Motorhome Brake Replacement Cost (Halp?)

[K. Darien Freeheart]

I've got a 34' class A motorhome, Safari Serengeti gas on a John Deere chassis.

The quote they gave me today for the replacement pads and rotors, plus a line flush, seems unreasonably high. Does anyone here with motorhome experience have any ballpark figure this service should cost me?

[Jim Johnson]

If I had a shop and tools the job wouldn't take more than four hours.

When looking for parts for the truck part of your motorhome, use the vehicle ID number.   Refer to it as a "John Deere" and say "I don't know what year it was made."  98 times out of 100 the Chassis will be at least 1 year older than the Body.

Parts people will give you a blank stare when you tell them it's a Safari Serengeti.

Some mechanics will pee themselves and run away from a motorhome and a lot of other will charge extra.  Mainly because motorhome builders always seem to add some dumb ass thing that makes the job more complicated.

[K. Darien Freeheart]

Refer to it as a "John Deere" and say "I don't know what year it was made."  98 times out of 100 the Chassis will be at least 1 year older than the Body.

I can confirm this is 100% the case with mine. It's an 88 Serengeti, but the VIN runs as an 87 Deere for exactly that reason.

Parts people will give you a blank stare when you tell them it's a Safari Serengeti.

Thanks for the advice.

[leetninja]

if you can find the pads and rotors you can do it in a driveway for about the cost of the parts.

[firecracker joe]

where is your motorhome loocated ? can you drive it somewhere to do the brakes or does it need to be towed? I have the tools and i believe most brake systems are relative you should buy a chiltons book for it which tells how to do many repairs yourself. Or maybe you could download a manual for your camper there nice to have as vehicles get older unless you can afford $60-$150 an hour Labor is usually a good part of the cost on working on vehicles. I did the brakes on my van and they work well still. You should probably by calipers which are not very expensive $20 each with trade on of old calipers. and pads another $20 each side the rotors were $50 each side i believe flush just takes a qt of brake fluid and a helper to pump brakes. a word to the wise  I did all that and still had problems so i changed the brake hose at $20 per side and now my brakes work great.Im sure it could be done in my yard my garage is 12 ft. high but only 20' deep. let me know if i can help.

[KBCraig]

Jose, remember, this is a Class A motorhome, which means "the next thing to a truck without the CDL" category.

You're not going to find the parts at Autozone.

[firecracker joe]

lol, yea i hear that ,and ill be honest have never looked at the brakes of a motorhome but it all seems relative to me just bigger and more expensive  i'm still willing to help if i can. I have tools that were used on my backhoe and i also have my cdl-a

[K. Darien Freeheart]

You're not going to find the parts at Autozone.

Some of the shops are concerned that they won't find the parts at all. The joys of a discontinued chassis.

I've basically found that labor is the huge variable here so I've shopped around places with decent reputations. I'd prefer them to look over the brakes before doing it myself, just in case there's something that needs attention that I'd have missed. Once it's confirmed to be decent, I'll seriously look at doing it myself into the future.

[firecracker joe]

its good to have options. one thing when you bring your vehicle somewhere for a free estimate they dont want to waste their time and would like to get the job and most dont care if you want to save a buck or 20  whoever i would do the same thing. do your home work you wont regret it.

[jeremy2141]

I'm a heavy duty truck mechanic.  Your brakes sound like they're hydraulic.  They should be really easy to do, front rotors and rear drums.  You can probably buy the parts anywhere, they shouldn't be any different than a 1 ton pickup truck.  If it has air brakes, they're even easier, probably could be done in  2 hours if the wheels come off easily (and you have a jack big enough to pick up an axle).  Do you have any more information?
I just rebuilt the engine in a 1989 Beaver Coaches Marquis model coach.  It was a CAT 3208 (about 10L V-8 diesel).

[Kat Kanning]

Can you find the parts on ebay?