2005 Brake Problems - Montana Owners Club

MuddyPaws · 11-06-2004, 11:30 AM

We've had intermittant brake failures in our 2955 since it rolled off the lot a week ago. We have a Jordan 2020 brake controller that we've been usnig for almost 4 years without problem. I have no reason to believe the controller has gon bad.

On our first trip the brakes failed about 5-6 times in about 70 miles. The code on the Jordan displays 88.8, indicating a short in the system. Letting off the brake and hitting it again would work every time.

We tried to go somewhere this weekend and the brakes got progressivly worse. We made it about 5 miles before giving up. The brakes were failing 70% of the time, the Jordan was displaying up to 24 AMPS sometimes, then 88.8 (short circuit). I could feel the brakes 'pulsing' with every rotation of the wheels, which leads me to believe that the problem is a frayed wire inside one of the drums.

Needless to say we took it back to the dealer and left it there. But we don't expect to get it back until the end of the month.

We're not too happy at the moment. We've haven't had a braking problem like this in over 30 years of towing. It doesn't say good things about the assembly quality of Dexter axles and/or Keystone. Bit I've seen several other posts about Dexter on the board so I guess this is 'the norm'?

Sorry to sound so negative, we've never had to cut a trip short before. Did we make a very expensive mistake?

sreigle · 11-06-2004, 02:33 PM

Muddypaws, I'm sorry you're having brake problems. It does sound like a short, either inside the drums or in the run of the wiring. Like anything else, things can go wrong. Hopefully yours will be easy to find and fix. I don't think you made a mistake in buying the Montana. Even the million dollar plus Prevost coaches sometimes have problems. We once stopped to see if we could help a couple whose Carriage Cameo fifthwheel had plopped both wheels sideways onto the ground when they pulled onto the shoulder. That's a more expensive FW than the Montana. Hope your brake problem is fixed quickly so you can finish that trip.

Montana_1767 · 11-08-2004, 03:25 PM

MuddyPaws, we had a similar problem with our 3670. Signal from brake controller would show shorted then open, back and forth. I found that the brake wire where it comes out of the frame was too long and allowed it to rub on the first wheel it connected to. Had to replace the wiring, shorten and tie it off to the frame.

Northstar · 11-08-2004, 07:58 PM

Yes I have a feeling you have a short in your wiring. Keep us posted. Montana is a fine coach. Happyrving.....

Karl · 11-09-2004, 07:54 AM

This is a copy of another post I had made regarding a similar problem.

We did have an intermittent short in our brakes also. After a "not so fun" trip from Southern Wisconisn till I found an RV service place just outside of St. Louis, we finally got it fixed.

After a number of other "troubleshooting" tries, which included rewiring almost all the way from the hitchpin to the brake drums, the service tech pulled the wheels. The first wheel pulled showed the problem. The wires going to the electromagnet were not secured in the little clip that is supposed to hold them in place. This allowed the wires to rub on the inside of the drum, finally rubbing off the insulation and creating a short when the now bare wire would touch the drum. He put in a new magnet and wires, and "voila!" the problem was fixed.

By the way, the dealer was BYERLY"S in Eureka, MO. They do not sell Montana's but do sell other Keystone products. They found a way to take us in even though we were just passing through, and got us on our way. The service tech, SEAN, was as accomodating as anyone could be. They were also able to get the cost of repair covered by the axle manufacturer. I heartily endorse Byerly's as a customer-oriented dealer and take every opportunity I can to stop there and purchase something when I pass through.

Broome101 · 11-09-2004, 11:36 AM

Karl that's good to hear that some folks still go the extra mile to help people out.

MuddyPaws · 11-13-2004, 04:32 AM

Here's 'Part Two'.

The Montana dealer has had my 2955 for a week and they are saying they can't find anything wrong. I don't know if they pulled the hubs.

Now they want to take my truck for a week. My concern is that I've been using the Jordan 2020 controller for about 4 years and it has never failed before, it's too coincidental.

What I'm thinking is that when they installed the 5'th wheel hitch they either pinched the existing wire harness or they made a mistake when they installed the connector in the bed of the truck. Or maybe it has something to do with the pin wiight deforning the bed of the truck & pinching a wire somewhere.

That's it's an intermittant problem makes it especially frustrating.

lawrenceb42106 · 11-13-2004, 05:42 AM

MuddyPaws,

We had a similar problem with our brakes. We took it to 3 different dealers for repairs over a years time. Sometimes you had good brakes and at other times poor brakes. Got tired of going to dealers and checked it out myself. What I found was the wires inside of the axle tube were worn through the insulation causing a shot at times. I replaced the wires going to the bad axle and has been good every-since. We paid overs $500.00 dollars to dealers to do nothing. They even changed brake controllers and replaced all the connectors on the wires. These were on the AL-KO Kober axles. You may want to check that if you have that type of axle.

MuddyPaws · 11-13-2004, 04:59 PM

Today I hooked my truck up to the Trailer I sold to my son. Guess what! Same result. The problem is in the wiring the RV dealership did to add the connector in the truck bed.

My guess is that when they intalled the new connector and the fiver hitch in less than an hour that they may have been 'rushing' it a bit.

Oh well, I assume that they will be able to fix the problem. I'm relieved that it wasn't a problem with the Montana after all.

Russ

rames14 · 11-14-2004, 09:10 AM

Glad to hear you found the problem and that it wasn't the 5er. It is nice to hear that the solution was pretty simple. But, sorry to hear that you had to cut a trip short. Best of luck on your next outing.

MuddyPaws · 11-18-2004, 12:39 PM

And the Saga Continues!

I just heard from the RV Dealership.

They say there's nothing wrong! I rather firmly suggested that they try again and informed them that I will NOT take the Montana back uintil they find and fix the problem. The brakes failed as I drove it out of their lot the day we bought it, I should have refused it then.

Would you drive it, knowing that any second the brakes could fail?

Don't you just love intermittant problems?

On top of that they said they fixed an electrical problem in my unit. A problem I didn't have. (Kinda makes me thing these guys aren't the place to be taking it)

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