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04-03-2008, 05:48 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Bradford, TX
Posts: 109
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anyone had brake actuator repair?
I called our dealer to ask about the repair on this and he said they have to test it and make sure it needs repair, then order the part which takes about a week, then make the repair. They are about 250 miles west from us so it's way out of the way, plus we are planning to head east in a couple of months. Has anyone had this repaired? How do they "test" this to know if it will fail later? The service guy asked if we'd noticed any trouble, but we came straight from the RGV so really haven't towed it very far in the last few months. Do we just wait til it "fails" then take it in to a dealer somewhere else? We don't want to make a 500 mile round trip just to see if they might need to repair it.
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Steve and Layne Wilhoite
Ford F550, 07 Elite Suite TK3 # 3523, towing either 14' v-nose trailer with trike, or VW bug on tow dolly
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04-03-2008, 07:32 PM
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#2
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Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Wes Taycksus Y'all
Posts: 31
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I called Doubletree to find out if mine was in the recall since I never received anything about it. He said yes, emailed me a copy of the letter I should have gotten & told me to have it taken care of right away. Didn't say anything about a test. They also sent a copy of the instructions for the repair. Charles at DT is who I spoke with.
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04-03-2008, 10:40 PM
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#3
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Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 4
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Wow,....My wife just showed me the fax that was sent & the instructions are for checking to see if the unit is faulty. What the heck is this all about? The instructions boil down to flipping the thing on it's side, drilling a hole in the bottom of it, then flipping it back upright to see if fluid comes out. Then says if there is no evidense of fluid loss from the hole you just drilled then you (get this) place unit in aluminum pan, reinstall harness connector & reinstall in place. Now, if the unit was good, you have a unit with a hole drilled in it. What kind of chicken $%&# fix is this?
I've built dozens of gooseneck trailers & since the elec./hydraulic actuators have been on the market just about everyone of them have proven to be crap & this is just more proof of that. I had never heard of the ActiBrake brand when we bought the trailer.
The 3-4 hot shot trailers I have around here right now have the dexter unit on them and they seem to perform well.
The funniest thing about this brake actuator is where the boobs mounted it. Ideally just as in electric brakes you'll have a wire failure somewhere before you have a steel tubing failure. When I first started looking around for the actuator I assumed it would be up in the battery box compartment closest to the hitch, then it would be easy enough to run steel tubing down the frame to the wheel calipers. After asking a question here about where the dang thing was located I couldn't believe they put it in with a bunch of other stuff routed all around it & over the top. Couldn't even get to the fill port to check to see if it was low. There was an A/C duct running over the top of it. The portion of it that the steel line comes out of is pointing to the back of the trailer so it's about impossible to see any of the fittings or wire connections from the storage compartment. If you ask me that's absolutely idiotic.
I'm pretty certain after I get mine fixed or repaired or whatever the %&^(*&% they are gonna do with it, then I'm gonna pull it out of that spot & move it to a more user friendly area & run more steel line. I still scratch my head about where the dang thing is located.
Sorry for the rant, :evil: but you guys that have had these things looked at, are they actually doing this proceedure to check it? Or are they pulling the unit out & replacing it with another brand? (which is fine with me) Or, are they installing a better version of this ActiBrake?
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04-04-2008, 09:20 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Atoka, TN & North Ft Myers, FL
Posts: 158
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My unit came with the Actibrake actuator and was replaced prior to the recall with a Carlisle unit. The actibrake unit actually melted the plastic housing allowing all the brake fluid to run out into the basement compartment, and causing me to have total brake failure while I was on a week long trip. I was able to make it back home with just the truck brakes. The Carlisle unit is all metal and should not melt down in the future. I have not pulled 5ver since it was replaced. So far I have not really been impressed with the disc brake system and I have my doubts that the intregrated braking built in my Ford is
adequate and may have to go with another brake controller.
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Ron & Libby Gordon
2007 F350 Ford Lariat Diesel DRW CC
2007 Mobile Suite 38RL3 #3698
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04-05-2008, 10:47 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Welches Oregon
Posts: 523
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So how do we find out about this recall? What rigs are involved. Can you post the information here?
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Bob and Kate Weigant
Welches Oregon
Elite 2006 36TK3
2007 M2 Freightliner
2005 Wrangler
In a land of the blind, the one eyed guy is king.
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04-05-2008, 10:58 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Atoka, TN & North Ft Myers, FL
Posts: 158
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According to my recall letter from DoubleTree, it only pertains to units that were manufactured between July 19, 2006 to March 12, 2007 and only units that had ActiBrake actuators installed. It also states that DoubleTree installed this disc brack system in certain 2007 Elite, Mobile Suite and Select Suite fifth wheels. The number of the safety recall is 08V-040. Maybe this help you to better understand which units it pertains to.
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Ron & Libby Gordon
2007 F350 Ford Lariat Diesel DRW CC
2007 Mobile Suite 38RL3 #3698
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08-02-2008, 01:11 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Central California
Posts: 288
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Completed inspection
I just completed the wire mod and inspection. No leaks. Everything went well except for the bedroom furnace vent hose was in the way. I removed the water filter and moved the converter to the left for access. I didn't need to rotate it on its side, I just pulled it forward and I could drill the hole with the unit in front of the shelf it sets on. Plenty of access and I didn't twist or deform the brake line.
The only question I have is what is the warning label for. No indication of what it should say. I'm not sure if I can sleep tonite without installing the proper warning label! :lol:
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Leo and Janice
2007 MS 36 TK3 Glide Ride pin box
2012 GMC 3500HD D/A CC 4X4 DRW AirSafe Hitch
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