Parking brake issues August 16, 2017, 01:38:16 pm Hello all,I have a 2000 mid bath 26.5' Lazy Daze and I love this thing! We bought it in 2012 from the original owner with just 24,000 miles on it.The original owner used it to go cross country and up and down the east coast. He told me (after I bought it) that once he had a major brake failure. I inquired about it, he told me that he was coming down this side of the Rocky Mountains towing a car and that he was using the brakes to slow the vehicle down when all the sudden the brake pedal went to the floor. He had the vehicle towed to a Ford dealer who replaced the complete front brake system and got him on the road again. The dealer told him that the brake fluid had boiled or overheated causing the pedal to go to the floor. I am assuming that he did not know how to downshift the transmission to slow it down with 10 cylinders instead of the brakes.After doing a complete check of all systems I have faith in my hydraulic brake system. I have flushed the brake lines and put in Dot 4 brake fluid to give a bit more room for higher temperatures.My camper has one issue about the brakes that I really don't trust or like. When parked with engine running I engage the "Emergency Brake". When the camper is in "drive" it stays still as long as it is idling, the minute you give it ANY gas at all the camper starts moving forward. The emergency brake does not hold the car at a full stop.I took it to a Ford dealer who changed the drum on the emergency brake. It still moves very easily (with the emergency brake ON) even though you feel a bit of resistance. I have had two other truck mechanics try to make the brake work properly to no avail.Am I expecting too much for a emergency brake that will hold my car at a full stop even when gas is applied?Is this design not able to hold the vehicle in place?Does anybody else have this problem? How does the emergency brake work on other LD campers like mine?Is having the previous owner using it once coming down the Rocky Mountains the cause of my troubles? Every mechanic tells me that the e-brake is perfectly functional and working as designed. Try using it at 70 mph and see what it does... Is my response.I really don't trust the Vehicle completely with a half working emergency brake. I am getting ready to drive 1600 miles to and from my daughters college in Florida. On flat roads I feel safer but hills still make me worry.Every other vehicle I have has a working Emergency brake that will hold the car even after you try to move. Am I expecting too much from this chassis?I had a brake failure in a car going fast one time and I do not want that excitement again in my life. Lucky for me I had fixed the emergency brake in that car only months before.I have taught my wife to use the shifter and downshift any time you need to apply the brakes repeatedly within 30 seconds. I don't want to alarm her but this brake system makes me very uneasy. Only my wife and I are the drivers of the camper and she knows the issues I have with the emergency brake.If my LD camper has another brake failure like a brake line or any reason the main braking system does not slow me down and I put on the emergency brake to save my family and my camper all it will do is add resistance to rolling forward. With rear disc brakes I am surprised they don't use that for the emergency brake like so many cars today.I might as well add an old fashioned Boat anchor and drop it behind the camper on a long chain. I realize that I am a Newbie to posting on this forum, I would appreciate any help available and other people's experiences.Thanks for taking the time to read all this! I thank you in advance for your advice and thoughts!
Re: Emergency brake issues Reply #1 – August 20, 2017, 04:47:59 pm I'm just catching up on posts after a week off-line boondocking in Oregon. Surprised there's been no response to this after four days. I don't know if your 2000 uses the same e-brake (I'd call it a parking brake) as our 2006. Ours is a drive-line mounted brake that was discussed extensively recently by Larry Wade when he rebuilt his. Many of us have (ahem) driven off for various distances with the brake still engaged, somid have to say, for this type brake, it is not at all unusual for it not to hold when the gas is applied. Sometime after my model year, Ford went back to the more usual rear wheel/axle-mounted brake. While I have little confidence in the holding power of my parking brake, I've not had any qualms about driving the mountains of the West. I either gear down or use the tow-haul (takes some finesse with the brakes to keep it from jumping down 2 gears and scaring the heck out you with the resulting roar from the engine and tranny) and just make sure to apply the brakes in gentle spurts to maintain a slow speed. Never but never ride the brake constantly, which is what I suspect your PO did with the rig. That very well might cause overheating and fading or failure. All that said, this forum collectively has millions of miles of travel in these rigs and I don't recall any tales of complete brake failure like you describe. I wouldn't over worry it. -- Jon, doing the ups and downs of Oregon and Idaho; eclipse tomorrow! 1 Likes
Re: Emergency brake issues Reply #2 – August 20, 2017, 05:35:19 pm What Jon said. :-) The driveline-mounted emergency parking brake on older Ford-based LDs is all but useless. And yes, your previous owner didn't know enough to downshift on a downgrade. He was lucky he only had to pay with his wallet, and not with his life. Fortunately, you know better. Just don't expect any help from the parking brake. 2 Likes
Re: Emergency brake issues Reply #3 – August 20, 2017, 06:27:19 pm As others have indicated and commented on, Ford used a driveline-mounted parking brake on pre-2008 E-450 chassis, and the previous owner very likely had little or no experience in using gearing to slow descent. That said, I'd be sure to check to make sure that the parking brake reservoir is filled with fluid! If it's dry, this could certainly be causing at least part of the slipping issue.Many Ford techs aren't aware of the location of the reservoir fill location on the driveline brake, and many aren't even aware of the brake itself. On the home page of this board, there's a link to Larry Wade's projects; scroll through to find photos of the parking brake, the fill location, and the fluid required. I had to crawl under my rig and point out the fill cap to the Ford guy; his comment was that he didn't know the brake had a reservoir!Checking the fluid level of the parking brake in pre-2008 Ford E-450s should be a regular maintenance item.
Re: Emergency brake issues Reply #4 – August 20, 2017, 06:56:31 pm " When parked with engine running I engage the "Emergency Brake". When the camper is in "drive" it stays still as long as it is idling, the minute you give it ANY gas at all the camper starts moving forward. The emergency brake does not hold the car at a full stop."I absolutely cringe when I read or hear the words "Emergency Brake". Please reprogram your grey matter to use the proper term of Parking Brake! Short of down shifting on a descending grade the only 'Emergency Brake' you can hope for is a handy truck run-out when the pedal goes flat.My 2004 30'IB will also creep with the parking brake applied. I've gone as far as half a block before realizing my boo boo.My late over-the-road truck driving Father would spin in his grave if I were to even think of stopping 14,000lbs with a silly parking brake. 3 Likes
Re: Emergency brake issues Reply #5 – August 20, 2017, 07:43:34 pm My freshly rebuilt Parking brake is quite capable of resisting movement, when given the gas.Odds are the brake shoes set badly damaged and is the reason why mechanics can't properly adjust it.E450 parking brake rebuild | FlickrLarryIn the land of weak cell service 1 Likes
Re: Emergency brake issues Reply #6 – August 21, 2017, 02:30:24 pm "I absolutely cringe when I read or hear the words 'Emergency Brake'."Good point, Steve! I've corrected my post. 2 Likes
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Topic: Parking brake issues (Read 245 times)
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