IS THIS THE BREAKDOWN THAT ENDS IT ALL? | HDT RV LIFE
Vložit
- čas přidán 23. 08. 2024
- IS THIS THE BREAKDOWN THAT ENDS IT ALL? | HDT RV LIFE
✔️About this Episode:
Join us in this episode where we break our 2016 Volvo VNL780 RV Hauler. This breakdown is pretty bad and we are hoping it won’t mean we have to quit fulltime RV life.
Don’t forget to Like, Share and Subscribe! We appreciate you following along with us.
Enjoy! 😊
Thanks again for your support.
Until next time, Safe Travels.
************************HELPFUL LINKS*********************************
Garmin RV 770 GPS: amzn.to/3rG2G7S
Tire Pressure Monitor System: amzn.to/3o0c9ET
Dog Steps: amzn.to/2MenCTj
Haloview Affiliate Link: www.haloview.c...
EFS/TSD Fuel Card Info: www.tsdlogisti...
************************************************************************************
✅JonesN2Travel’s Amazon Page amzn.to/2DiVPa8
*This is a small way to help keep our channel going that doesn’t cost you any more money and all purchases are private.
🎼MUSIC: www.epidemicsou...
We use Epidemic Sound for our CZcams video music.
Track used in this episode:
Intro/Outro -
ES_Walk The Walk - Jan Chmelar
Main -
ES_Rolling With the Train - Easy Wheelers
********** SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS ***************
/ jonesn2travel
/ jonesn2travel
/ jn2trvl
www.JonesN2Trav...
Check out the JonesN2Travel Amazon and Gear page for our favorite gear.
This a great way to support our videos.
jonesn2travel....
*We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Snail Mail us:
Aaron Jones
514 Americas Way Apt 12781
Box Elder, SD 57719
********** CAMERA GEAR ********************
GoPro Hero7 Black Vlogging Camera: amzn.to/33F3ddG
Canon 80D DSLR: amzn.to/2LIfDMh
Go Pro Session 5: amzn.to/2NRpAok
Samsung S9+ Smart Phone: amzn.to/2NN4Td9
Zhiyun Smooth-Q Cell Phone Gimbal: amzn.to/2K1egnh
GoPro Suction Cup: amzn.to/2Agq6Kx
Aluminum Table Top Tri-Pod: amzn.to/2AcSihe
Samsung 64GB Select Memory Card: amzn.to/2mN0fjJ
Vicdozia Selfie Stick for GoPro: amzn.to/2K3yzQP
Blue Tooth Selfie Stick for Smart Phone: amzn.to/2K0O8sI
Rode Video Micro Mic: amzn.to/2SYgKIN
Gimbal Extension Bracket for Mic: amzn.to/2OCAK07
Ultra-Bright LED Video Light: amzn.to/2Dx2r9F
Rode Mic Patch Cable (use Rode Mic with your smart phone): amzn.to/2T2jYLf
Saramonic Ultracompact Dual-Channel Wireless Microphone Kit - amzn.to/38XUGZd
*We edit in Adobe Premiere Pro CC - clkuk.tradedoub...
########## Disclaimer ##########
Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. If you chose to make a purchase using our links, we will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you, but helps us keep providing the content we love to share. We recommend these products because we have found them to be helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions we make. Every product we recommend, we use ourselves, so please use our links. :)
#ISITALLOVER #FULLTIMERVLIFE #HDTRVLIFE
Main point is no one was hurt. Emergency fund, back on the road. Glad everyone is ok. What a nice guy to help move your rig. Thanks Don
Hi Don. Yep, so glad to have that emergency fund :) Thanks and Safe Travels
In 30 years in the trucking and bus industry never seen a drum break like that unless it was smoking hot.
My best guess is that at some point those drums got really hot and got some hair line cracks in them and only God knows why it took them so long to come apart.
No one hurt, damage contained the best it could and parts available to fix...all good things.
Safe travels.
Hi Rob. I agree with you. So glad its all fixed and it didn't break the bank LOL Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Rule of thumb replace the brakes replace the drums and YOU look at them every day, it's called a pre-trip inspection. It's a commercial truck and they cost a lot of money to run if you check it out before every time you get on the road.
Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
I’ve had this happen. Because drum brakes create so much heat they get stress crack in wear life of pads and should be replaced every time you do a break job. Glad your back rolling stay safe
Yes now shoes ahould also do new drums. I have see this many times. We pull 8 axil trailers and other multi axil trailers. Nothing to see drum 1/2 or 1/4 laying on the side of the road. Heat does wonders to metal Fatigue
Hi Michael. I agree. I didn't question the dealership enough when they agreed to replace the shoes and apparently they weren't too concerned sending me out on the road like that either. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Agreed. I should have insisted that they change the drums when they did the shoes but you know what they say about hindsight. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
As you travel along the interstates, look at some of the debris along the sides of the road. Brake adjustment is out of sight and out of mind. Learn how to check your slack adjusters and know when they're at their limits. Thinking that the slack adjusters cammed over, causing the brake shoes against the drums. Extreme heat. Possibly wrong parts also. And the market is flooded with inferior parts. Glad it has a happy ending.
Thank you Catbird1. Yes, I have an entirely new pre-trip routine now. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
I know you're not commercial but always do a pre-trip inspection. As a trucker myself I know it's important with a vehicle that size.
Thank God it didn't happen going down a mountain 🙏. You can look up CDL pre-trip inspection online for a checklist, drum breaks are on the list.
Glad all turned out well 🙂
Thanks for checking out the video and thanks for sharing your advice and experience. Safe Travels
As a 40 year experienced owner operator pulling multi axle loads I have seen brake drums break but never on one of my semi's.
I always replaced the drums every other brake change and I always bought new brake shoes and balanced drums.
You don't want to go cheap when you are grossing 200k.
Hi Frank. I'll never allow the shoes to be replaced without new drums regardless of age. This was a good lesson. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
You might want to take a look at the Carfax for your truck sounds like the brakes were very overheated to the point of almost catching on fire, that's the only way they could have come apart I would think. I am so glad that did that did not happen when you were doing 70 down the interstate. Safe travels and good luck have a great day
Hi Marchal. I did get a Carfax when we bought the truck and it was clear. I would imagine that if something happened and the trucking company fixed it then it probably wasn't reported to Carfax. At least there were no accidents reported but you are correct, those brakes had been super hot at some point. Just glad we got them fixed right this time and we're safe on the road now. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
You should send this viedo to the shop that did your brakes when you got your rig.
I sold HD truck parts for over 10 years and the only time I ever saw drums fail like that was if they were really hot from hills, or stop n go. Then setting brakes while drums hotter than normal. The drum is expanded in diameter. Then cools and can't contract enough with cooling down. The shoes dont contract and the drum cracks as it cools. Just an idea. Glad everybody is ok.
Yeah, I agree. The drums looked like as the pressure of the set brakes pushed them out and expanded the cracks over time until there was a failure. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Being a commercial driver and truck company owner, have seen that before. Those are the original drums and most places never measure the allowable specs on the drums when replacing shoes. Most drivers will replace shoes many times and never replace the drums. After looking at the pictures, they where cracked for a long time. I replace drums after second set of shoes no matter what. I use TRD in the rears and OEM in the front for volvo. Also, some model volvo's require special shoes, I have one them. So make sure you check with dealer if you VIN requires extended braking version or not. Most important, no one hurt and damage very minor. You handled it like a pro !!
Hey Roberto. thanks for sharing your experience. I doubt the dealer measured anything when they did the shoes. Definitely a lesson learned. Safe Travels
This guy knows what he talking about end of the day cut the check ouch carry on
I'm a heavy truck mancanic and the company I work for when we do brake pads we do new drums as well. So something for you to think about next time u do brakes on the truck or ur rig. When do pads do the drums as well.
Hi Kyle. Will never do shoes again without also replacing the drums. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Should have caught that on your pre trip, your drums were overheated, that can only happen with drums getting super hot and cooling down, they get so hot they get brake fade, the drum expands, and brakes shoes can’t extend far enough. Over time of expansion and contraction the drums create fractures, then they fail.
Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
@@ronniebowers1241 these brake drums were not destroyed by my driving. I use the jakes more than I do the brakes. This happen long before I owned the truck.
Sorry to hear about this. As a long time tractor trailer mechanic for Penske, I have only heard of this 1 time back in 1998. Only 1 drum exploded on a Peterbuilt. The driver was able to limp it into our shop safely. Glad to see you all get to keep living the dream. Stay safe and can't wait for more videos.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It must not happen too often, thankfully. More videos to come. :) Safe Travels
As a retired diesel mechanic,I've seen this multiple times,what happens is S cam bushings wear causing slacks not to self adjust,it flips the S cam and causes brake shoes to drag on the drum...good luck harley 63b 63c 63f go army nixon ford carter,I've been around don't blame the drums
Hi there. Everything else was in proper order just the drums fell apart. They had been extremely hot at some point prior to me owning the truck. I've put less than 20k miles on them since I bought it. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Damn that sucks! Only thing to make that happen is dragging brakes...so miss adjusted or something not releasing fully. I know people cringe when we talk about annual or by-annual inspections safety inspections, but this is the exact reason. Glad everything worked out thow, be safe.
Hi Richard. After getting some deeper instruction and advice from the mechanic who fixed the brakes for us I now have a solid inspection routine and know what to look at and what to look for. Lesson learned but luckily we are safe and it was all fixable. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
I drive a commercial truck and have seen this a few times- with drums on our trailers. Owner operators at our company and some of them use the trailer trolley bar to slow down and not use up the brakes on their tractors. Company trailers brakes overheat and crack and come apart like yours did. Yours got heated up as others have said. One piece of advice that I can give you when it comes to buying drums. When you go to the parts counter, tell them you want drums made in America with American steel. They will know what you are talking about. You will pay about $20-25 more per drum, but it won't be Chinese steel. Good luck.
Hi Michael. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Yes, that is exactly what we did. I made sure they sold me American made drums. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Wow. Just glad you guys are safe and fix the problem.
Thank you. We are so glad it wasn't nearly as bad as we feared. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Wow, I have driven truck for millions of miles, And I have to say the only thing I can think of is the drums were over heated and stress cracks would have caused that .
Hi Don. Thanks for sharing your experience. Yeah, it is pretty clear that those drums were smoked at some point. The cracks weren't new so had been working their way through the drums for some time. So much for having a DOT inspector inspect the truck LOL Safe Travels
So sorry for the Bad/Good luck. This is why the heavy trucks are turning to Disc brakes. Never have I seen drum brakes do that.
Hi Scott. Yes, someone else mentioned disc brakes. Maybe that would be a good upgrade in the future. I'm glad to hear someone else whos never seen this happen :) Safe Travels
Two drums don't fall apart at the same time because they were of poor quality. Without knowing anything else, I would say that during previous brake jobs the drums were turned and they went WAY beyond the maximum diameter making the shoe contact area very thin. A couple of hard stops would crack them. Or they were heavily worn and not checked during a brake job.
I had this happen on one drum on a truck much heavier than yours. I heard the broken piece clunking when the wheel turn slow but they had never been turned and had only about 5,000 miles on them.
I agree, I think there was more to it than just cheap drums. We'll probably never know but heat was definitely a major factor. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Yes my 15 years of working for fleet shops it was not common but I did have a fair share of them. Most of the time it was on trailers. As long as the grove in the drum wasn't to bad it went back on.
Thanks for sharing your experience. The old drums had no groove so not sure if they had been turned or what. We put 20k miles on them mostly using the Jakes to slow the truck. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
WOW! Glad you guys are safe and got back on the road. See you soon.
Thanks guys. So glad its all fixed. :) See you soon. Safe Travels
As a military mechanic, the tech NOT inspecting the drums is a HUGE red flag!
Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Good to see it was a small fortune and not a break the bank situation. Glad noone but the shock got hurt. Happy trails! Steve
Us too :) Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Thank you guy's for this video. We are planning on stepping up to a HDT and the first thing I'm going to have done is not only replacing the brakes at time of purchase I'm going to pay a "lot" extra up front and put new drums on. Everytime I did my brakes on my dually I always put new rotors and drums on anyway.
Hi Leslie. I agree with you and find a good mechanic or do it yourself. The parts for this job, not including that outrageously expensive centrifugal filter and shock mount, was only about $1500. That's 6 drums, 2 sets of brake shoes and 6 shocks. I was pleased that it wasn't more. The entire job including the oil service and everything was only about $4k with labor. I didn't think that was too horrible and it was definitely cheaper than I feared it would be when the incident occurred. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
I agree Roberto. I own my truck an I always replace drums an brakes at same time. Ive seen drums do that at yellow freight. Heat is major cause.
Agree 100%. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
My thoughts are: When ever you do a brake job on a heavy truck you replace the drums. Heavy trucks are not like light duty that you can get away by just replacing brake shoes. You find this out the hard way. Also your truck is a high mileage vehicle and it was due for new parts all the way around.
What a way to roll with the punches in RV Life. Glad the truck feels nice and smooth again and everyone is safe and sound!
Hey there. Yes, we have to be flexible. Just glad it wasn't a bank breaker. Was worried that it might cost more than we could handle but it was relatively affordable, I guess, considering the overall damage. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Ah, Altus AFB, Worked there for four years and loved the area. USAF. C-5 and C-141back in the mid 70's
Hi William. Awesome, I was stationed there in the logistics squadron from 94 to 96. They still had 141s for a while but now all C17. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
I have been a Ram diesel tech for 30 years 2500, 3500, 4500, 5500 and have seem many hair line cracks but never came apart like that. Glad you got back on the road.
Thanks for that. I've seen them crack, especially on pickups but never dreamed they would get that bad. Funny ting is I never noticed reduced stopping ability or anything like that so it really took us off guard. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
It was probably the last guy who did the brake drums hit them with a sledgehammer to get them loose. That started the cracks. From the looks of the rust in the cracks, its been cracked for a while.
Hi Dan. Our mechanic would agree with you. He said that the cracks were definitely not new so the last mechanic should have seen them and told us about it. He didn't :( Nevertheless, we're all fixed up and back on the road safely now. :) Safe Travels
Glad things got fixed and you’re back on the road. “Life is what happens in between our plans!” Be safe
I really like that. Thanks for sharing and thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
I had a guy come by my shop for us to put pads on his truck. Only pads. Didn’t want drums. Didn’t want complete shoes. He had the pads and rivets. I have never seen that before. Always bought them already on the shoe in a kit with shoe hardware and all. I said ok even though the labor was going to be more than if he had just bought the complete kits from us. Pulled the wheels off and found steel drums with 1/2” rebar welded to the outside to keep the cracks from separating. Needless to say he wouldn’t spend the money to fix it right so we just put it back together and sent him down the road. I didn’t like doing it but for safety of others we called a DMV friend we knew and reported him. Only time I’ve ever done it but he could have killed somebody.
Those drums you pulled off looked like steel drums due to the ribs on the sides. I preferred cast drums because they seemed to heat cycle better. The steel seemed to crack easier. The steel ones save weight is why people use them. You just can’t push them past spec which is around 1/8” wear.
Thanks for sharing your experience. That is crazy, sometimes its ok to be cheap but not when it comes to brakes. I just trusted that the dealer would have recommended new drums and since they didn't I figured they were ok. I learned that lesson the expensive way and will never redo the brakes on a heavy truck without replacing the drums. They weren't even all that expensive by themselves. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
In the past I planned on changing the brake drums every second brake lining change. I drove approximately 100k every year and as I recall brake lining were changed about every 150k . So i would replace lining and drum every 300k. I always changed linings/drums on both hubs on each axle never just one side. Drum brakes require balancing in regards to pressure in stopping(you always want 80k going the same direction). You are at the mercy of the tech doing the work so you need to develop some parameters in what you want done. Tell them what you want do not leave it up to them. Your life and mine depend upon it. If you view the drum from the ground underneath the truck the drum should have a raised ring and some thickness before it makes contact with the lining . If not your drums may be too thin and will crack the lining in the center of the shoe just like yours appear. Class 8 trucks are superior to any other tow vehicle on the road. They have some unique characteristics that need attention but last for every. I drove 3 vehicles over 2 million miles combined with nothing more than standard maintenance. Hope this helps
Hi Terry. Thank you for your insight and for sharing your experience. I will never replace brakes on a class 8 truck without doing the drums. We aren't likely to ever put 100k miles on this truck the way we travel so if they had replaced the drums in the beginning I never would have had to deal with this. All fixed and safe now and that's all that matters. Safe Travels
So Sorry. Glad you’re back going. The RV Community needs y’all. Your knowledge and Solar Skills are Needed.
Hey KT. We're back man! No worries we're still doing solar. :) Safe Travels
Ugh, sorry you guys had to deal with this. Glad no one got hurt and the HDT could be fixed. Safe travels!
Hi Elen. So glad to be back on the road and now we know we are truly safe. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
So glad you guys are okay. I totally understand about the cost concerns. We got our truck home from Texas after buying it and we knew we were going to have a do alot to it. Brakes, Shocks, rear air bags, cab shocks, cab bushings, Cab bags too. I have also heard that Volvos were prone to brake issues but many times it was from poor quality replacement parts from overseas. Julie's Jeep got a set of cheap rotors one time and within six weeks the rotors had warped so badly the entire front end shook. So glad you at least got to park by the lake while you were here in Mn. So glad you, Tina and Maggie were unharmed. Thats the most important thing. All the best and if you need help with anything we are here in SE Mn. Safe Travels. Paul, Julie, and Miss Lydia.
Hey guys. We are glad to be back on the road and glad it was easily repairable. I had a brand new F-150 that had warped rotors within 5k miles. I have a feeling it was the same reason as Julie's :) We'll see about getting closer to you guys while we're up here. Safe Travels
Glad you were able to repair your truck quickly and is more enjoyable to drive down the highway! Looks like it could have been a major accident catastrophe. My wife and I passed you on I-35 northbound in Missouri south of Iowa state line a couple weeks ago. I gave you a thumbs up and you did the same! Keep on RVing!
Hi Mick. Thanks for sharing that you saw us, Yes, I do remember the thumbs up. :) Thanks for that and stay safe out there. Safe Travels
I was a heavy equipment/truck mechanic for 15 years and I have never seen anything like this. Glad it all ended well.
Hi Clay. Thanks for checking out the video. I got that same comment from a bunch of mechanics so I'm glad I was able to share a rare event. :) Safe Travels
Brake drums Ken crack it should be inspected internally when brakes are replaced. The brake drums are exposed to a lot of heat and can cause that expansion if there are cracks in them then you will get exactly what happened to you.
Hi Marc. Yes, we learned a lot about how these things heat and cool with this incident. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
I have been driving semi trucks for 19 years and I have never seen anything like that happen but I also use my jake brakes more than my foot pedal break
Hi Josh. That is why I know this wasn't caused by me over the last 20k miles. I use the Jakes more than the brakes and I love the way the Jakes slow the truck without the brakes. Thanks for sharing your experience. Safe Travels
First time viewers to your channel, am glad yall are safe and that ya got them brakes all fixed, will watch more, Liked the vid, fixing a vehicle that's worth it is always a smart move, most people panic and buy something else
Thanks for the sub! We appreciate you following along. :) Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
In addition do you have a CDL license even though you are pulling an RV. Please don't just rely on what a mechanic says check it out your self, chances are you would have caught the the problem before it caused all that damage. So please be careful and drive safe.
Hi Larry. No CDL required since the truck is registered as an RV. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Glad you are safe and back on the road. By the looks of the drums they have been extremely hot at one time and the makes them brittle, and yes when they did you brakes they should have inspected the drums.
Hi Tim. Agree with you 100%. If I had known better at the time I would have insisted they replace the drums even if I had to pay for them back then. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Safe Travels
I worked on truck brakes for 23 years and it sounds like the Dealership tried to save some money and just put shoes on for the sale. Would have been real obvious on the brake surface that there in my opinion that there was stress cracks and should have been replaced. You were not using the brakes hard enough to cause this problem in the time you have had the truck
I agree. They only replaced the shoes at the dealership and even when we had this issue there still were no wear grooves in the drums. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
I used to work as a mechanic. We had a truck come into the shop one time with a missing brake drum. That is why I would always replace a brake drum if there's any doubt at all about the quality of it
I think if we'd traveled much further ours would have been missing too. :) Thanks for sharing your experience. I agree and that's why we went ahead and replaced all 6 drums. No since in risking it. Safe Travels
Hi guy's 👋... Glad you're OK... I have had drums to crack with me over all the years of my driving... I have found that usually is due to overtorking or they just simply take too much abuse with the highway.. I think you are right that when they put the brake shoes on a year and half ago there were cracks already there and I do not think they were seen at that time... It is unusual for you to have 2 drums to carry on like that... I recommend that when the weekend is very pretty to crawl up under the truck and look at the brake shoes and the drums ... You will see the warebar on the shoes as well as any cracks on the drum... You guys stay safe hope to see you soon...J&A
Hey Guys. I have a whole new inspection and grease routine now. I was fortunate enough to get some lessons from the mechanic that fixed her up this time. Now I know exactly what to look for and how to grease the brake linkage too. Hope to see you guys soon as well. Safe Travels
Glad nobody got hurt. We should be getting our hdt in a week or so.....I will be checking the drums on it closely. We will most likely replace all the shocks when we get it including the cab shocks.
Congrats on getting your HDT. Shocks made a huge difference on our truck but yes, make sure to check those drums for cracks. Still baffled that ours was inspected and no cracks were noted. We did the cab shocks as soon as we took delivery of the truck. One was bad causing the cab to lean slightly. Hope to see you guys out on the road. Safe Travels
Sorry to hear about your rig issues. We had our own as well. Spent a small fortune. Glad to see you got everything taken care of and your staying on the road. You two be safe in your travels. Hope to see you two down the road or up the road doesn’t matter either direction. 👍 Stay safe out there.👍👏🇺🇸🥑❤️
Hey Mel. Great to hear that you guys are fixed up as well. We'll see you down the road I'm sure. Safe Travels
Whoa, we are thankful you guys didn’t suffer an accident. Good coverage on what went wrong. Safe travels.
Hi guys. We are very thankful that this happened at low speeds and didn't cause major damage. It was bad enough LOL Safe Travels
The brakes on the trailer is not doing enough braking. Its putting to much stress on the truck and heating the drums. This is why the drums explodes they hair line cracks and fail over time.
Hi Steve. I think that was definitely a contributor to the drums failing. The previous owner must not have used the trailer brakes properly. Our disc brakes on the fifth wheel will darn near stop the truck by themselves. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
That's a bummer. Glad you guys got it fixed quickly. Safe travels.
Thanks for checking out the video. We're so happy to be back on the road. :) Safe Travels
Possible to tell us where the failed components were made? Had the weight/capacity ratio been higher the damage may have increased. The important thing, both of you are safe. The rest can be resolved. Still shopping for an HDT but right now the market is crazy (at least in Florida).
Hi Chip. We couldn't determine the country of origin so assumed they are the original drums. I think if we had been hauling a semi trailer then it likely would have happened sooner. I have heard that the used HDT prices are a little high right now. They'll come back down eventually. Safe Travels
Glad all has been fixed .... nothing more important is that you 3 and drivers around you didn't get hurt or worse. Take care folks :)
Thanks Brian. We're glad it wasn't worse than that :) Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
I drive a truck for a living and have been around these trucks all my life. I’ve never seen or heard of that happening
Hi David. We thought it was odd too. My guess is that normal inspections reveal these cracks and the drums are replaced before this happens. Unfortunately our inspector/mechanic at Volvo never noticed them and when I asked the dealership about inspection intervals they simply told me not to worry about it and that I would never wear the brakes out towing a fifth wheel. Guessing that was bad advice LOL Safe Travels
That's a tough break, glad it all worked out in the end. I have heard of drums cracking after getting really hot.
Thanks for checking out the video. Yes, the old drums looked like they had been on fire they had been so hot at one point. Glad it happened the way it did so we could get to safety and get them repaired. Safe Travels
Thank God y’all weren’t hurt!
Hi Jackie. We are so fortunate that this didn't happen at highway speeds. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
I’m glad it all worked out! That was crazy damage on the drums....we just replaced all ours this past summer and shocks in December. Definitely not a lifestyle without drama or surprises. Like Tina said you just fix it and keep going....stay safe and hopefully see you down the roads sometime!
Hey guys. Hope you are both well. We should have had the drums replaced when the shoes were replaced back then but now we know. :) Safe Travels and I'm sure we'll see you guys down the road.
Glad everything turned out ok. Was kinda scary seeing a single wheel truck towing your heavy trailer. Glad you did not have far to go. :-)
Yes it was. We took extra care to go very slow. I had to speed up the video or it would have been an hour long LOL Safe Travels
I spoke with a trucker friend of mine and he said he’d never seen that happen before but, in his opinion, it was heat; especially because it happened to two of them. The previous owner rode the brakes too much. That was his opinion anyway. I remember when you purchased it. You did everything right and took every precaution with the myriad testing you had done. So unfortunate that things can still happen, even after so much care was taken prior to buying it. So……it’s done now!! Relax; have a great time, and enjoy!!
Hi Lori. I think you and your trucker friend are both right. They had been really, really hot at some point. Yes Ma'am, all fixed up and we know we're safe now. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Aaron, Tina glad you guys are safe. Been driving these things for ever. The only time I've seen a drum crack like that is when they got super heated and some one set the maxi brakes still hot. This is a prime reason I still don't trust shop to adjust my brakes it gives me a chance to look at the drums and put a wrench on them. I adjust my brakes by hand. Rears are snugged all the way down and then back them off a 1/4 turn. Steers are set at a 1/2 a turn off.
I still try and crawl my truck at least once a week.
Just the other day I heard a whered noise from my pickup truck. And it was pulling to the right on application of my brakes. Needless to say I found that my right front control arm was completely broken in half. Parts bill $480 had to buy both lowers and shop time $540.
I just keep telling Cindy big trucks = big bucks to fix them. So I know the feeling of the pocket book damage this week.
💞 Brian and Cindy "xtreambydesign with passion"
Hey Brian. Thanks for that insight I truly appreciate it. Yeah, my entire inspection process has been revamped. I had the mechanic that fixed this issue walk me through everything I should be inspecting, greasing and adjusting and how often I should do all of that. Something the dealer really didn't do. They just kept telling me that I wasn't going to wear anything out pulling my fifth wheel. Maybe so but what about the bad parts that I got with the truck LOL. "Big truck, big bucks" I like that :) Safe Travels
@@JonesN2Travel As for my brakes on the Large car when we brought it home I parked it while we worked on it. It sat for over thirty days. Ended up with dead batteries. Had to buy a new set. Didn't know it had a battery kill switch. $500 latter now it has a bat switch. Also my brakes froze to the drum's and a full day of re adjusting and prying to get them released.
I told Cindy I'm not getting rid of my tools!!.
Over the years I have rebuilt my own rear ends, transmissions and did minor maintenance. Haven't tore in too a motor yet.
I did find a good local mechanic here in Portland Oregon. He charges under a hundred $$ an hour. Called him the other day and to replace the serpentine belts and recharge the ac is $230.00. Getting that done next week. Found our welder for the bed and frame he gets a $100 an hour so the truck gets to make a trip north for a couple of days. Waiting for our IRS return to purchase the ET Hitch and then send the truck north. When it comes home I start on the lighting package.
Thank God we have a year to work on everything. But we still take small trips with our 35' and our picki up truck.
the drums should have been replaced WITH the new shoes hey are a pair!, the drums will wear almost as fast as the shoes, cdl over the road truck driver / owner here. when replacing brakes always replace everything, it is a bit more expensive but you will never have this problem again, plus the brakes last 250,000 miles so this will have to be done 5-6 times in the life of the truck if the truck lasts 1,500,000 miles. Be safe and enjoy the road
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. 😀 Safe Travels
Wow.. At the 5:00 mark, I sure noticed the sag on that truck; it's way overloaded.. Thank God he didn't get pulled over by the cops. As to the drums, I've never seen that myself ever.. Yikes. Only bad thing about HD trucks is the HD payments it takes to keep 'em running.. Best wishes onward and I hope it's the last of your troubles..
Hi Lee. Luckily we only had to move the RV less than a mile and we did it super slowly. I sped up the footage so it wouldn't take all day to show. I would never tow a large fifth wheel with that truck for any real distance. Luckily it was diesel too. :) Safe Travels
yes you are overloaded need a bigger truck for sure
Sad to hear and see of your troubles, but glad to hear y’all are well and back on the road. I have a 2016 Volvo VNL 670 with Disc brakes I hear they are better than drum brakes, but don’t know how true that statement is. I can tell you I did have an issue on our last trip where the driver side front got hot enough to smoke. My temp gun read 650 degrees the others were at around 300. We sat in a parking lot for about an hr with a fan on it till it reached 260 degrees. At first chance I had them checked and readjusted. I was told they still had 75% of life and the one wheel in question had no issues and that it may have gotten stuck. Although it’s good news, I still plan to watch them very close and check temps often. For the remainder of our trip I used the J brake on a higher setting and increased my trailer brake setting up a little and even though I seem to run about 10 degrees hotter on that wheel we didn’t have any more issues. Can’t wait till we hear from y’all again. Be safe!
Hi Ismael. Thanks for sharing your disc brake experience. Someone else mentioned upgrading to discs so I want to check them out. I am also temping mine when we stop just to keep a good eye on them. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
your drums should have been changed last time your brakes were changed. You exceeded the expansion range of the shoe. Going cheap always comes back to bite. Its not uncommon for drums to crack when too thin. Have your drum measured they all look spent.
Hi Terry. Yes I agree, if I had known better when the dealership replaced the shoes I would have insisted on new drums. I took their advice which was that I am never going to wear out the brakes towing what I am towing and they replaced the shoes because they failed DOT. I never take the cheap road when repairing a piece of equipment but the dealership did and obviously didn't care about our safety, Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Repairs happen in a home too. 😊 I need a windfall right now because of some repairs I need to do
You are correct. It all breaks at some point LOL Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Good thing that didn't come apart at highway speeds. I've never seen or heard of drums, especially on opposite sides on different axles exploding like that. I would guess sometime in the past a previous driver really overheated those brakes to make them that brittle.
Hi Randy. Yeah, that is the only conclusion we could come up with as well. I never dreamed they would crack like that. We got very lucky that our speed was super low. We had just completed about 3 hours of highway speeds. Whew!! Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Y’all have family in Altus, we have family there and Blair just 10 miles north of Altus. That’s some warm country in the summer for sure. Glad all worked out for y’all. God bless and travel safe. Dan - Oklahoma’s Tumbleweeds
Hi Dan. Its a small world for sure. Yeah, we were stationed in Altus for some time back in the early 90s and my parents retired there a couple of years later. It was nice having family in the area while waiting for the truck to be fixed. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Was a fleet mechanic/tech for over 40 years, yes have seen that happen at least 1/2 dozen times, but never to a tractor, just to trailers.Not a fan of that style brake drum, we always used Gunite or DAYTON drums, but the real problem was the drums should have been replaced when you replaced the brake shoes, someone just plain took advantage of your innocents!How many miles ago did you have the brake job done?You had one drum explode, two severely cracked, that's just plain shoutty workmanship.If you have the repair invoice I would go back to ever did the job and demand to be compinsated.
Hi Joseph. We've only put about 20k miles on those old drums. New drums are not that style, the mechanic that fixed the brakes this time had the same opinion as you regarding the drums. If I had known better I would have made the dealership replace the drums too. Lesson learned and luckily it wasn't worse. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
@@JonesN2Travel The times I seen drum failure was with that style drums.Glad everything worked out for you, like you said could have been a lot worst.Take care
Dang that was bad, i went with disc brakes on my 2015 Peterbilt 579. Been a diesel mechanic for 40 plus years, seen this on rigs where they just replace the shoes only and over time the drum wears out of spec. Keeping the slack adjusters and s cams greased helps to prevent dragging brakes.
Hi Daniel. We have disc brakes on our fifth wheel and they work great. I am thinking of upgrading the truck to discs as well. Have to do some research :) Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
So glad you guys are ok.....! And so nice to know there are still angels on the road or wherever we go....
Hi Barbara. Thank you so much for the kind words and thoughts. We are so blessed that this didn't happen at high speeds. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Air disc brakes have less issues. And are easier to visually inspect. But all equipment suffers from corrosion. I have a class A license. And only drive large vehicles on occassion these days.
Tractors are easier to inspect than trailers. But what likely happened was simple. Your drums were out of spec.. The "S" cam travel was at the point. The brakes did not retract away from the drum. The contact may have been light. But enough to warm everything up. And the rest is in your video!
Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
I was a over the road truck driver and it happens all the time on drums
Hi Jim. I'm not surprised with the weights and miles you guys drive. I think it just caught us off guard. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Never seen that before. WOW !
Hey Bruce. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Wow! That is insane! I have never heard of a drum exploding like that! So glad you are safe and were able to get it fixed!
Yeah, it was the last thing we expected to happen. :) Safe Travels
@@JonesN2Travel Hey Aaron, quick question. Don’t you do solar installs?
@@TravelingonAdventures Yes we do. Go check out our other website, themobilervtech.com, we also have a new web store, themobilervtech.com/store where you can get solar and lithium components. Just message me there or email me at themobilervtech@gmail.com and I'd be happy to assist. :) Thanks
I know I'm late here, However I have this for you O.E.M. always isist on it. My dad once said son buy the best cause you'll always be happy with it. Yea he was right. Love ya Dad ; )
Love what your doing wish I was there. Have fun man cause this is heaven.
Hey Kenny. I have to agree with you and your dad. When we put this back together we went with OEM to avoid this in the future. 😁 Thanks for following along. Safe Travels
Glad y’all are safe and nothing that can’t be fixed. I’ve been wondering what you do in an emergency for towing and repairs. I don’t think my AAA membership will cover an HDT if I end up getting one.
We really appreciate and enjoy your videos. Keep up the great work and travel safe.
Todd and Kristie.
This is a good video topic. Cost of maintenance on an HDT over a period of time/ miles.
Hi Guys. We have a road side assistance package through the FMCA membership and also one through our insurance carrier. Better safe than sorry. We're just glad we were able to complete the drive without having to wait for a wrecker. Double check your AAA for coverage before you need it :) Safe Travels
@@JonesN2Travel Unless your rig breaks down more than average, road side assistance plans cost more than hiring a tow truck for the occasional break down. FMCA might get a better rate than you do when calling from the side of the road, but there are also limits on the service you'll get. There have been instances where it has taken hours to get service.
That's tough! Glad you're back on the road. Safe travels, y'all!
So good to be back and now we know we are truly safe in the HDT. Safe Travels
Sorry to hear this, was wandering what had happened to your videos. Glad everything was fixed and didn’t cost you your full time status. Be safe.
Hi Steve. We're so happy to be back on the road. We took a little time to get everything together. Thanks for sticking around, more videos to come :) Safe Travels
The only question I have is When you replace the brakes a year and a half ago why did you not put new drums on at that time
Hi Doug. We had the shoes replaced because they failed the DOT inspection. The dealer claimed that the drums would be fine and only replaced the shoes. If I had known better at the time I would have insisted they do the drums too. The shoe replacement was part of our sales deal so my guess is that the dealership spent as little money as they had to without caring whether or not we were truly safe. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Glad everything worked out. Yes that can happen from time to time but not not often. It’s caused by to much heat so the person that had the truck must have pulled a lot of freight through mountains with a lot of down hill and stayed on his breaks. Heat caused the metal to expand and crack. You don’t run down mountains with a heavy load or any load fast and then ride your brakes. Think about 80,000 lbs and breaks go out that’s how people get killed. A little advice even though you aren’t pulling a lot of weight have someone check your breaks every year and tell your friends. We always did better safe than sorry. Great video stay safe and God bless.
Hi Dwight. Excellent advice Sir. Yes, we are going to change up our inspection interval now for sure. Even going down hills we use the jakes mostly and because we are hauling light we've never had to "ride" the brakes. We agree, better safe than sorry. Safe Travels
Never seen that before and ive been diesel mechanic for 30 yrs. Wow..Very Lucky
Man I really hate this happen to you all!! Really glad you got her fixed and going again.Be Safe
Hi Roland. We're so thankful it happened at low speed and that it wasn't a complete budget buster to have fixed. We are so happy to be back on the road and out of that heat. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Sorry to hear about the breakdown. Thanks for sharing your adventures. I look forward to hearing more about your next trip.
Thanks for checking out the video and for following along. Safe Travels
45 years in heavy truck repair here.Seen many cast iron brake drums explode.Your drums look like centrifuge drums.They look oversized bad.Who ever did your brakes may not have measured the drums.Figuring you are only hauling a light RVThe drums were probably oversized and should have been replaced.Max over is .120 inch.I would recommend anything at over .080 be replaced if you are on a one year DOT inspection.Drums are cheap.
Hi David. Thanks for sharing your experience. I agree with you, the drums should have been replaced when the shoes were replaced at the dealership. That just goes to show you what the dealer really cares about, getting the check. I guarantee you I won't be letting that dealer service my truck, ever. Safe Travels
@@JonesN2Travel Thanks for the reply back.Forgot,NO CHINESE parts on your equipment.
I bet they were riding the brakes on a long downhill in the rain. Perhaps they saw they were hot and dumped water on them to cool them off? The only thing that would make them all similarly hard/brittle would be getting extremely hot, then cooling down too fast. Unless they were heat treated improperly at the manufacturer. Which very well could be a solid possibility.
Anything is possible I suppose but I agree with you. I think both happened, they were overheated repeatedly and they were crappy drums from the get go. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
@@JonesN2Travel Sure thing, travel safe!
Glad you’re hanging in there! I really enjoy your channel!
Thank you so much and thanks for following along! Glad to hear you enjoy our videos. :) Stay safe out there. Safe Travels
So glad you guys are ok and didn't cost you a Fortune main thing your back on the road and glad to see you guys back so safe travels from Rick and Pam from southern Ohio
Hi Guys. Yes, we are so glad to be back on the road and that we we're safe. Safe Travels
I have been driving semi for 20 years and have never seen this happen holy crap
Yes, that is exactly what I said LOL Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
So glad you lol are doing ok! That’s the main thing. I was wondering where you were at. Have seen you both in a long while. I seen you Suite Travels video in Montana. When I haven’t seen any videos in a while I knew you were busy either with family or busy with solar panels. Glad you both are ok and back in the road. Can’t wait to see more videos. Glad you were able to get the truck fixed. I saw the other day at the store somebody was driving an HDT and he had a fifth wheel hitched to it with a smart car. His color of HDT was white. But I thought of you and Jim and Kelly. Never saw anyone out here drive these until now. Well you take care and see have a great weekend and see you soon!
Hi Sherri. We're in the Indiana area now working some RV rallies. We see very few HDTs on the road too but every now and then we'll see one travelling down the road. Safe Travels
Wow! 😲😲 All is good safe travels.👍👍👍
All is good now :) Safe Travels
Wichita Falls is my hometown. There are lots of good people in the falls!
Hey Shawn. Thanks for checking out the video and following along. We haven't spent a lot of time in Wichita Falls but the guys at the Volvo parts counter were awesome. :) Safe Travels
Glad everyones ok
Hi Pat. Hope you are well. Yes, so glad it happened at low speeds and was repairable. Safe Travels
Drums had to have been wore fairly heavy then with dust, dirt, and heat, the event happened. Any kind of previous vibration in the pedal? Glad yall made it out safe and safe travels.
Hi Eric. Funny thing is there were zero wear marks on the drums almost as if they'd been turned down. Now that the brakes are right the pedal is stiffer but no, never experienced any vibration just a bit spongy but I didn't know that wasn't normal. Safe Travels
We’re your s-cam bushings worn out? The bottom shoe will drag wearing out the drum. Cheap shoes will cause will eat up the drum material. Once heat cracking gets 1” from the edge of the outside of the drum replace them. Would have been nice to have guaged the wear of the intact drums to know if the were with in wear specifications. Salt and brine is hard on drums as well. Just remember to pretrip and post trip inspect your rig each trip. I worked on those things for 25 years.
Hi David. Our new mechanic went through everything and said it was good. He did give me some better instruction on how and when to grease the brakes so I was thankful for that. The dealer just said, bring it back once a year and we'll grease it. Well, I can tell you I wont be doing that, I'll grease it myself so I know its done correctly. Thanks for your tips and for sharing your experience as well. I'm trying to be a well educated HDT owner. :) Safe Travels
@@JonesN2Travel It’s good that most of those parts are reasonably priced, the best way to do it is to extended wear thicker shoes and a smaller s-cam. Have fun and roll with the punches. Stay safe.
Glad you are okay, wonder what could have happened if you where going faster, wow!! Could you have x-rayed the drums when you changed pads? You are safe, not much damage, all bad parts changed brand new truck. Stay safe.
It really is like driving a new truck. Can't believe the difference new shocks made. I suppose we could have had them x-rayed but not sure where we would have taken them. I would have expected the mechanic that did the brakes the first time to say something about them looking like they had been cooked. LOL Really glad we can trust the brakes now too. Safe Travels to you guys as well. :)
@@JonesN2Travel You think that the mechanic would have told you that something just doesn't look right. Now with all you did you can feel better about your brakes, and shocks.
🎉🎉💥💥👍👍
The cracks in the drums weren't noticeable because the dealer wanted to sell you a truck, not fix one.
I agree 100%. Thanks for checking out the video. Safe Travels
Part of driving a heavy duty truck or even any truck towing should be a pre trip. It is required for that truck if it was commercial. It should be done before every trip. I pre trip my 2500 and 5th wheel every time we leave just like I would a commercial truck and trailer. That would have been found in a proper pre trip. Best of luck to you.
Thanks for scolding me. I appreciate it. Safe Travels
@@JonesN2Travel no scolding good sir. I'm glad you guys are safe and sound. When I pass a not fore hire private rig I always wonder if they did a pre trip or start it and go. A commercial truck weighing 50k or a private truck weighing 50k cause the same damage when run out of spec or with defective equipment. The DMV have books for the pre trip for free. Would be a great time investment. Safe Travels.
glad to here you got the truck fixed an back on the road
Thank you so much. We are so glad we are all safe and sound and yes, its great to be back on the road. Safe Travels
Hey check out "wanted on wheels" post on "parts list. He had a cracked drum, replacing breaks n shocks. Glade ur safe guys, keep looking up, it's all good just in a different way.
Hi there. Yeah, I remember seeing Dave's video but I never expected the drums to come apart like they did especially after a recent brake inspection at the Volvo dealer. All better now and performing better than it ever has. Safe Travels