Alko Chassis brake squeal

[GD485]

My caravan had its first service and has suffered brake squeal occasionally from new. When the brakes were inspected at the first service the drums has scored although the linings were still in good condition. The dealer has put in a claim to Alko for replacement drums and brake shoes under warranty as the lining material has been identified by Alko as the cause of the noise and should be replaced under technical recall.
The Drum wear may have been accelerated by the mileage our caravan completed in its first year. We covered some 10,000 miles over the year. Possibly more than 5 years typical use? How many caravans will be well out of warranty before the drum wear becomes a problem.
I wasn't aware that Alko had accepted the cause of brake squeal on many recent caravans is due to a faulty brake lining material compound and they are willing to replace them F.O.C.
I have read many posts on forums where other caravaners have suffered this problem and tried many things to resolve it and felt they should be made aware of Alko's policy.
I just wanted to bring this matter to the attention of other caravan owners and try to save them a big bill in a few years time. My service technician said they can identify which caravans are affected from the build date and the VIN number on the chassis.

 

[otherclive]

What years does the problem cover. My van had a new axle because the suspension runners started to extrude. The axle including brake assemblies was fitted mid 2018 but the van was 5 years old at the time. So I might have an affected axle assembly.

 

[Woodentop]

We have the squeal problem on our Bailey U4 Seville. The dealer has cleaned them etc twice but to no real effect. Curiously it seems to be the offside that does it most.

Van went in for service early December and I heard just last week that they have new brake assemblies just arrived under warranty (along with a piece of roof furnishing that became distorted and Bailey accepted as a warranty claim.) Goes in on 25th so we shall see what happens....

 

[GD485]

What years does the problem cover. My van had a new axle because the suspension runners started to extrude. The axle including brake assemblies was fitted mid 2018 but the van was 5 years old at the time. So I might have an affected axle assembly.

I haven't been able to find out that info. I tried asking at the NEC show on the Alko stand, they accepted there had been a problem but wouldn't give any more info.
My caravan was new in feb 2019 if that helps.

 

[GD485]

What years does the problem cover. My van had a new axle because the suspension runners started to extrude. The axle including brake assemblies was fitted mid 2018 but the van was 5 years old at the time. So I might have an affected axle assembly.

Get in touch with the dealer, surely the axle and brake assemblies (if replaced and not just refitted) are covered by a warranty from Alko.

 

[otherclive]

Warranty was 12 months. But CRA 2015 or Section 75 would be applicable. I will have to have them checked out at service. The axle does have labels affixed which give part number, barcode and serial number but none of that meant anything to Alko when the suspension rubber problem arose. To identify it I had to take it to the dealer. Have it photographed and critical measurements taken. So much for configuration control. However as Alko are aware of a problem I would not anticipate a problem in having it rectified if it should be affected.

 

[GD485]

I suppose the labelling of axles doesn't not meaning anything makes sense.

If you see how caravan manufactures put the chassis together they grab bits from the stores and bolt them together. They record the chassis number and Alko warranty it from the moment it leaves the factory as a unit. They consider all the components new when the chassis number is registered and associated with the particular caravan VIN.

Surely, your date of manufacture is going to be traceable by when the order for the replacement axle was placed with Alko.
I understand that the faulty materials have been used for many months or even years.

 

[Hutch]

OC with all your problems with Alko etc, have you thought of a tent near Coventry, and another near Deviseses. We have a spare double room in Milton Keynes if you need to travel. Send me an Im .

 

[otherclive]

Thanks Hutch might pick up the free mattress to en route. I’m not too concerned by the Alko brake issue as they still work okay and thus far any squealing is minimal and clears after a short drive. Pity the trip planned for last week to Waterrow had to be cancelled as I would have been more attentive to any problem. I know when I had the axle fitted and the dealer said it was made specific to the order although a standard part. So it will be traceable if affected. But if it should be affected it just reinforces my views on our cottage industry hobby. Cheers

 

[Hutch]

Any time, even a space on the drive way for a caravan , our hounds get on with DD ' hounds so no problems.

 

[Hutch]

Sorry folks , off thread

 

[YorkieF]

Our brakes & drums on our 2017 Clubman were replaced under warranty in 2018 as they had delaminated! They also squealed but didn't seem to affect the braking.

 

[Hutch]

Are you sure its the brake and not the tow hitch which can sound similar.

 

[Damian]

You do realise that the squeaking is a deliberate new innovation and safety feature for those who tow with very large vehicles and say that they do not know the van is on the back,,,,well,they do now !!!!

 

[bertieboy1]

My caravan had its first service and has suffered brake squeal occasionally from new. When the brakes were inspected at the first service the drums has scored although the linings were still in good condition. The dealer has put in a claim to Alko for replacement drums and brake shoes under warranty as the lining material has been identified by Alko as the cause of the noise and should be replaced under technical recall.
The Drum wear may have been accelerated by the mileage our caravan completed in its first year. We covered some 10,000 miles over the year. Possibly more than 5 years typical use? How many caravans will be well out of warranty before the drum wear becomes a problem.
I wasn't aware that Alko had accepted the cause of brake squeal on many recent caravans is due to a faulty brake lining material compound and they are willing to replace them F.O.C.
I have read many posts on forums where other caravaners have suffered this problem and tried many things to resolve it and felt they should be made aware of Alko's policy.
I just wanted to bring this matter to the attention of other caravan owners and try to save them a big bill in a few years time. My service technician said they can identify which caravans are affected from the build date and the VIN number on the chassis.

Our van's brakes squealed occasionally,we thought nothing of it.However when van was serviced dealer reported drums had excessive scoring and Alko would replace drums and brake shoes without charge.The story we got was that Alko had changed the brake shoe lining material and it was this that caused the drum scoring.We wouldn't have known about it had the dealer not told us.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Perhaps a little off topic, but GD458 is correct about the way caravan manufactures fail to link the serial numbers of sub assemblies to VIN's.

We were involved with a product safety recall, when a gas valve manufacture changed the specification of a pin in the flame failure shut off function, and did not tell their customers. The new pin could corroded over time and jam and prevent the Ffd from functioning, which was how the problem came to light.

This same valve was used by several appliance manufacturer's and so the fected several appliance. By the time it had been discovered, several thousand appliance (across several brand manufacturer's and models)had been produced.

Whilst we could identify the serial numbers of our appliances, and when and where we had despatched them, the caravan manufacturer's could not tell us the VINs of the caravans where the affected appliances had been fitted.

We were allowed to send a team to the manufacturer's to seek out and repair affected product on their sites. What we found was that the caravan manufacturer's were not rotating stock, and as a result some of our products could be over two years old before it was fitted to a caravan!

We eventually had to put recall notices in the national press to mop up the product that had reached end users, who had not returned registration cards.

 

[GD485]

Hi All,

Just got back from having the brakes repaired by my local caravan dealer. Alko supplied the parts & labour under warranty.
The drum on the offside had to be replaced due to scoring and the brake shoes on both sides.
I was shown the parts that the dealer removed. the surface of the brake shoes looked as though they had chunks of friction material torn from the contact surface and dug 1mm deep grooves in the drum.
Both sides the shoes showed excessive wear more consistent with 50k+ miles use.
The appearance of the drum was similar to the problems seen years ago on cars when the linings worn down to the rivets.

Also I was told that Alko have recently decided to only replace brake parts that are causing safety problems not just squeal.

A lot of caravan owners won't find they have a brake problem for many years and will have to pay for the parts themselves. I only discovered the problem after towing some 10k miles in the last 12 months.

if your brake squeal I suggest getting them looked at soon as the damage cased could be expensive if my experience is anything to go by.