julienewmar97

The brake parts is a whole other can of worms. The coach is on a Freightliner chassis with hydraulic brakes. Freightliner lists the brake BOOSTER/MASTER CYLINDER assembly as discontinued. And they have no idea wh get it or even who made it ( they told me to contact Bosch, I found out it was made by Bendix} After contacting a large Freightliner dealer online, I was told that the assembly consisted of the mastercylinder, a booster and a pump and they were available as separate parts. I ordered the parts and had the coach towed as previously described, only to be told once the assembly was removed that the booster was not the correct one. I learned through many phone calls and much screen time on the internet that the casting number would help me find the correct part. The casting also showed that the booster was made by Bendix, not Bosch. I located a rebuilt booster and ordered it so that the repair could be successfully completed. Sometimes stubbornness is an asset

I have been a Good sam member off and on since the seventies. I bought a platinum membership for my road service several years ago (before joining FMCA). I never had any reason to use the "service" until last month when I discovered that my brakes were unsafe and needed to have my class A towed from storage to a mechanic to effect the repair. I called Good Sam to schedule my tow for the next day and proceeded to go to storage to meet the wrecker for the tow, after it did not come 2 hours late I call GS and was told that they were still trying to schedule my tow. I told them that I had a time limit because the garage closed and locked up at 5:30. (my tow was scheduled for between 2 and 2:30) I cancelled and rescheduled for the next day at 1-1:30. I was told my first tow was sidelined because I needed my coach towed more than 3 miles and that my out of pocket would be $1200-$1500. When I told them I would go to the garage that was three miles away after I checked it out if they told me where it was. The second attempt went pretty much the same way except that the distance limit moved up to 5 miles. The third attempt was successful after numerous phone calls to various managers in the system as well as a cancellation of the company that ultimately towed my coach. Finally they were able to get the original company to tow my coach to the mechanic that I had selected without any charge to me. I had ordered brake parts to be overnighted based on the towing going as expected. instead the coach got to the mechanic the same time as normal delivery would have taken. The only positive is that my coach was towed from storage rather than being stranded by the side of the road. A week is too long to wait for service. I am looking at my options for a different towing service. thanks for listening(reading)

Thank you for your reply. It is the original chassis and body. Many phone calls to Freightliner and one of its larger dealers confirmed that the booster is not only not available through Freightliner, but they do not know anything about the original part except its original Freightliner part number. They told me to talk to Bosch about the unit but I found out that it was made by Bendix. Bendix has no information about the part or how to get it going again or a replacement. It helps to be stubborn, I found and have ordered a rebuilt unit I hope will solve the problem. If not, I found a remanufacturer that will rebuilt the unit for me.

Can you recommend a rebuilder?

Thanks for replying, and your sympathy. I know that Newmar did not make the chassis, but thought that they would be interested in the disableing of one of their coaches ( and probably more). I hoped in contacting them that they would offer a possible solution only to find that they were unsympathetic to my plight. I will try the salvage route, but will be nervous as to the reliability of a used part on a cross country trip.

Thank you for your reply! I thought of a salvage yard, but did not know any. Your information is quite valuable and appreciated!

Thanks for the response! Brake booster, Freightliner part number: BW 2771700 Chassis: 720056

I have a 1997 Newmar on a Freightliner chassis with hydraulic brakes. After a little over a year of storage, I moved the coach around the storage yard and found I had almost no brake pedal and extremely poor stopping power. I found a repair shop that sent a mechanic to check the problem and I was told that the masterclinder/ booster assembly was ba d and needed replacing. My mechanic and I set out to find a replacement assembly only to be told that they were no longer available. A Freightliner dealer in Ohio told me that the assembly was comprised of three components and that those parts were still available. I ordered them and had my coach towed to the mechanic for repair. Upon dissasembly, ut was found that the booster that I was sold was not the correct one. Numerous phone calls to Freightliner Custom Chassis resulted in bing told that Freightliner did not have the parts and they could not help me. I am trying to find the part to get back on the road. I just put $3000.00 worth of tires on the coach, making it an even more expensive and ornament. Can't say that I would recommend either Freightliner or Newmar right now.