Smell and heat from rear wheel wells

[BigCanoe]

Hi,

Sometimes after even a 20-30 mile trip I will get a whiff of a weird smell coming out from under the coach. It smells like burning plastic or something. It seems to come from the rear wheel wells. The wheels and tires are warm or hot to the touch. It goes away quickly and I havent noticed any issues with breaking, or any noises. Before I take it in for service, any thoughts on what it could be? We did have ants infesting the insulation and would find little white piles of "dust" under the RV but we have taken care of that with some ant traps. I thought maybe it was plastic burning off from those droppings but it could be brakes or axle I guess?

This is on a 2008 Winnebago Outlook 31C with only 10k miles.

[beachcomber_1]

ON my 2001 E450 the parking brake was on drive shaft, just after thr transmission.

[enblethen]

You payed a reasonable dollar amount for the work and materials you had done.
I too use local shops and avoid dealers whenever I can.
Glade you got your problem taken care of!

[BigCanoe]

Yea frozen calipers and discolored (not sure what else) rotors from heat. They replaced rotors, calipers, pads, hoses, brake fluid, differential fluid, seals, and battery. I use a small town mechanic for all my work, hes a straight shooter. I usually just trust him.

[Gjac]

BigCanoe wrote:
The issue has been resolved. $1700 and change later. We had a mechanic replace all the rear brake components on both sides. This also included new seals, new brake fluid, etc. He checked the fronts and they were fine so we didnt do anything there. He also checked the tires, put in a new battery, and adjusted the airbags. I drove it 2 hours on Thursday. No smell, no heat, more power, excellent braking.

Glad you got it fixed. Did the shop tell you what was actually wrong with your brakes, ie frozen calipers, or collapsed brake lines? Or at least a list of parts they replaced?

[BigCanoe]

The issue has been resolved. $1700 and change later. We had a mechanic replace all the rear brake components on both sides. This also included new seals, new brake fluid, etc. He checked the fronts and they were fine so we didnt do anything there. He also checked the tires, put in a new battery, and adjusted the airbags. I drove it 2 hours on Thursday. No smell, no heat, more power, excellent braking.

[CapeDave]

A 20 mile trip is not what I would do to diagnose a sticky caliper!

[Gjac]

CapeDave wrote:

Gjac wrote:
I would take it on a 20 mile ride then pull into a parking lot and shoot each tire and rotor with an IR gun from HF ($19 with a coupon if you don't have one) if you find that one of the rears are much hotter than the front ones your rear brakes are dragging or sticking. If so clean and lube the caliper. If you never had the brake fluid changed now would be a good time to do that also.

DO NOT DO THIS! /\

You have a problem that needs to be identified and repaired.

The flex hoses in the brakes could also be causing problems.

On a MH that is 11 years old and sat a lot it is more likely a sticking brake caliper. The test will identify which brake is dragging by the heat buildup,and which one needs repair. The OP can then see after calipers are cleaned and lubed if brakes retract and if any other repair is needed. It could also be the rubber cup inside the piston. Rubber flex hoses can swell causing a restriction of fluid and piston to retract more slowly. Cleaning the calipers should be general maintenance on a MH especially one that sits for months at a time.

[CapeDave]

Gjac wrote:
I would take it on a 20 mile ride then pull into a parking lot and shoot each tire and rotor with an IR gun from HF ($19 with a coupon if you don't have one) if you find that one of the rears are much hotter than the front ones your rear brakes are dragging or sticking. If so clean and lube the caliper. If you never had the brake fluid changed now would be a good time to do that also.

DO NOT DO THIS! /\

You have a problem that needs to be identified and repaired.

The flex hoses in the brakes could also be causing problems.

[Gjac]

Yes, a very simple test.

[BigCanoe]

Can that be done without jacking up the RV?

[Gjac]

I would take it on a 20 mile ride then pull into a parking lot and shoot each tire and rotor with an IR gun from HF ($19 with a coupon if you don't have one) if you find that one of the rears are much hotter than the front ones your rear brakes are dragging or sticking. If so clean and lube the caliper. If you never had the brake fluid changed now would be a good time to do that also.

[maillemaker]

I ripped the tread off my passenger-side rear tires. Smoked them good. When I had my brakes done, the mechanic said the passenger-side emergency brake had been disconnected. He re-connected it.

Found out why it had been disconnected - it was not releasing even though the parking brake had been released up front.

As a result, I guess, all the power went to the driver-side wheels, while the passenger side rear wheels dragged. Wore the tread right down to the cords. Fortunately the tires were about to age out and I was due for new tires anyway.

[carringb]

Are the tires original? If yes, they might be delaminating. Most RV tires age out before they wear out.

[BigCanoe]

Yea it never got alot of use. We bought it 2 years ago with 7k on it. I will get the brakes and bearings and seals checked out. Thanks!