Brake problem...

[The Dukes]

Left Laughlin this am trying to escape from an expected 50,000 Harleys coming to town (many all ready there). Got to near Barstow, CA and a motorist alerted us to a trailer wheel problem on our month old 3150 with 1350 towing miles. Got off highway and found rt. rear wheel smoking like the devil. Not any kind of RV dealer/repair service in Barstow, nearest in Hisperia 35 miles away. Wound up at Tom's Welding on old Hwy. 58. The place has every remnant from the old days of Route 66 in it including the owner. He pulled off the wheel & brake drum and found that the bearing buddy had been grossly overfilled, blowing out the inner wheel seal and the grease therein was burning, brake shoes saturated with grease and the self adjusting mechanism part of the brake assembly fell out in pieces as he removed the brake drum. To make a long story short, he had the needed parts in stock and got us back on the road. We'll fight with Montana for reimbursement after we get home

[PapaBeav]

Warren, we had the same over greasing problem on our new rig last year, except that they over grease 3 of the 4 wheels. We had them replace all of them with new brake assemblies. I think when I posted this last year someone else responded that they had the same problem. We just got ours out of the shop today for some warranty work. $4500.00, OUCH!! Glad we didn't have to foot the bill.

[HamRad]

Warren we're sorry to hear of you problem. Hope it is not he area that is causing problems since we will be headed that way tomorrow. Good to hear you hooked up with someone who could get you going again. Happy Trails the rest of the way home! Dennis and Mary Kay

[1retired06]

Glad it was caught before damage to the axle spindle. General consensus is that buddy bearings are pretty much useless and the proper maintenance for wheel bearings is to pull and pack the old fashioned way. Good luck with Keystone.

[CORattler]

X2
We had to have 3 of the 4 brake assemblies replaced after 5 months of ownership due to over greasing by Lippert. The rig wasn't braking well at all and I had the P3 turned up to the max setting.
Lippert paid to have it corrected at Camping World (who did a great job) and the brakes work as they should.

quote:Originally posted by PapaBeav

Warren, we had the same over greasing problem on our new rig last year, except that they over grease 3 of the 4 wheels. We had them replace all of them with new brake assemblies. I think when I posted this last year someone else responded that they had the same problem. We just got ours out of the shop today for some warranty work. $4500.00, OUCH!! Glad we didn't have to foot the bill.

[CORattler]

If you don't get any help from Keystone, contact Lippert. If you need info for Lippert, PM me and I'll give you the info I have.
Glad you're OK

quote:Originally posted by The Dukes

Left Laughlin this am trying to escape from an expected 50,000 Harleys coming to town (many all ready there). Got to near Barstow, CA and a motorist alerted us to a trailer wheel problem on our month old 3150 with 1350 towing miles. Got off highway and found rt. rear wheel smoking like the devil. Not any kind of RV dealer/repair service in Barstow, nearest in Hisperia 35 miles away. Wound up at Tom's Welding on old Hwy. 58. The place has every remnant from the old days of Route 66 in it including the owner. He pulled off the wheel & brake drum and found that the bearing buddy had been grossly overfilled, blowing out the inner wheel seal and the grease therein was burning, brake shoes saturated with grease and the self adjusting mechanism part of the brake assembly fell out in pieces as he removed the brake drum. To make a long story short, he had the needed parts in stock and got us back on the road. We'll fight with Montana for reimbursement after we get home

[drsmart]

Aren't these Dexter axle assemblies that arrive at Keystone ready to be mounted to the Lippert frame?

Dave

[The Dukes]

Thanks everyone for the info. We will be home the first of the week and I'll start with our dealer. Definately want the other three wheels pulled and inspected. Warren

[richfaa]

That happened on our 06 3400 . After a couple of short trips We determined we had little or no Rv brakes. Had our dealer pull the wheels and three of four were blown out and covered in grease. Dealer called dexter and they paid for the replacement of all assemblies without question. Never have had another issue.

[twindman]

Rich,
What went wrong to the tune of $4500 on a new trailer??? Doesn't make one feel all warm and fuzzy about Keystone.

quote:Originally posted by PapaBeav

Warren, we had the same over greasing problem on our new rig last year, except that they over grease 3 of the 4 wheels. We had them replace all of them with new brake assemblies. I think when I posted this last year someone else responded that they had the same problem. We just got ours out of the shop today for some warranty work. $4500.00, OUCH!! Glad we didn't have to foot the bill.

[CORattler]

Dave,
You are absolutely right! I must have Lippert on the brain (thankfully it's curable )
It was Dexter and they resolved the issue to my satisfaction.

quote:Originally posted by drsmart

Aren't these Dexter axle assemblies that arrive at Keystone ready to be mounted to the Lippert frame?

Dave

[kjansen]

PapaBear
$4500 seems out of line. I had an over abundance of grease also. I went to a local trailer parts store and bought all new assemblies, backing plate, brake shoes, and magnet for $80 each rated for 7000 pounds each. took off hub, removed the 5 bolts and bolted the new assembly back on. very easy and quick.

[richfaa]

What did they do that cost 4500.00?????

[PapaBeav]

Well where do I start. They replaced the sink because of hair line cracks, but when I got home I looked underneath to see what they did and low and behold they forgot to put 3 of the 4 brackets that hold the sink up back on. It is a wonder that it didn't fall down on the ride home. They replaced the toilet because we were finding water around the base periodically. They replaced the hydraulics manifold because it was leaking (again) (but they forgot to tighten one of the knobs and they left 2 of the backing plate screws out). New arms for the (new) couch because the staples were coming out. Awning wasn't closing properly. Slide toppers weren't rolling up straight. New propane regulator (changeover reg failed). Replaced the latch on the sewer boom, it kept falling off. And the biggie was that they had to rebuild the front end and closet (40 hours labor). No frame flex and no cracks just poor workmanship. When Keystone started to put it together they forgot to seal and bolt the floor to the frame up front causing excessive movement and that is what caused the divider in the bedroom closet to break apart and the caulking to separate near the bedroom slide street side. We are not very impressed with the quality of these new units. I know you have to work the bugs out but I think this was a little ridiculous.

[richfaa]

OK..It sounded like 4500.00 to replace the brakes.

[PapaBeav]

If you read the first post, the brake problem was last year.

[The Dukes]

Started with our dealer and they referred me to Keystone customer service regarding the above posted brake problem.

I took pictures and have the grease soaked parts. Keystone requested the pictures, invoice for the repair and a written description of the problem. Hopefully there won't be any big problem in getting reimbursed for this. The Keystone rep wouldn't come right out and say so, but I got the impression that this all too common of a problem with the Dexter axles. Warren

[jrhaman]

I now have a SOB, an Alpine 3640. I have had little or no brakes on the trailer for nearly 18 months. Took it to an axle shop in McAllen Tx to have it checked out. To make a long story short all 4 wheels had blown seals from over greasing. So much grease everything had to be replace on all 4 wheels. Keystone requested fotos, copy of invoice, and my explanation of what happened. Since I was out of Keystone warranty they turned it over to Dexter who offered me 86% the repair cost. I jumped at it and all is well now. Thing was I took it to Camping World in Colorado Springs for warranty and had them check the brakes when the unit was 2 months old and the said they were fine.

[dieselguy]

Reading repair experiences in this topic makes me really feel for the people that either just can't or don't have the equipment to fix what's broken whether under warranty or not. Today's craftsman for the most part either just don't know or don't "give a hoot". Sadly when you take it back for a "do over" ... you generally get the same "level of hoot" doing the rework. Don't get me wrong ... there are a few dependable craftsmen out there, but it's getting fewer and farther between ... I know as I'm in those circles of expertise every day.

[PapaBeav]

quote:Originally posted by dieselguy

Today's craftsman for the most part either just don't know or don't "give a hoot".

"AMEN"