Community Forums

DogHouse Jim · 02-17-2014, 03:30 PM

Driving my RV back to storage today, I noticed the orange neetle in the Air pressure dial drops to 70 I assume pounds every time I apply the brakes. It will slowly go back to 110 pounds when I increase rpm's but at idle it will not recover. the fleetwood owners manual refers you to the Chassis Operator's/Owner's Guide/Manual. which I don't have. Is there a place on-line I could download it. Thanks for all your help.

**CLIFFTALL** · 02-17-2014, 03:32 PM

What chassis do you have ?

DogHouse Jim · 02-17-2014, 03:36 PM

I have a Freightliner chassis. forgot to mention it.

**CLIFFTALL** · 02-17-2014, 03:42 PM

I'll move this thread there for you.

EngineerMike · 02-17-2014, 03:52 PM

I don't think 70 is a problem, but you shouldn't lose that much air on a single brake application. I'm thinking multiple applications might get you in a jamb. Could be you have an air leak at one cylinder & its time to rebuild that cylinder. Could also be your compressor is weak & not rebuilding pressure properly. Take it to a frame shop that's good on air brake systems. Or you could bone up on doing the rebuilds yourself. Most of the kits are pretty cheap (well, maybe not a compressor rebuild kit), and DIY labor is free other than the stiff neck, etc. Skinned knuckles- priceless.

cowrv39 · 02-17-2014, 03:54 PM

DogHouse Jim,
I used to own a 2000 39z. I had problems with the air system. The first was the air dryer. I learned the hard way. This must be replaced at least once a year. The 2nd problem was that I lost pressure at the rv park when I went into register. I coul not release the air brakes. It turns out that the pipe from the compressor had some how unscrewed. It was stripped. The mechanic came out and fixed the problem. He re-tapped the pipe and then I had air pressure.The very last problem I had was that The air hoses under the rear of the chassis were loose. I was on I40 and the hoses just came undone The low pressure was alarm. I just coasted off the freeway exit to a dirt parking lot. I called roadside assistance and they told me the mechanic was 2 hrs away. Grrr. While I was waiting. A gentleman in a bus conversion said he would look at it. He had all of the large size truck wrenches. I was reluctant but we finally figured out. The hoses were not tight at the unions. So I got under there and tightened every single hose joint that I could find. This solved the problem. Eventually I stopped at a truck stop to have my oil changed and I had the mechanic double check all of the hoses. I didn't have any more leaks. When I got home I went to harbor freight and purchased to sets of large truckwrenches to keep in the RV and perform my own checks when I was during curbside maintenance. I hope this helps.

-Brian

DogHouse Jim · 02-17-2014, 04:01 PM

What are the two air pressure needles for? Cause it seems that the orange needle that's pressure.

emiddleb · 02-17-2014, 07:14 PM

To answer your original question, there are some online sources for docs on your chassis.

If you go here Owner Information on the right side you'll see links where you can download Operator and Maint manuals, as well as "Knowing your Chassis" doc. However, they are always the latest-and-greatest and not sure if they'll cover your 2000 or not.

But if you are in this forum and go to the top of the page, in the banner underneath the Forum name you'll see a toolbar with "User CP, Register..." and the 3rd clicky is "Files" which will take you to files you have uploaded.

Under the "Chassis" selection are many files, the "Freightliner Chassis Manual 2000-2005" which might have some info for you.

Other than that, I would suggest you contact Freightliner Help at 800-FTL-HELP and maybe they can get you other docs.

ladagobago · 02-18-2014, 11:46 AM

there was discussion here regarding the low air.
http://www.justanswer.com/heavy-equi...c-chassis.html

DogHouse Jim · 02-20-2014, 04:35 PM

Thanks everyone for all your help.

I have one follow up question. After reading the documentation, I now understand that the orange needle indicates the rear Brakes, and the green needle indicates to front brakes. it is the rear brake that losses most of the air pressure when yo use the brakes. the front brakes seems to hold at 100 PSI whereas the rears go down to 70 PSI.

The bottom line question is, are the air supplies separate from each other, so that the front brakes will continue to work.??? the reason I ask is because I have get a mobile repairman if I can't drive it to a Fleetwood repair center. Does anyone one know of a good mobile chassis repair person in the Vancouver WA area?

Hooligan · 02-21-2014, 09:22 PM

You may find this manual on air brake systems and how they work helpful.
http://www.mpi.mb.ca/PDFs/AirBrakeMa...alComplete.pdf

With everything shutdown you may be able to hear an air leak. Important to drain all air from the system before working on any of the lines or parts...

Chapter Nine of the manual has a air brake test that should be done before a trip. It may help you to trouble shoot your system.