My Serenity

[lizzabus]

I just went out to move Serenity so I don't get flat spots on the tires and make sure she's gassed up before I park her for a bit...she won't budge.

Just read a 2012 thread about locked up brakes. Guess I'm off to the truck store to get some crazy huge chocks so I can carefully break the brakes loose. LOL!

[Robin97396]

Blocks of wood work just as well.

[Docsgsxr]

So do small cars in your neighbors driveway.........

[Robin97396]

or slow cats....

[cowlitzcoach]

I guess I don't understand the need for chocks or blocks to get your brakes released.

If you have air brakes and your air pressure is all the way up and the compressor has stopped, when you release the spring brake and you still can't move it is because the lining has rusted to the brake drums.

A little gentle rocking between drive and reverse can usually break them free.

[Robin97396]

It sounds like lizzabus intends to disassemble the brakes to figure out why they aren't releasing, and wants to chock the wheels.

[lizzabus]

Nah. Not going to redo the brakes myself.

It was my understanding after reading another Skoolie.net post that you can chock the wheels (for safety) and get under the bus to hammer on various parts of the brakes to get them to release. (no lecturing! I just haven't studied the technique to know all the correct vocab)

I'd LOVE to just rock the bus back and forth but I'm parked within about 3" of the house guttering so Serenity will fit in our driveway. I'm concerned I would slam the mirror assembly into the gutters trying to get the brakes to release.

My sweet neighbor who has a LOT of experience with trucks/buses/etc. is going to stop by Friday to help me unstick Serenity.

[lizzabus]

Whew! Who knew using an angle grinder over your head was so tiring?! LOL!

I managed to get four ceiling panels out today during the WONDERFULLY sunny Seattle afternoon. Go figure on the weather. But we'll take it.

I was concerned that I'm going to all this trouble when the insulation in the first three ceiling sections was dry and without mold.

Then I dropped the fourth panel.



Oops! There's the mold.

And I know: I DEFINITELY want to put much better insulation up there. I'd also like to look into getting some secondhand windows to create a couple of skylights too. We can use all the light up here we can get!

[Robin97396]

I think the technique you're talking about is called the "bigger hammer". Tapping on things to see if it will come unstuck. More common in freezing weather.

Anybody that has used a grinder overhead knows what you're going through. That's a lot of people here.

I don't know the braking system on your bus, but here we usually jerk them backward a couple times with another heavy vehicle and that'll usually unstick the brakes. Then again I'm more accustomed to military and logging equipment. Cowlitz is the bus guy.

So did you get some nice pretty rubber chock blocks with the silver chains?

[sammy]

Originally Posted by Tango

I'll say it again. If you want to really seal anything on a vehicle...Commercial grade Seam Sealer from any auto paint & body supply house. Forget caulk, latex, silicone. Use what manufacturers now use. Fantastic stuff.

How many of those tubes do you think you'd need to do a whole bus (let's say 26 windows total)? Just looking for a ballpark estimate.

[Tango]

Really depends on how much each window might need. If a simple 1/4" line all around is adequate, maybe 8 windows per tube. If there are huge gaps...that's another story.

[TheRainbowBoxer]

I've had to chock the wheels and hammer on my brakes before... No amount of forward and back would loosen them. One was loose and the tires on that side would spin in the gravel. Those big tires will dig a hole in a hurry in my driveway.

[lizzabus]

What part of the brake do I hammer on? Just thought I'd ask before I go do my research again.

Experience counts!!

[Robin97396]

Don't hammer on anything hard enough to damage or dent it.

In freezing weather the brake shoe would freeze to the drum. You've only got high humidity and ocean corrosion going on there, but obviously it can still get stuck. It's got to be a problem with stuck linkage that actuates the brake, or for some reason air isn't getting to the brake. Since it's in your driveway there's not much chance of it being an air problem. That means it's most likely stuck linkage. Sometimes pounding on the outside of the brake drum will shock it loose.

From this distance it's just guessing.

[TheRainbowBoxer]

Drum brakes can get stuck due to rust, not just ice. If I put my bus away wet, they often get stuck. Sorry for my MsPaint skills or lack thereof. Hope this helps.

[lizzabus]

Originally Posted by TheRainbowBoxer

Drum brakes can get stuck due to rust, not just ice. If I put my bus away wet, they often get stuck. Sorry for my MsPaint skills or lack thereof. Hope this helps.

OMG!! Thank you SO much!! Hopefully others can look at this great photo and diagram and get help also.

I managed to "rock" Serenity back and forth enough this morning to get her "unstuck." However, this looks like a much "better for the bus" way of unsticking brake shoes. Maybe?

THANK YOU!! for all your hard work. The diagram is perfect!!

[Robin97396]

And no rain gutter incident with your neighbor?

[cowlitzcoach]

Having the brakes get rusted onto the brake drum is not unusual in the wet NW.

I have had brakes get rusted stuck over a long weekend and almost every January after the Christmas break many of the buses in the fleet would have brakes that did not release right away.

Getting the hammer and the bar out is only really necessary if one side releases and the other side stays stuck. As it has been mentioned before, all that happens at that point is the unstuck side will start to spin the wheels on that side and no power will be going to the stuck side.

[lizzabus]

No rain gutter incident. And luckily, if there was one...it was our rain gutter.

Thanks for all the fantastic input. Got the bus unstuck. Ground out the rest of the ceiling rivets...NO MORE CEILING!! Lots of other little milestones.

I'll take pics tomorrow while I'm removing unnecessary wiring prior to removing rust from the floor. I think I need to get that cleaned up so I quit tracking it all over the place.

[lizzabus]

A few progress pics:

M.E.K. is my new friend...
before


After


Pre-Ospho


After the second coat of Ospho


Nice Coat of paint