Jump to content

Stuck Brakes


Raquel

Recommended Posts

Well, we've gone and done it. We came to a park off the mountain and alongside the Feather River to wait for Trish to finish work. I swear that the amount of rain we've had must have set some sort of record, Additionally, it's much more humid down here than we thought. Sitting for 90 days, our poor baby truck hasn't been run in all that time. Yesterday I went out to start it so that we could take it for a drive and I felt so good when it fired right up, no hesitation. I put it into gear and ... the brakes are stuck. A little bit of rocking (and I think the driver's side being the 'drive' side) the left side broke loose. No amount of trying to move the truck would unstick the right side, so I guess it's time to crawl underneath and beat on the brake drum with a big hammer. Grrrrr.

 

Next time we're driving the truck a little more often.

Trish & Raquel

--------

"Road Runner" -- 2005 Volvo VNL780, 500hp Cummins ISX, Ultra-Shift, ET-Hitch, 198" wb

"Wile E." -- 2013 Heartland Landmark San Antonio

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bill, we had parked really close to the front of the trailer so backing had to be done VERY carefully. Trish crawled under toay and banged all around the drum. I got in and tried to pull forward again, only managing to dig a deeper hole. Then in reverse I felt it give a little and kept it on the back side of the hole with the brake. In low, I held the brake with one foot and gave it throttle with the other. As soon as I hit the throttle and released the brake, it popped loose. I'm sure it was Trish's banging that did it though.

Trish & Raquel

--------

"Road Runner" -- 2005 Volvo VNL780, 500hp Cummins ISX, Ultra-Shift, ET-Hitch, 198" wb

"Wile E." -- 2013 Heartland Landmark San Antonio

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Raquel -- glad to see you have learned the strategy of sending someone ELSE under the truck!!! That is important to learn fairly fast when you have a truck! ;)

 

I try not to let the truck sit longer than a month....and rarely that. :)

Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member
Living on the road since 2000

PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail
2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it)
2022 New Horizons 43' 5er
2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 
2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU
No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units
2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar power
www.jackdanmayer.com
Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jack, it's all good now. It was parked in the grass with the accompanying ants, spiders and God know what else. Topping it all off, she had 10-year old dirt and grease all over her hands. Eeeew! Now it's on the blacktop so the next trip under there Trish won't have to worry about the critters. :rolleyes:

 

We also try not to let the truck sit for more than a month, but this winter it just got away from us.

Trish & Raquel

--------

"Road Runner" -- 2005 Volvo VNL780, 500hp Cummins ISX, Ultra-Shift, ET-Hitch, 198" wb

"Wile E." -- 2013 Heartland Landmark San Antonio

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Raquel,

My truck's brakes were also stuck when I started it up this weekend after 4 months sitting near the ocean in Florida. It did move forward, but clearly some of the brakes were not releasing. I backed up and went forward again, and repeated that several times. Finally it seemed to roll OK without power, so I just drove out of the yard and put on about 20 miles, lots of stop and go. Seems to be fine now.

Pete

2007 NuWa Hitchhiker Discover America 339RSB

2000 Volvo VNL64T770 with TrailerSaver hitch, wooden flat bed, Detroit 12.7L S60, 10-sp AutoShift, still tandem

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, for the newbies like me, what is causing the brakes to stick in the rain. Mine did it once. Is it metallic brake linings rusting to the drums? Or is it the linkage?

 

Inquiring minds would like to know.

 

Thanks,

 

Jim

 

BTW - my Big Boy is now stored at the house because I am working on the GPS/camera system. So, each Sunday, I take it for a drive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jim, it's my understanding that moisture sitting in the brakes for awhile causes the metallic shoes and drums to rust together. Sitting here alongside the Feather River it's really humid to go along with all the rain we've had.

Trish & Raquel

--------

"Road Runner" -- 2005 Volvo VNL780, 500hp Cummins ISX, Ultra-Shift, ET-Hitch, 198" wb

"Wile E." -- 2013 Heartland Landmark San Antonio

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Raquel,

 

Now that you have the brakes unstuck, are you thinking about coming to the Rally in Sparks?

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

event.png    

AZCACOIDIAKSMNMOMTNENVNMNDOKSDTNTXUTWYxlg.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chad, we haven't decided absolutely, but we are looking at it very positively. (I should be a politician!) :P

Trish & Raquel

--------

"Road Runner" -- 2005 Volvo VNL780, 500hp Cummins ISX, Ultra-Shift, ET-Hitch, 198" wb

"Wile E." -- 2013 Heartland Landmark San Antonio

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope to see you there and finally be able to meat in person.

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

event.png    

AZCACOIDIAKSMNMOMTNENVNMNDOKSDTNTXUTWYxlg.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For those of us that have trouble with sticking brakes, I have found that a ~3' foot piece of ~1" rod used like a pool cue (sort of) works a lot better that a hammer for jarring them loose. It works for frozen ones any way! Hope this helps next time. :)

2009 Volvo 670VLN

2012 Forrest River Cedar Creek 36RE

1999 Honda Valkyrie Interstate

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brake shoes can stick to the drums for a variety of reasons. We pick up trailers that sometimes have been sitting for years and the brake shoes are almost one with the drum. The anchor lock brake chambers, some tractors have them on just one axle, some on both is where the problem will be. If you are going to be sitting for a while and want to prevent the problem, just start the unit, let it air up completely and release the brakes, with a chock under the wheel of course. If you do some thing like that say every 2 weeks you will not have the problem. I wouldn't be afraid to slip something between the brake shoe and drum before you park, something like a plasticised manila folder, something that will easily chew away on the first brake application.

 

Hitting the brake shoe as opposed to the lining when trying to break them loose is the tricky part. You can easily damage the lining. Make sure the brake chamber has retracted completely.

Jeff Beyer temporarily retired from Trailer Transit
2000 Freightliner Argosy Cabover
2008 Work and Play 34FK
Homebase NW Indiana, no longer full time

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Would airing up the system using an electric compressor release the brake shoes without having to start the truck?

 

We had a handle for our lug wrenches that was a 1/2" by 36" steel bar, we ground a notch in one end to fit over the edge of the brake backing plate so we could hammer it without worrying about it slipping off the backing plate and hitting the lining.

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...