brake can fell off

[David Anderson]

I'm still trying to figure out in my head how this happened. 

We are 5000 miles into a 7000 mile trip and driving down U.S 220 outside Martinsville VA I stopped at a light and noticed my air pressure was down to 90psi and not climbing as I waited for the light.  I pulled off to a truck stop to take a look.  The coach would air up fast with no service brake application, so I turned off the engine for quiet and had my wife push the brake.  I could hear air hissing.  Ok, something has a hole in it.  I crawled under the coach behind the drives and oh my, the brake can to the duals was swinging free held up by the service line and the parking brake line.  The mounting nuts and washers were gone and it was unscrewed from the clevis on the brake pawl.  The service line was half ripped in two. 

I was stunned.  I saw or felt no anomaly driving until this point.  Fortunately, with nothing bolted to the clevis the brake shoes were open allowing the drive wheels to turn, thus no fire.  The coach still stopped fine.   However, if that can had fallen to the road it would have severely damaged my tow vehicle and my service line would have been wide open and would quickly bleed off during a service brake application throwing me into low air with the impending park brake lock in the middle of the road.  I was very fortunate.

I pulled the can off the lines, drove the car to a big truck shop for new air lines, and to Tractor Supply for two nuts and lock washers.  Total $16 for parts.  Reinstalled everything and adjusted the slacks back to book specs and moved on.  It all took about an hour.  We are now camped in Raleigh for a week.  The bus does stop quicker with all six brakes, I admit that after seeing the difference. 

I replaced both cans last year and I guess I did not get it tightened up.  The curbside can was tight in place.  Kind of scares me that I may have made this faux pas.  Yikes.  I was very fortunate.  How often does one break down at a truck stop next to a service center with parts?

Onward we go.
David

[Bill Gerrie]

Just goes to show why we are required to do a safety check every time before we go out. A real pain but this shows why it should be done. Things do happen but this might have been caught before the trip started.

[David Anderson]

I just put my axle back in before  I left Texas in June. Here is a picture of the suspect can after axle reinstall. Looks good there but it sure did come loose

[Lee Bradley]

New lock washers? I use blue loctite on most all of them. Keeps them on and prevents corrosion.

[Lee Bradley]

or you assembled that can and got distracted and never did the final tightening.