Pace Arrow Brakes

[Stan & Karen Stockdale]

I have a 1992 Pace Arrow 37J with the Chevy P30.

I am very unhappy with the performance of the brakes.
The pedal seems firm enough but the stopping power leaves a lot to be disired.

I have checked the pads/rotas and they seem fine, can any members running Pace 37 comment on the brakes, are they all bad? is there anyway to improve the system.

Regards
S & K

[Stan & Karen Stockdale]

I have a 1992 Pace Arrow 37J with the Chevy P30.

I am very unhappy with the performance of the brakes.
The pedal seems firm enough but the stopping power leaves a lot to be disired.

I have checked the pads/rotas and they seem fine, can any members running Pace 37 comment on the brakes, are they all bad? is there anyway to improve the system.

Regards
S & K

[Gary RVRoamer]

I suspect you simply have too much rig for the brakes on that P30 chassis. A 37 footer must be pushing it right to its max - or maybe even beyond. Has it been stretched to add a tag axle? If so, make sure the tag's brakes are working. If they aren't helping out (the tag usually is rated for 5000 lbs), you will definitely have long stopping distances.

[Gregg]

Stan I agree with Gary,
Thats a lot of coach for that chassis.
Check and see if your getting correct bias when braking, are all four corners braking ??
If your pedal is firm and all four corners look good then its as good as it gets.
In the past ten years the technology has gone forward by leaps and bounds.
My 03 WH stops like my wife's BMW !!
Well maybe thats a slight exaggeration but you know what I mean.
Be carefull, aim high while driving and try to anticipate.

Gregg

[Stan & Karen Stockdale]

Thanks Greg,

Remind me not to tailgate you on the road!

Mind you I agree its a lot of rig, and yes I have the tag axles as well.

But I would have thought that Chevy and Fleetwood, while designing soemthing to travel in might have given a few moments to stopping when you get there!

I intend to spend some time checking out my system, but was hopeing to hear from another owner of a Pace 1992 37J, just to find out what the brakes are like, so as I know what I should be aiming for performance wise.
I would have thought that disk brakes all round would have given more confidence than my rig give me.

[Gregg]

Stan,
Go over to Open Roads Class A Fourm I'm sure you can find a early 90's Pace Arrow owner.
It's a huge forum.

http://www.woodalls.com/cforum/index...s/forum/22.cfm

Gregg

[Gary RVRoamer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>But I would have thought that Chevy and Fleetwood, while designing soemthing to travel in might have given a few moments to stopping when you get there! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You've hit the nail on the head, Stan. Chevy & Fleetwood did not design it together and that's the problem. Chevy designed a chassis and rated it for a certain amount of weight (GVWR), probably about 16,000 lb in your case. Fleetwood bought the chassis from Chevy but found that buyers wanted larger rigs (e.g. 37 feet) with lots of amenities, so they doctored up the chassis so it could (barely) support a longer and heavier body than Chevy had provided for. The added the tag axle to increase GVWR and may have even cut and stretched the chassis to make it longer. The tag adds some braking capacity along with weight suspension, but doesn't do much to improve weight distribution, steering or other factors critical to good handling. And they probably didn't do anything for engine or transmission performance either. Chevy engineers may or may not have been consulted on the changes, but you can be sure that Chevy accepted no responsibility for Fleetwood's increase of the GVWR.