Workhorse Brake Failure Adventure
Several weeks ago, when leaving for our summer of 2010 RV trip through the South East, we were all packed and left the house. After
about 5 miles, the rear brakes locked up and after much hassle, we ended up at ABC Bus company for repairs. They were very good and I
highly recommend them. It took days for them to get approval from Workhorse to make the repairs. They replaced the calipers on the rear
wheels. They also replaced the sensors and seals on the front wheels. They would not replace the front calipers. We left again after two
days to restart our 10 day delayed trip. We had driven about 800 miles with several stay overs at friends and relatives. We stayed several
days in Ashville, NC to see the Biltmore House and other sights. We headed North. While driving, I noticed a chemical smell and
immediately pulled over (my first brake failure came to mind). The brakes were smoking and fluid was dripping from the front brakes. We
immediately called the Workhorse 800 number (now on speed dial) and reported the problem. 4/12 hrs later we were towed to the nearest
dealer, Tom Johnson's RV in Marion, NC. I also highly recommend them. They have done many, many of these recall brakes and have all of
the parts in stock. They disassembled them and emailed photos to WorkHorsee and indicated it would take several hours to do the job.
Workhorse didn't call and shifted them around to different people. Finally I called Workhorse (20 minute wait to speak to a human) and
explained I was not a happy camper as they had 2 weeks earlier refused to change the front brakes that were now ruined and could have
killed me and my wife in the process and stated that I wanted some immediate action and their delay had caused me to have to stay in a
motel ($102). She stated that according to the recall, they had 24 hours to make a decision. This really frosted me as they had all of the
information and their previous thriftiness could have possibility killed us and that we were going to get them repaired correctly this time. The
technician recommended that we replace the calipers (with new defective design ones). They eventually had a regional manager call and
approve the calipers and all collateral damage. They repaired the brakes the following day. We ended up spending a total of 3 nights in
their town. First after being towed in, then in the motel as our coach was under repair in the bays, then we spent the third night on their
campground to regroup and reattach my hitch which I had to remove for the tow. All in all, it was not a good experience and it is all I can do
to maintain my cool after having this happen to me twice. We love this coach and have use it a lot, but this Workhorse brake nightmare has
got me thinking I need to trade it in on a coach with a different chassis. Before, I was not too worried about the recall as I had not had any
problems. Now I realize that this is a huge liability to the sale of my coach and it decreases the value by a lot. Frankly, I wouldn't buy it. As
word of this fiasco spreads, a used Workhorse chassis will be harder to sell.
about 5 miles, the rear brakes locked up and after much hassle, we ended up at ABC Bus company for repairs. They were very good and I
highly recommend them. It took days for them to get approval from Workhorse to make the repairs. They replaced the calipers on the rear
wheels. They also replaced the sensors and seals on the front wheels. They would not replace the front calipers. We left again after two
days to restart our 10 day delayed trip. We had driven about 800 miles with several stay overs at friends and relatives. We stayed several
days in Ashville, NC to see the Biltmore House and other sights. We headed North. While driving, I noticed a chemical smell and
immediately pulled over (my first brake failure came to mind). The brakes were smoking and fluid was dripping from the front brakes. We
immediately called the Workhorse 800 number (now on speed dial) and reported the problem. 4/12 hrs later we were towed to the nearest
dealer, Tom Johnson's RV in Marion, NC. I also highly recommend them. They have done many, many of these recall brakes and have all of
the parts in stock. They disassembled them and emailed photos to WorkHorsee and indicated it would take several hours to do the job.
Workhorse didn't call and shifted them around to different people. Finally I called Workhorse (20 minute wait to speak to a human) and
explained I was not a happy camper as they had 2 weeks earlier refused to change the front brakes that were now ruined and could have
killed me and my wife in the process and stated that I wanted some immediate action and their delay had caused me to have to stay in a
motel ($102). She stated that according to the recall, they had 24 hours to make a decision. This really frosted me as they had all of the
information and their previous thriftiness could have possibility killed us and that we were going to get them repaired correctly this time. The
technician recommended that we replace the calipers (with new defective design ones). They eventually had a regional manager call and
approve the calipers and all collateral damage. They repaired the brakes the following day. We ended up spending a total of 3 nights in
their town. First after being towed in, then in the motel as our coach was under repair in the bays, then we spent the third night on their
campground to regroup and reattach my hitch which I had to remove for the tow. All in all, it was not a good experience and it is all I can do
to maintain my cool after having this happen to me twice. We love this coach and have use it a lot, but this Workhorse brake nightmare has
got me thinking I need to trade it in on a coach with a different chassis. Before, I was not too worried about the recall as I had not had any
problems. Now I realize that this is a huge liability to the sale of my coach and it decreases the value by a lot. Frankly, I wouldn't buy it. As
word of this fiasco spreads, a used Workhorse chassis will be harder to sell.
Our view for 4 hours.
Tow truck's arrival.
Leakage of brake fluid.. The hubcap damage is unrelated and is from a flat tire problem in Upper Michigan several years ago.
Tow bar electronics photoed before I removed it.
Brake fluid leakage on driver's side too.
The tow operator was a real professional with 35 years experience
and was very gentle and careful with our coach.
and was very gentle and careful with our coach.
A horrible scene for any RV'er.