Handbrake Adustment

[charliesgrandad]

Had moho in for test today and it failed on handbrake, the mot station don't do repairs so I was going to get a mechanic friend to adjust the brakes as it is only about 3 years since all the rear brakes were renewed ,tophat disks shoes and pads so I hopefully assume it is only adjustment that is needed
My question is does anyone have a link to instructions for adjusting handbrake on twin axle Alko chassis, I have come across on in the past but struggling to find it as it may help my mechanic

 

[chatteris]

not specifically for a tag axle but first make sure there is slack in the cable then jack up one wheel at a a time and remove one wheel bolt then turn wheel shining a light in bolt hole till you see the adjuster cog then it a simple click it round till it binds then back off a bit and repeat on other wheel then adjust cable

 

[Flairy]

Hand brake on tag axle have on mine always been poor . No amount of adjusting or new shoes make it worthy of been called hand brake .perhaps try different testing station?

 

[rb62]

not specifically for a tag axle but first make sure there is slack in the cable then jack up one wheel at a a time and remove one wheel bolt then turn wheel shining a light in bolt hole till you see the adjuster cog then it a simple click it round till it binds then back off a bit and repeat on other wheel then adjust cable

If only it was that simple on an Al ko twin axle chassis,you need to find someone who knows how to do it,there is a set order,otherwise you can end up in an even worse mess.

 

[chatteris]

cant see why if all the brakes are adjusted correctly, its only another axle and a bit more cable surely have not done a tag but adjusted on alko chassis several times

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Al-Di]

tag axle you adjust rear axle 1st as per chatteris then front axle, then the same for cables, if your h/brake is poor it's not been adjusted correctly, mine will hold on 4 clic's on a 1 in 5, I know cause i stalled it,when i missed a gear,

 

[bigtwin]

Does this help?

Ian

 

[charliesgrandad]

not specifically for a tag axle but first make sure there is slack in the cable then jack up one wheel at a a time and remove one wheel bolt then turn wheel shining a light in bolt hole till you see the adjuster cog then it a simple click it round till it binds then back off a bit and repeat on other wheel then adjust cable

Thanks but I thought all (and backed up by instructions in the file attached by "bigtwin") rear wheels have to be off the ground together

 

[charliesgrandad]

If only it was that simple on an Al ko twin axle chassis,you need to find someone who knows how to do it,there is a set order,otherwise you can end up in an even worse mess.

The problem with that is there seems to be a shortage of people who actually know how to do it

 

[charliesgrandad]

tag axle you adjust rear axle 1st as per chatteris then front axle, then the same for cables, if your h/brake is poor it's not been adjusted correctly, mine will hold on 4 clic's on a 1 in 5, I know cause i stalled it,when i missed a gear,

Thanks that is some of the info I have been looking for, info that pertains to the tag axle motorhome

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[charliesgrandad]

Does this help?

Ian

Thanks Ian, I had come across that link, I am sure it will help my mechanic , I was looking for something similar but specifically for twin axle
Al-Di's post was informative in that it mentions which axle to do first

 

[rb62]

The problem with that is there seems to be a shortage of people who actually know how to do it

Luckily Dave Newell is just down the road from us,he did ours,shame it's the wrong side of the country for you

 

[Flairy]

I look forward to your post on getting a decent handbrake, after many years I’ve almost given up.please let us know thankyou.

 

[Silver-Fox]

Thinking slight at a tangent.

Would the procedure for adjusting a twin axle trailer be similar to your chassis.

 

[charliesgrandad]

Update
Got my mechanic to carry out adjustments as per all the info I got off here, and in his opinion and I tended to agree with him that they should sail through the test with the wheels off the ground and handbrake on 2 clicks you could not turn the wheels so must have been really fast on when handbrake was pulled fully up
Took it back for a retest and it failed again that was on a rolling road test, my mechanic suggested I took it to a different test centre that uses a g-meter to test brakes.
The first mot station I contacted that could do a motorhome of my size did use the g-meter method so I had it done there with no further work and it passed, with one advisory " Rear Brake pipe corroded, covered in grease or other material " he called me over and showed me underneath the van and said that it didn't need immediate replacement but if you cleaned it off and smeared it in clear grease it would prolong its life
I think the moral is , if you have a twin rear axle it is best not to use a mot centre that uses a rolling road to test larger vehicles

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[chatteris]

how heavy is your van

 

[charliesgrandad]

Max is 5.300kg

 

[Flairy]

I’m so glad you got it sorted ,it’s so frustrating.

 

[chatteris]

do you know how much effort was recorded at each wheel

 

[charliesgrandad]

do you know how much effort was recorded at each wheel

Didn’t give me that info only that it was 11%

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[chatteris]

has it had new cables you can lose a lot of effort through a bad cable, the cable run on single axle alko axles is not great and goes through a couple of fairly tight bends so any resistance in the cables loses a lot of effort at the wheels,

 

[charliesgrandad]

has it had new cables you can lose a lot of effort through a bad cable, the cable run on single axle alko axles is not great and goes through a couple of fairly tight bends so any resistance in the cables loses a lot of effort at the wheels,

No, it hasn't had cables, the mechanic said there is a bit of resistance and suggested I get 4 new cables at the rear sometime in the near future
I have contacted https://coastalmotorhomes.co.uk/ who I have bought many parts off in the past, the guy there told me they don't keep them as they are not fiat parts although the hubs are, he said they were Alko parts and in his words, " I don't hold out much hope of getting them from Alko anytime soon and if you do they will be very very expensive " H went on to suggest a couple of companies who could make up the cables if I removed them and sent the cables to them for a price for them to make copies
I have tried the nearest caravan /motorhome dealers/repairers around my neck of the woods for them to do the work and they either don't do that sort of work or supply those parts
So now my quest is to find some cables

 

[WESTY66]

No, it hasn't had cables, the mechanic said there is a bit of resistance and suggested I get 4 new cables at the rear sometime in the near future
I have contacted https://coastalmotorhomes.co.uk/ who I have bought many parts off in the past, the guy there told me they don't keep them as they are not fiat parts although the hubs are, he said they were Alko parts and in his words, " I don't hold out much hope of getting them from Alko anytime soon and if you do they will be very very expensive " H went on to suggest a couple of companies who could make up the cables if I removed them and sent the cables to them for a price for them to make copies
I have tried the nearest caravan /motorhome dealers/repairers around my neck of the woods for them to do the work and they either don't do that sort of work or supply those parts
So now my quest is to find some cables

Did you ever find any new cables for the Alko chassis? My handbrake isn’t so good

 

[Carolyn and Kev]

Did you ever find any new cables for the Alko chassis? My handbrake isn’t so good

You have a Carthago bud......16 plated too. Should it need cables already? Swap it and get a Adria again kev

 

[Carolyn and Kev]

What about one of these Westy66...............

Cheap and ...............adjustment is a doddle!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[WESTY66]

You have a Carthago bud......16 plated too. Should it need cables already? Swap it and get a Adria again kev

One can never have enough spares!!
It’s probably just take up on the hub, but you never know
If the adria had a changing area and a bit more worktop space I’d have kept it, the engine and transmission was better on the Sonic

 

[WESTY66]

What about one of these Westy66...............

Cheap and ...............adjustment is a doddle!

I’m over 4 tons I have chocks

 

[Catpirate]

Hi, I adjust my own tag axle as per Al-Di. I always take the opportunity to grease the axle when the wheel is off the ground. Always passed even on rolling roads but they are not the best brakes.

 

[Carolyn and Kev]

What about one of these Westy66...............

I’m over 4 tons I have chocks

Must admit..we are too in excess of 5 ton loaded .......My chocs are crap to be honest ! Just bought a couple of new ones ... Bigger and better !! lol

Kev

 

[JockandRita]

I look forward to your post on getting a decent handbrake, after many years I’ve almost given up.please let us know thankyou.

My HGV mechanic pal did ours on the Hymer after I mentioned a poor handbrake on both axles. It sailed through the rolling brake test every year after.

charliesgrandad. I struggled to get replacement ALKO handbrake cables as trailer and caravan suppliers aren't permitted to supply ALKO parts for MHs. I got mine through Camper UK parts dept, who were cheaper than from ALKO UK direct. My pal fitted them for me.

Another source of Fiat and ALKO spares is the Augustin Group.

Cheers,

Jock.