I've never been very happy with the brakes on my van since new. 10" drums on on a single axles vans over around 1600KG Gross really are stretching the friendship at times, but mine were worse than normal for a heavy 2 wheel van. 1760Kg Gross. I had the axle replaced with a straight one to raise the van a little. New bearings were also supplied with the axle. On arriving home ( 5 KM) I could smell burning grease. The wheels were too hot to touch. Went back to the local van repair yard and had the brakes readjusted. No better. Hot and inefficient. Took the van to a brake specialist and they readjusted the brakes again. But again, crap. Back home I pull off one of the hubs thinking that maybe the magnet arm bushes had rusted and the arms weren't free to wing when the power was applied as I've seen this problem many times before. Well they were OK, but there was grease running everywhere and It had contaminated the brake and magnet surfaces and the linings were badly glazed. Hell! What to do next. After a bit of pondering I phoned the axle and brake manufacturer for some guidance. Well! They didn't hesitate in asking me to bring the van to their factory whenever I would like. Hitched up and went immediately. Neil at Melbourne Caravan & Trailer Supplies in Carrum Downs Vic. met me with a broad smile and asked me to explain what had been happening. After a short explanation he went out to the van with another employee (Chris) and a load of electrical gadgets on a variety of boards. Checked all the currents from the car etc and shook his head as he had no explanation for the problem. Asked if I could leave the van at the factory and they would get to the bottom of the problem. To cut a long story short the problem was that the van manufacturer had used the incorrect wire (Audio speaker cable) and that the brake shoes had also been adjusted to close to the drums. They machined the drum brake and magnet surfaces, repacked the bearings, replaced the wiring with the correct size, fitted new shoes/linings, and correctly adjusted the brakes. Ten days later I picked up the van. Wow! Best they have ever worked and they only charged me $120 for the replacement shoes/linings. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Neil and Melbourne Caravan & Trailer Supplies for the great service in fixing a problem that wasn't their fault. Next 16'6" van however will be a tandem with 4 wheel brakes. A happy ozjohn.
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Retired Engineer, Ex Park Owner & Caravan Consultant. Holden 2.8 Colorado - Roma Elegance 17'6" Pop Top. Location: Mornington Peninsula Vic.
Daryl. I doubt very much that the owner/ manager/ foreman had any idea what was being used. The sparkie probably just grabbed what was at hand. When the builders are really busy quite often it a contactor that has been brought in for a day or two to relieve the load on the in-house sparkie. Either way at least I've had the opportunity to publically say thanks. Most of the time on different forums we only get to read post complaining about poor service. Cheers, ozjohn. (Now retired. Hippee!)
-- Edited by ozjohn on Friday 9th of July 2010 04:04:42 PM
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Retired Engineer, Ex Park Owner & Caravan Consultant. Holden 2.8 Colorado - Roma Elegance 17'6" Pop Top. Location: Mornington Peninsula Vic.