BRAKES Redwood 38 RE Fifth Wheel

[tomlouis]

NEED HELP PLEASE REPLY BACK

Hi Folks -We are new here and happy to be a Redwood Owner.

We just purchased a pre-owned 38 RE Fifth Wheel. Wonderful unit however we just encountered something I can't understand. Long story Short version

The unit is a 2014, only traveled 600 miles by the previous owner, I know the people and trust them, friends from the local area. So try to follow this as it's gets crazy. Previous owner bought the unit new to live in, they only did this for a year and half. After that they decided that RV life style was not for them so they built a new home in the area - Parked the fifth wheel and was for sale. The unit sat for one year in a parking lot on our base (Military Base in Maryland) A year later - Now we made a deal and purchased the unit. So stay with me I'm getting there. Last Sunday I went to pick up the trailer (Dodge Diesel) Hooked up, lights were good, tires normal pressure. Went to pull away and like I always do I tested the brakes using the controller. Very little braking even on the highest setting. Got the unit home ( 4 miles) getting ready for a trip to West Virginia and figured I would call my truck shop "Just to Check" the brakes. Again long story short - Sorry ----- The brakes were found falling apart, the drums are scored and even one wheel the brake shoe was missing, not wore down but GONE. Two tires have flat spots on them so need to replace all tires. So as of now , July 6, 2017 parts coming in tomorrow and tires coming Monday. Total cost for the job including tires is $1900 and some. HOW COULD BRAKES FALL APART LIKE THAT I contacted the previous owner and he is upset as well the condition of the brakes and drums. PLEASE HELP - ]Is it Possible that brakes were just bad from the Factory? I never in 20 years of owning Rv's had this problem. All four wheels need Brakes, Drums and Tires. I am so Glad I did NOT go on the trip. HAS anyone else ever heard of this or has happened to You. PLEASE REPLY BACK WITH ANY INFO OR COMMENT. I am a retired tractor trailer driver so I know about brakes, this is Not normal. Possible Defective brakes from the factory whoever supplies Keystone RV with brake shoes?? CRAZY. My name is Tom - please let know you're thoughts

[atom ant]

Oh it's VERY possible it left the factory that way. Many did. If the previous owner never checked the brakes it probably has been that way since transport. Surprised they weren't full of grease.

Do yourself a favor and look at disc brakes if you are going to travel a lot. Not much more than what you just paid for parts.

[NW Snowbirds]

Quite likely that it was delivered that way from the factory. Many of the units have problems with the grease Seals leaking grease on to the brake shoes. It is also highly likely that the transporter never bothered to properly burnish the new brakes. I can't account for the missing brake part which is very suspicious .

Our redwood had very similar symptoms when new. When I removed the brake drums all four had scored drums and scored brake linings. Even the magnets were scored. The solution was to replace all four brake backing plates which included shoes and magnets. All four drums had to be turned on a lathe. The cost to do this myself was approximately $500. After reassembling I burnished the brakes in accordance with the Lippert manual. A further improvement was to replace the 16 gauge electrical brake wiring from the pin box with 10 gauge wiring. The 16 gauge is not in accordance with the Lippert manual and has too great voltage drop between the pin box and the wheels. After making these changes the braking improved significantly.

[tomlouis]

Thank you for the reply. After spending that kind of money for a full time luxury unit you would think it would be great Not with issues.

[woodman1]

If you're planning on doing some traveling or keeping the unit for a while, than I agree with Atom Ant, get yourself the disc brakes and if you want to spend a bit more, have the IS put in as well. These products are generally solid and well tested.

[NewRW Owner]

Originally Posted by tomlouis

Thank you for the reply. After spending that kind of money for a full time luxury unit you would think it would be great Not with issues.

Agree, you would think an RV promoted as being a luxury unit for full timers there would be high end quality to go along with that. Our brand new RW had a similar problem with grease all over the brakes. They all had to be replaced within a couple of weeks of our purchase. The dealer, I guess, didn't believe my husband when he said that the brakes didn't feel like they were working. Our brakes didn't even get checked while in the shop for other warranty issues for 3 weeks because they didn't believe they could possibly be bad. The RW is a beautiful RV. But quality control is about nonexistent. Hopefully you don't have all of the problems that we've had. And hopefully we can get ours fixed so that we can use and enjoy it.

[tomlouis]

Thank you for the comment. Yeah I guess no mater what kind of unit you have there is always some issues. Just did not think brakes would come apart like that. Trailer is in shop now getting new brakes, drums magnets and the works even new bearings. Next year when go full time we are going to switch over to Disc brakes, just not enough time and funding right now so hope the new brakes will last for awhile. Also purchased new "G" rated tires. Keep me posted if you have any other comments. Thanks again

[texastbird]

You have me wanting to pull the drums on my new rig and check everything. I am getting the disk brakes before too long also.

[tomlouis]

Well you might be able to look behind the rear backing plate (dust cover) and inspect that way. If your brakes work okay I would leave it alone until you get disc brakes. Ours just did not have any brakes and when the shop pulled the wheels is when the problem was discovered.

[Ford truck guy]

We picked up our RW on a Saturday, we then left 1-1/2 weeks later for our trip to the Florida Keys ( from PA ).. Brakes worked fine, but i knew I was changing to discs soon..
When I swapped To the discs ( about 1 year later ) my factory brakes were in order, with really no grease to speak of on any of them.
BUT - - The discs are unbelievable ! ! !

[tomlouis]

Hey Ford Truck Guy

Thanks for the reply. Many replies so far and others also indicate the Disc Brakes are the way to go. So like you as soon as we can we are going to make the switch over. We are going (Almost Full time ) next year in April. Wife and I retiring the end this year. Next year clean out the house and sell everything we can, put the personal stuff in our son's large dry basement in Jersey, come back here and give a farewell to Maryland. Now at least we have a fifth wheel we can live in. So the plan is to fund the amount of cost in our move out and get a shop to put on Disc brakes. Possibly waiting until next year Rally in Indiana and have it done out there. I figure to allocate about $2500 for the switch over. Where in PA are you?? We are originally from South Jersey, we just missed a trip to Quarryville, PA with our group. Let me know where you are. By the way Ford Truck Guy - We have a one ton 3500 Dodge big truck with the 6.7 cummins. Truck runs great with EGR delete done.
Happy Trails Friend
Tom Louis

[Ford truck guy]

Hey Tom,

I am over in Bucks County PA, about 45 minutes north of Philly .. As far as brakes go, Reach out to Ron Russell ( Titan Guy ) on here, he sells and installs Titan disc brake systems.
The kits sell for right around $1,750.00 - $1,800.00 and I believe that installation is right around $1,000.00..
The best part is that if you hook up with him early enough, he will probably get one of his install crews to your house to do the install, with enough pre planning.

Once you go to properly installed discs, you will never go back !

What part of S.Jersey? I purchased my RW from Whitehorse RV over in Williamstown..

Joe

[tomlouis]

Hi Joe

We are from Deptford, NJ born and raised there. I retired Deptford Fire Department after 20 years on the job. I know where White Horse RV is as I purchased a used trailer one time. Willamstown is about 15 south of Deptford. We are getting ready next year to go Full Time, wife retiring this year and we'll start doing some traveling in the area, (PA NJ) then next year we move out of Maryland sell or rent the house and hit the road. We'll spend alot of time in Jersey near Wildwood, all of our kids live in the area of Blackwood and Williamstown. We travel with a Masonic group called Eastern Square Wheelers (NCT) National Camper Travelers. Getting ready this week to go to West Virginia to a Rally. This will be the first with our new Redwood. So like a mentioned next year we'll get Disc brakes. Thanks for the input so far

[Ford truck guy]

Tom,

Good Luck with the new Redwood, and Happy Camping ! ! ! I know Depford, I was a truck driver in my past life and delivered a lot steel to that area 30 years ago . .

And speaking of Quality , I agree that RW needs to step up their game, but if you go online and see the other HIGH END trailers or equal to us, they have the same issues, or close... It is an industry standard..

I know a few Mobile Suites owners that hade huge issues with brand new units, one leaked water very badly every little rain so we are not alone !

Joe

[travelin' texans]

Just imagine how pissed you'd be if you spent a couple million $$ on a Prevost, Newell or Foretravel & had these annoying QC issues, & believe me they do.

[tomlouis]

I sent this message to Redwood (Keystone) today after getting off the phone with a young lady from customer service. I ask to speak to a Tech from the factory or a supervisor but she said she can handle the question. After the call I was NOT satisfied with her reply. Something is wrong with the system and needs fixing. Here is a description of what I ask - not a good answer

Please I need your Help. I purchased a pre-owned Redwood fifth wheel. Unit is a 2014 with only 1500 miles on it. It sat in a parking lot for one year by previous owner. The trailer brakes seemed not to be working properly so I took it to my truck shop. Drums pulled and found brakes falling apart, one shoe was missing the brake lining. Drums scored, bearings seem to be fine. My question is how can brakes just fall apart like that. Is it possible sitting in a parking lot that the brakes deteriorated some how due to heat and or just sitting. Now getting all new brakes, drum kits to repair. Have you ever heard of this happening before. I am concerned so I went on the Redwood Forum with my questions. Several owners of Redwood replied stating they had similar problems with their brakes as well. PLEASE reply back to my email or better yet call my cell @ 856-381-3970. I just off the phone with your customer service person was not satisfied with the response I received. I need your Help. By the way NO CALL YET OR EMAIL