Good Day to All

[MIkey3air]

Hello! I joined this forum because we need help.
We are looking for a spot near Redding California that We can park at for a few days and repair our brakes.
We cannot afford a shop repair and though I am 100% disabled from a spinal fusion and permanent carpal tunnel in both hands, my wife and I could do the repairs ourselves.
We have a 1983 Winnebago Brave that is 22’ long and have discovered I cannot even get parts until I can disassemble the rear end to find out whether we have 2-1/2” or 3” brake shoes.
The brake pedal dropped to the floor while driving to get our smog test to finish the licensing process and we have had to boondock retiring us to move while we get the coach working in other ways.
This RV was purchased as a means to survive an eviction from our home of 10 years.
The landlord wanted to raise the rent and not only would not provide the option for us to pay a higher rent, he stole two of our children - Priscilla and Odie, both Siamese cats.
Nevertheless, we are happy with the move into our Winnebago, we just need it working properly.
We have lived the last two months in our new 22’ home, but need to fix several things to make it comfortable.
We just learned about deep cycle batteries so I purchased two from Les Schwab yesterday yet they have no charge!
Seems our path is a school of hard knocks trail rather than a trip to the wonderment of Oz, as we had hoped.
If anyone can tell us about a spot of land we can occupy for several days so I can do the brakes, I would be most grateful!
Thank you for listening and have a great day!

[AZAspect]

Sorry to hear of your situation...and I hope it all works out for you and your family! I looked online for areas close to Redding with limited success: https://freecampsites.net/#!Redding%20ca
Most of these seem a little ways outside of Redding but they might work for you. Maybe not if you don't have a toad to get to/from the parts store.

Another thought might be to check with the local parts stores that might have a larger parking lot that would allow you to make the needed repairs and then move on. It's a long shot but you might find a sympathetic manager who would allow this.

Good luck and let us know how it all turns out!

Al

[thompwil]

Originally Posted by MIkey3air

The brake pedal dropped to the floor while driving to get our smog test to finish the licensing process and we have had to boondock retiring us to move while we get the coach working in other ways.

The pedal dropping to the floor could indicate a broken hydraulic line, a failed master cylinder, or a failed wheel cylinder as possibilities. I'd look for signs of brake fluid leaking out from the lines, wheels, and master cylinder first. That's something a fellow RVer could crawl underneath and check for you too if need be.

[MIkey3air]

Thanks Thompwil.
We had found a place at a friend’s house, but evidently they upset one of their neighbors sometime before we got there, so just as I was getting ready to start the teardown, a city truck showed up and asked us to leave due to a noise complaint for running our generator.
At least now I know we must soundproof the bottom of the generator box. A decibel app told me we are putting out 60db at 70 feet so that excludes parks until I deaden the sound. Nice to know but wrecked the plan…oh well. Life!

[AZAspect]

Have you checked the color of the brake fluid by opening the master cylinder? As mentioned, you may simply have a leak somewhere. If so, fix the leak (wheel cylinders are usually the culprit) and bleed all lines. If the fluid is other than a nice clear color, then it has been contaminated and in need of replacement by bleeding the lines...but you probably already know this. If I were in the area, I'd lend a hand but I'm a bit south and east of you. Good luck!

Al

[MIkey3air]

Yes, I already know it is the wheel cylinder on the driver’s side rear. Since it is necessary to pull everything to the axle just to get in there, I figure it is the best time to do the rear cylinders, shoes and drums. My labor is a little slower than before, but though I still feel 35 yrs I am 64 yrs now, so recovery is much slower than years past.
Other than a few extra steps, I don’t see this as being very complicated.
The RV sat for 6-7 yrs before we bought it, so although the brake problem was a surprise, it is part of the package.
I am surprised more people aren’t renting out shops or parts of their property for DIY mechanicing…with the massive increase to the market from landlords evicting people to raise rents (over 1500 people a month on average in Shasta County alone I am told), the RV market has experienced a massive boom and shops are terribly overloaded with a month wait just for estimates!
Hopefully we will find someplace soon. All told since the problem developed with the brakes, we’ve been traveling almost every day for the 4-6 weeks while using a leash to pull the brake pedal up as we drive the back roads.
Not my choice but Redding has become extremely unfriendly towards people boondocking lately, with even Walmart posting a $1500 fine for overnight stays and that is commonplace in town now.
All this is a direct result of the fires and the media making a point of telling landlords they could not profit off the fire…so landlords are doing the very same thing, just legally.
The 50 year old plan to make Shasta County into a recreational retirement community still is not working.
Some place will turn up soon to do these brakes. It is always darkest before the storm passes…