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Air Bags, Norgrens and Brake Chambers
Have you ever been driving and just before you go around a curve or over a hill you have a “feeling” you are about to get a ticket? You may not even be speeding but you instinctively slow down. You let off the gas and in the next instant you see the patrolman that was hidden from view a moment before when you had that “feeling?”
Well, I have had that “feeling” for about 3 months or more when it came to the air systems on my bus. Although the compressor and air dyer were changed last year I knew I was way over due for changing the air bags, brake chambers and norgren valves. I had that nagging “feeling” that I was fixing to get a ticket.
When I made my first visit to East Tennessee Luxury Coach to have a window replaced in March I asked Mr. Jeff Rowe about having the air bags, norgrens and brake chambers replaced. I kicked it around for a few weeks but that nagging “feeling” would not go away so I emailed Mr. Rowe about it and we set up the time.
I had another great experience with Jeff and his shop. He does careful work at a fair price and I appreciate that very much. I enjoyed visiting with him and his son while I was there and we had a lot of laughs. Jeff took time to answer my questions and I left with not only a lot of work completed but a lot more knowledge too.I arrived in the evening and I pulled into the shop at 8:00 the first morning.
Jeff and his son Josh and young man named Dan began the work on the BoggsMobile. The first thing on the list was replacing the eight air bags in the suspension system. I thought all eight were probably original. It turns out that three of the eight had been replaced but even those needed to be replaced again.
The two on the front axle were original. The drive axle has four. The two front ones had been replaced. One of them had a manufacture date of 1999 and the other was 2004. The tag axle has two. One was original and the other was a 2000. So five were 20 years old, one was 15, one was 14 and the newest one was 10 years old.
A few of the old ones and new ones
A new one installed.
I cut one open and there was no moisture in it. That is a good sign.
A few of the old ones were in bad shape.
The second day they changed the norgrens and most of the brake chambers.
There are nine norgrens on my bus. Six in the back one in the front and two in the steer compartment. Several were original.
Next came the brake chambers.
Only one of the brake chambers had been replaced that I know of. I replaced one of the drive axle chambers in February 2012 when it failed on the road.
All the chambers went good except for the other drive axle chamber. Because of the exhaust for the generator Jeff could not get it out once he had it loose. He had to remove the tires on that side just to get the old one out and the new one in.
That was kind of crazy. All the rest of the brake chamber changes were smooth.
They were able to complete almost everything the second day. The third day they changed the last brake chamber and the type 36 service chamber on the driver’s side that lifts the the tag axle. It started leaking once everything else was in place. In hindsight I should have replaced the one on the passenger side too. It started leaking after I arrived in Ohio. Jeff felt bad about it but it was not his fault at all. With a lot of advice from Jeff and mechanic friend that came and helped me get the pin out I was able to change that one myself
This is Jeff and his son Josh.
And this is Dan.
A few more pictures.
I really enjoyed the nice quiet place to park at night.
Folks we need to give Jeff all the work we can. We need him to stay in business and prosper because he is a valuable resource to our community. Thanks, Jeff, for getting me in and working so hard and treating me fairly.
Davy
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8 Replies
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DKA, excellent post. You didn’t mention the brake hoses, they are a service item too.
Just sayin, JIM
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Ditto what Davy said.
For those who are contemplating the work Davy described keep in mind a few things. This applies not only to Jeff, but to the folks at Coach Worx / Parliament (Ben and Rick). They are very competitive with anyone pricewise when it comes to this type of work and they are a far less expensive alternative to Prevost.
You can justify using either of these shops because of price, because the guys really know their stuff and will get the work done quickly, efficiently, and the quality of the work is excellent.
But wait, there’s more…….(Like they say on TV) By going to guys like Jeff you are also getting the expertise to get work done on the conversion portion of the coach. You don’t have to limit the work to just the chassis, and then run to another shop to fix a broken AC or chase an inverter problem. That saves us as owners even more money and time.
As owners we really benefit from having access to the expertise in shops like East Tennessee Luxury Coach. We are getting fair pricing, they stand behind their work, they have a significant investment in the tools and equipment needed to properly service our coaches, they are insured, they are certified and have not only had a lot of hands on experience, but they have had formal training in all disciplines relating to our coaches, and I know they can do the simplest of repairs to complex remodels.
It is really nice when we get good reviews about a company that works on our coaches.
As an aside Davy is fortunate he had the work done when he did. We can get along with temporary repairs such as plugging an air line to deal with a failed brake chamber. We can tolerate a leaking Norgren valve. But if an air bag bursts we might end up either on the side of the road getting repairs or attempting to limp along with a coach sitting down on the bottom of the suspension, risking damage.
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Good job Jeff, another happy customer.
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It’s good to hear of stand up folks like this. Most times you go into a work situation with your fingers crossed and hope for the best. I just wish they were closer. Hat’s off to you and yours.
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I dont post much but read every word on this site each day. Getting close to a Prevost purchase and now understand how importatnt it is to deal with a shop on this site. I know east tennessee luxury just got started in business and I think its a great success story, like Ben and Rick with there expertise. I have a lady friend with a prevost and she had some work done by a guy working from his pick up truckand had nothing but trouble and had to have all corrected a prevost. I will support shops that are in legal business, have a license, insurance pays taxes and can stand behind there work. I have learned that cheapest isnt always the best.
This site is the best and i will be dealing with your advertisers soon I hope.
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One guy with a pickup is adored on another site. But the feedback from customers after the fact has been less than glowing. In his defense he and anyone can make mistakes. It happens. But all owners need to be concerned when the shop or guy servicing the coach lacks the financial wherewithal to stand behind those repairs.
The recent posting about damage due to an error made by a hub seal mechanic needs to serve as a warning that unless the folks operating on a shoe string can show insurance or the means to pay for repairs as a result of an error, the risk owners take, even if the repairs are seemingly simple, is quite high.
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Swansor,
Lot’s off good service and sales folks here on this site and you will have piece of mind knowing your dealing with creditable businesses.
Post more often and let us know what your looking for…
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You didn’t mention the brake hoses, they are a service item too.
No, I did not know that. Thanks for the new worry.
As an aside Davy is fortunate he had the work done when he did. We can get along with temporary repairs such as plugging an air line to deal with a failed brake chamber. We can tolerate a leaking Norgren valve. But if an air bag bursts we might end up either on the side of the road getting repairs or attempting to limp along with a coach sitting down on the bottom of the suspension, risking damage.
When you consider the cost of an air bag replacement along side the road or the expense of a flat bed tow, the price of replacing all the air bags is really not that high.
Davy
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