Brake failure

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We just got back from the Carolinas Pod Rally at the Calhoun Falls State Park in South Carolina. Since cell coverage was spotty, I could not really fire up the computer and post from there.

On the way down to the park, I did not notice anything until we were getting close. Then it seemed like the braking was uneven. When we got to the park, I found out why. We backed in and when I got out to chock the wheels, I saw the wires for the door-side brake were dragging. I did not recall running over anything that could have hooked the wires but thought it could have been possible. So I went to the local hardware store and spent too much to get two barrel connectors with shrink-tubing, then crawled under to put the wires together. I did that and noticed that the brake backing plate was not solid. I thought that strange so I went to the slide-side and checked. It was solid there. Back to the slide-side and this time, I tried turning the brake backing plate, and it could easily be turned. I shot a video of this to send to the dealer's repair shop which had installed the new axle in January. I won't try to post the video here, but here are a couple of pictures.

Knowing that this was not normal, I called my dealer who had installed the new axle in January. I also had a local RV repairman come out to the campground to check and make sure we would be safe. He is the one who removed the brakes and put the hub on so we could get home.

I sent pictures to my dealer's shop this morning. I will contact Lippert also as well as report this to the NHTSB. It may be a production run of axles has bad welds. I can't imagine that my axle would be the only one affected so any in that production run should be recalled and checked.

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StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6285	Topic: Brake failure Posted: 24 Sep 2019 at 7:51am
	We just got back from the Carolinas Pod Rally at the Calhoun Falls State Park in South Carolina. Since cell coverage was spotty, I could not really fire up the computer and post from there. On the way down to the park, I did not notice anything until we were getting close. Then it seemed like the braking was uneven. When we got to the park, I found out why. We backed in and when I got out to chock the wheels, I saw the wires for the door-side brake were dragging. I did not recall running over anything that could have hooked the wires but thought it could have been possible. So I went to the local hardware store and spent too much to get two barrel connectors with shrink-tubing, then crawled under to put the wires together. I did that and noticed that the brake backing plate was not solid. I thought that strange so I went to the slide-side and checked. It was solid there. Back to the slide-side and this time, I tried turning the brake backing plate, and it could easily be turned. I shot a video of this to send to the dealer's repair shop which had installed the new axle in January. I won't try to post the video here, but here are a couple of pictures. Knowing that this was not normal, I called my dealer who had installed the new axle in January. I also had a local RV repairman come out to the campground to check and make sure we would be safe. He is the one who removed the brakes and put the hub on so we could get home. I sent pictures to my dealer's shop this morning. I will contact Lippert also as well as report this to the NHTSB. It may be a production run of axles has bad welds. I can't imagine that my axle would be the only one affected so any in that production run should be recalled and checked.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Posted: 24 Sep 2019 at 8:34am
	Yikes, yet another and different Lippert axle issue. This is not rocket science, I don't understand why they can't get this right.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6285	Posted: 24 Sep 2019 at 10:25am
	I had an RV service person, Danny New of Danny's RV Service, LLC come and check it out to make sure it would be safe to get home. He said he had never seen this before. I contacted Lippert and told them of the issue and just sent pictures plus my little video. I stated that the production run in which my axle was made should be checked to make sure there are no other axles with welds that could fail. I'm sure that will be an issue that Lippert's engineers will be discussing, especially once this axle gets back to them so they can see it up close and try to figure out why the weld failed. I guess robotic welding is not always the best welding. OTOH, my axle reinforcement seems to be doing what I expected. I will be removing it though so the axle can be switched out. That is the good thing about how I made it. It will be easy to do. Just six nuts to remove.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

podwerkz Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 11 Mar 2019 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 966	Posted: 24 Sep 2019 at 11:04am
	Looks like the superglue turned loose.
	r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten!

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6285	Posted: 25 Sep 2019 at 8:21am
	My axle reinforcement is removed. I have an appointment with Shaw RV in Youngsville, NC which is very close to me to have the axle replaced. I contacted Lippert and requested that the replacement axle be sent there prior to my appointment on October 14th since unlike a loss of camber, this is an obvious failure requiring a new axle. Whether Lippert will do so remains to be seen. I would prefer not to have our RPod sitting at the shop for two months waiting on an axle to be shipped. I had purchased the RPod at Country Roads RV Center in Lexington, NC. That is about a 2-1/2 hour drive away. Shaw RV is only about a 15-20 minute drive away. CRRVC has been good and I have been very happy with the service I have received there. However, since they don't sell RPods anymore, the incentive to go there when a closer shop that can do the service is available is decreased. Shaw RV does not sell RPods either so I will likely not be purchasing an RV from them.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6285	Posted: 14 Oct 2019 at 7:30pm
	Lippert has been very helpful. I asked, and they shipped an axle to Shaw RV in Louisberg, NC, which is a 15 minute drive from my house. Shaw is an authorized Lippert dealer. They don't sell RPods, but they are willing to do the warranty work. I was led initially to believe I would need to pay up front and then file with Lippert for reimbursement of the labor for installation, but Shaw's service manager told me today that they would contact Lippert to see if direct filing for labor could be done. If so, it will save some hassle. There was a bit of a snafu. It turns out that the label on the axle is specific. In my case, the label was on the axle that was the previous replacement when the original axle lost its camber and was wearing the tires on the inside edge too much. In that case, a bare axle was purchased and installed. The label number on that axle was used and a bare axle was shipped even though Tom at Lippert told me a complete (with brakes/hubs) axle was going to be shipped. I found the bare axle had been shipped when I dropped our Rod off at Shaw this morning. I called Lippert and that is when I learned about the difference in axle labels. Just be aware of this if you need have one ordered. Lippert did come through and they are shipping the brakes/hubs to Shaw. They said it would be overnight so Shaw should have them tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest. Kudos to Lippert for coming through on the parts. Kim said it was their goof. It is refreshing to know that a company will acknowledge fault and then get it fixed as fast as possible. Anyway, our driveway looks bare without the RPod. We should have it back to get a camping trip in later this month. This year has not had many opportunities because of my wife's knee replacement so we need to make up for lost time.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

furpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group - pHp Joined: 25 Jul 2011 Location: Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 6128	Posted: 15 Oct 2019 at 7:02am
	Hopefully, all goes well, and you get it back soon..

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6285	Posted: 17 Oct 2019 at 4:13pm
	We have our RPod back! I ended up paying up front and have filed the invoices and receipts with Lippert for reimbursement. Shaw RV charged $516 labor, $15.48 shop supplies and $15.17 miscellaneous plus $36.91 NC Sales Tax for a total of $583.56. Lippert did not want the old parts back so I was able to keep the brakes and hubs. I have a set of spares for potential future use. They were new in January and had only two trips on them so it is good to keep them.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Posted: 17 Oct 2019 at 4:18pm
	Great, congratulations!
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold