chinookers Journey
Chinookers is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 02-11-2017, 06:59 PM   #2
Member
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 80
I have a Honda CRV and one problem I encountered with the Patriot was that we set the patriot twice with the vehicle running which means that the vacuum on the brakes stays powered (power brakes) and the Patriot is supposed to clear the vacuum and set itself to the correct amount of brake stroke in the setup process. To help you understand what I am saying, try pushing the brakes several times firmly with the vehicle off. After a few cycles the brake firms up considerably. This is what you want the Patriot to experience.

Also, we have never needed the Patriot anything higher than 2-3 with a Ford E450 class c and the CRV weighs probably 1000lbs more?

It is really a simple system. I would read your owners manual fully through and try again on your own to see if the set up was a little off or you performed some steps out of sequence. We had two brake lock ups in our first year which had us very nervous until I read about someone else having the problem and I recalled both times I had set up with the car running.
2wiresdave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2017, 11:24 AM   #3
Junior Member
 
Chinookers's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 13
Thanks for illuminating the root of the problem. The installer set up the Patriot system while the engine was running.
__________________
Our blog: Chinookers Journey
Chinookers is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
blue ox, honda



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Blue Ox Patriot Brake system problem Nanaimo Gear and Product Discussions 3 09-11-2016 06:05 PM
Blue Ox Patriot problem bobf46 Toads and Motorhome Related Towing 18 05-12-2016 07:26 AM
2000 Honda Accord factory fogs lights won't fit with a Blue Ox base plate Wanabee FTer Toads and Motorhome Related Towing 0 10-20-2010 09:56 PM
Honda Fit Golden Gopher Toads and Motorhome Related Towing 3 07-14-2006 03:30 AM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:42 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.