There needs to be a flex line because of the motion of the axle end.
Airstream probably assumes in the case of a tire failure it will take the flex line out way before the steel tube John
Well to sum it all up no matter which way you look, if the tire blows and shreds, you stand a pretty good chance of losing the brakes. Hmmm....heads you lose, tails you lose.
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo. AIR #56
'04 Classic 30' S.O.
'03 GMC Savana 2500
'08 Vespa GTS 250
The flex line is near the center of the wheel. If a tire blows, considering centrifical forces, the shreaded rubber will sling away from the center, not towards it.
Having seen this, I am sure the engineering folks thought of it and deemed it safe. I'm in no position to agree or disagree, it is what it is...for now.
I can only say that being an avid car enthusiast as well, you don't see many, if any car builders put significant sections of the brake lines on the outside sections of the frame. The majorty of the lines are placed on the inside of the frame with only 4 flex hoses or as some upgrade to, stainless steel braided hoses descretely connected to each wheel from the secured line areas.
Now I understand the complexity of doing this on an Airstream with an enclosed underside and other possible logistical roadblocks from the wheels to the brake fluid tank area that cars don't ususally have to overcome. However, even with that complexity, as Jack and Andy pointed out, the risk is not zero, nor do I feel the risk is close to zero that in a blowout situation or something else that the exposed brake line might not be in a good position. Say the inside sidewall of the tire blows, tears some rubber off the tire at 55mph and it slaps around and around in the wheel well housing until it breaks off. Anyone here want to play the laws of probability to see if in fact they loose full braking ability if the line gets damaged or becomes an open line or if it happens on a hill or an awkward place?
As I said, I'm no engineer, but if I were doing this on a car of mine, I'm not sure I'd have done it the same way, but I'm no engineer, just some excessive compulsive individual.
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Computers manufactured by companies such as IBM, Compaq and millions of others are by far the most popular with about 70 million machines in use worldwide. Macintosh fans note that cockroaches are far more numerous than humans and that numbers alone do not denote a higher life form. -NY Times 1991
I don't want to be paranoid or belabor the issue, but the forum is full of posts from folks who have blown a tandem axle tire and didn't even know it until someone passing by signaled them. Compound that by the fact that we have the reports of damage caused by broken steel belts, and I get this uneasy feeling.
Personally I'm sure someone at the table at Airstream raised their hand and questioned this routing decision. So the ultimate answer to this question will be what the consumer experiences as these trailers go into use. It will be interesting to watch the positioning of these lines as the production run goes on. If you eventually see movement of the lines or shielding, you will know whether the school of hard knocks graduated some more students.
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo. AIR #56
'04 Classic 30' S.O.
'03 GMC Savana 2500
'08 Vespa GTS 250
We need to wait and see the results of the "test of time".
This thread contains opinions and observations. The auto manufacturers' "test of time" period occurred long ago. They chose a different routing for hydraulic lines.
I personally am not looking forward to reading about someone who lost every single wheel brake they had just because one tire blew apart. Unfortunately, that is where this current setup is headed.
Electric brakes have a good chance of working on the remaining wheels if one tire blows out & takes that wheel's wiring with it.
By Federal law for trucks/autos, a failure on either the front axle or the rear axle shall not leave the vehicle without the use of the remaining axle. No redundancy in Airstream's installation from what I have read.
A properly installed add-on kit from InlandRV appears to be safer than Airstream's current factory installation.
We were hitching up last night for vacation, Hydraulic pressure is holding the brake system and will not release. We have disconnedted the batteries and released the pressure from the bleeder (at master cylinder) and the trailer will move. when you reconnect the battery, it locks up again. Any troubleshooting advice or thoughts?
Charles
817-205-5372 (cell)
or 214-549-0622 (alternate cell)
We were hitching up last night for vacation, Hydraulic pressure is holding the brake system and will not release. We have disconnedted the batteries and released the pressure from the bleeder (at master cylinder) and the trailer will move. when you reconnect the battery, it locks up again. Any troubleshooting advice or thoughts?
Charles
817-205-5372 (cell)
or 214-549-0622 (alternate cell)
Charles,
It sounds like the EH Actuator is being given a signal to "brake".
Could be the breakaway switch. Make sure eh breakaway switch is not engaged. The pin should be all the way in.
Another option could be a defective brake controller, or even a defective electro-hydraulic unit.
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