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bkahler · 09-13-2007, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zamboni

bkalher
Do you have stock steel wheels or aluminum?
It will be great to have another MH at the Branson Rally.

Zomboni,

The outers are alcoa's and the two inner rear are steel. We're looking forward the Branson trip, we haven't been there since we got married.

All,

Well we almost got the motorhome tonight. They finally got through checking all of the tires and determined that "none are accceptable" and one worse than the rest. So after work I drove to Little Rock to pick it up figuring I'd tow the Honda back with the motorhome. Of course that was on the assumption that I brought everything I needed for the tow bar hookup

The total bill still more than we were happy with but not much we could do about it. The good news is after taking a test drive out on the Interstate the ride is considerably better. Better to the point I was trying to determine if there was any vibration left. Hard to tell when you're driving by yourself. The bad news is the motorhome didn't have a whole lot of brake pedal available. It appears they didn't bleed them enough. So, I ended driving the motorhome back and they are going to bleed the brakes some more and see if that cures it. They just felt real spongy where before they were very solid.

Hopefully I can pick it up tomorrow after work, that is if I remember to take the right key for the hitch pin lock

Rather embarrassing to find that I brought everything I needed except a key......

I really appreciate everyones replies and suggestions.

More tomorrow.

Brad

bkahler · 09-14-2007, 09:00 PM

Ok, another update. No we still haven't picked up the motorhome as yet. Stopped by this evening to pick it up and did a quick check on the brakes and there was no improvement. So the night shift foreman said they would bleed them again and we could stop back in an hour or so.

So Susan and I went and had dinner and did some shopping. We stopped to pick it up and I checked the brakes and guess what, this time they went all the way to the floor

To make a long story short they are going to buy a pressure bleeder and we should get the motorhome back monday or tuesday.

Good thing we didn't have plans to go camping over the weekend

Will let you know what happens in the next installment of our repair saga

Brad

bkahler · 09-14-2007, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zamboni

bkalher
Do you have stock steel wheels or aluminum?
It will be great to have another MH at the Branson Rally.

Zamboni, forgot to mention. Tonight when I looked at the wheels I realized that all of them are alcoa wheels. The inners were so dirty I thought they were regular steel wheels

Brad

swebster · 09-15-2007, 08:15 PM

Brad,
Just catching up with your story here. Sorry to hear this is going on. I was mentioned in an earlier post about how hard it was to replace a hydroboost but actually I replaced the hydroboost (p/s) pump. My hydroboost unit is still original.

I also suspect your mechanic doesn't know what they are doing. How someone could replace an MC and HB and NOT bleed the brakes is beyond me. I would bet they might not have bench bled the MC before installation which introduced even more air to the system. Lastly, not having a $35 vacuum bleeder is a red flag than they don't know how to work on motorhomes. While you can technically gravity bleed a 35' P30 it's no fun and who has that kind of time on their hands.

I had an RV Dealer work on mine once (only once) for brake work. $1000 and two front calipers/rotors/pads later I got it home and found the the MC was leaking. They completely misdiagnosted the problem and replaced the wrong items.

One question, when the pedal went to the floor could you "pump it up" with a few strokes until there was pressure, or was it truly dead?

bkahler · 09-15-2007, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swebster

Brad,
Just catching up with your story here. Sorry to hear this is going on. I was mentioned in an earlier post about how hard it was to replace a hydroboost but actually I replaced the hydroboost (p/s) pump. My hydroboost unit is still original.

I also suspect your mechanic doesn't know what they are doing. How someone could replace an MC and HB and NOT bleed the brakes is beyond me. I would bet they might not have bench bled the MC before installation which introduced even more air to the system. Lastly, not having a $35 vacuum bleeder is a red flag than they don't know how to work on motorhomes. While you can technically gravity bleed a 35' P30 it's no fun and who has that kind of time on their hands.

I had an RV Dealer work on mine once (only once) for brake work. $1000 and two front calipers/rotors/pads later I got it home and found the the MC was leaking. They completely misdiagnosted the problem and replaced the wrong items.

One question, when the pedal went to the floor could you "pump it up" with a few strokes until there was pressure, or was it truly dead?

This has definitely been a painful experience

.

When we tried the brakes Friday night and they went to the floor they didn't seem to want to pump up any. My experience has been if its air in the line they eventually pump a little bit. I don't think they really needed to replace the hydroboost but its done and once they get the problems resolve at least we have new components that we shouldn't have to worry about for quite a few years to come.

We have another place that we used previously to replace all of the rubber brake lines and they did a fantastic job of bleeding the lines. The system had great "brake pedal" after that. The manager of that shop said the secret was to pump the pedal real slow and easy and bleed on each stroke. Its definitely obvious that this other shop doesn't have a clue. The only reason we used them this time is they were the only shop I found that could spin balance the tires. While there for the tires on a whim I decided to have them do the brake mc since we knew it was leaking. Originally I was going to have the 1st shop do the mc. Thats what I get for trying to save a service trip

Brad

swebster · 09-17-2007, 06:23 AM

Brad,
Sounds like you need to bring it back to the your "preferred shop". Stomping on the pedal will compress the air bubbles within the fluid until eventually you get pedal pressure. Over time the bubbles expand and you loose pressure again.

To the floor with no pressure almost sounds like low/no fluid. I would be really concerned about their installation at this point.

bkahler · 09-17-2007, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swebster

To the floor with no pressure almost sounds like low/no fluid. I would be really concerned about their installation at this point.

I'm a little concerned myself but am waiting for the final outcome before passing judgement. I think we should be hearing from them tomorrow as to whether they have them fixed.

Before our next trip I'm thinking about taking it to our preferred shop and have them check the pads and give the brakes a once over. I looked at the pads and rotors myself and they looked ok but one final opinion sure can't hurt.

Thanks,

Brad

bkahler · 09-19-2007, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottanlily

The written initial estimate is most critical ,the BAR can come down hard on any shop for failing to do just that .did the shop not give you any idea of how much the repairs would cost?

Scott,

Could you provide me with more detail on the BAR you referenced above?

Its beginning to look like we're going to have trouble getting the motorhome back with good brakes. I've been trying to talk with the service manager and the night foreman for several hours this evening and I'm always getting put on hold for long perios (20 minutes, 16 minutes, etc). Night shift is saying they can't do anything more for it and that I aught to take it somewhere that can pressure bleed the brakes. I still can't get through the the service manager to let him know that BS isn't going to fly.

I'll keep ya'll posted.

Thanks,

Brad

wkerfoot · 09-19-2007, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bkahler

Scott,

Could you provide me with more detail on the BAR you referenced above?

Its beginning to look like we're going to have trouble getting the motorhome back with good brakes. I've been trying to talk with the service manager and the night foreman for several hours this evening and I'm always getting put on hold for long perios (20 minutes, 16 minutes, etc). Night shift is saying they can't do anything more for it and that I aught to take it somewhere that can pressure bleed the brakes. I still can't get through the the service manager to let him know that BS isn't going to fly.

I'll keep ya'll posted.

Thanks,

Brad

Brad,

Bureau of Automobile Repair. That is in California, there should be a similiar state agency in Arkansas.

Bill

Alumatube · 09-19-2007, 07:32 PM

Hmmm. I have been searching and have found no mention of such in Arkansas. I will try calling the BBB tomorrow and see what they recommend.

I will be calling the shop manager and/or the owner tomorrow. We took the thing in there with good brakes--it had better come out of there with better brakes (after $600 of brake work)! If they can't do that then they will pay to tow it to a shop that can, and pay to have the work done. If that doesn't happen, then I will be calling in whomever I think will be able to help me--BBB, any state agency, etc. Any recommendations, other than a BAR, if we have one?

Thanks,
Susan

scottanlily · 09-19-2007, 08:00 PM

Well you guys are right ,I see no BAR in your state , so then Im wondering
who monitors your automotive repair problems .there must be somthing .
Well ,check your state government offices for some other type of regulatory
office that does ,department of consumer affairs would be the first thing .
I hope they have that .I would get the vehical towed out and to a competent shop ,these guys totally have no clue ,and the whole hydroboost replacement and all surely RED FLAGGED me .keep records of all phone calls ,names ,dates and times of conversations NO WRITTEN ESTIMATE ,and take them to small claims or whatever you need to do .Its a mess no doubt ,but you deserve the best job possible and your not getting that .Ill try to find out more info tonight ,Ill let you know if I find out anything ,go ahead and call the BBB see
if they have a recommended place to call for help with this .

Scott of scottanlily

scottanlily · 09-19-2007, 08:09 PM

What I have found is the Arkansas department of consumer and regulatory affairs ,consumer protection division at 800 482 8982 in Little rock .
hopefully this will yield some results .

scott

bkahler · 09-20-2007, 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottanlily

What I have found is the Arkansas department of consumer and regulatory affairs ,consumer protection division at 800 482 8982 in Little rock .
hopefully this will yield some results .

scott

Scott,

Thanks for all the information. I'm turning over negotiations with this company to my wife Susan (alumatube). She is much more persuasive than I am

. Hopefully we'll know more sometime this morning as to what the outcome is.

I appreciate everyones comments on this problem.

Brad

bkahler · 09-25-2007, 04:55 AM

Well, if things go right (doubtful) we should get the motorhome tonight. They seem to have communications problems between shifts and no one could figure out if they pressure bled the brakes. Seems to me all they had to do was push on the brake pedal and see if it went to the floor.

Oh well, hopefully a final report tonight.

Brad

vswingfield · 09-25-2007, 12:53 PM

Hi Brad and Susan,

Best of luck with the motorhome tonight.

bkahler · 09-25-2007, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vswingfield

Hi Brad and Susan,

Best of luck with the motorhome tonight.

Vaughn,

Apparently luck didn't come into play. When I got there the service manager was just pulling out of the shop for a test drive. They had just finished pressure bleeding the brakes. When he came back he said I could test drive it if I liked but he didn't think they were right yet. I got in and did a pull forward and stop routine in their parking lot and he was right, the brakes still weren't right.

It takes way to much effort to stop. He suggested that its like the hydroboost isn't doing anything. I tend to agree with him. To much effort to stop and the peddle travels to far.

So, they are tearing into them again tonight and are trying to locate another hydroboost.

We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Brad

myfirstrv · 09-27-2007, 03:10 PM

Brad,
I am sorry to hear your story, this sounds like my life.
Who knew camping would be soooo much fun and so in expensive.
I have a solution - I have decided to buy a lottery ticket tonight , this will solve all my MH problems
Good luck and keep us posted
Rob

vswingfield · 09-27-2007, 03:19 PM

Gosh Brad,

Sounds like you need to tie a rope around the Service Manager’s neck and use him for an anchor.

guy99 · 09-27-2007, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bkahler

...
Apparently luck didn't come into play
Brad

To quote Albert King "if I wasn't for bad luck, you know I wouldn't have no luck at all".

swebster · 09-27-2007, 07:53 PM

Brad & Susan,
AAARRRRGGGGGG! Sorry to hear you are still dealing with this. Please keep us all posted. I'm not sure all their collective experience is going to help....blaming the hydroboost [part] sounds like one more excuses/delay. I'm convinced at this point that they have no idea how to work on a P30 with hydroboost brakes. I think you need to move the motorhome to another shop and get your money back from these clowns.