Brake smoking ?

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   Coming back from our first outing, it was a short 40 mile run one way, had a great time and the facility had a great dump/wash area to dump tanks and flush lines. I also figured why haul 200 lbs of fresh water so I opened the drain on the fresh water tank to let it drain on the way out. About 10 or 15 minutes on the return trip home on the interstate at 60 mph,  I see what appears to be whirling white smoke from the left (drivers side) wheel, just every now and then. I am getting spooked and look for an exit to check to see if I have a hot wheel/brake.  Wheels and brakes are cool, tires are cool to the touch.  I think what happened is that the fresh water tank when full is convex, however when empty is concave, with the drain open water is trapped in the front and back of the tank, then when hitting dips or changes in angle some of this water makes it to the drain.  At 60 mph this water hits the road surface and swirls right behind the left rear tire of the pod. I put the drain cap back on and it did not reoccur, I though I had a problem but did not. Put the cap on the fresh water tank after draining so you wont get the Scare of Your Life. Happy podin

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dsmiths Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 10 Oct 2011 Location: Southern Ind Online Status: Offline Posts: 866	Topic: Brake smoking ? Posted: 12 May 2012 at 10:45pm
	Coming back from our first outing, it was a short 40 mile run one way, had a great time and the facility had a great dump/wash area to dump tanks and flush lines. I also figured why haul 200 lbs of fresh water so I opened the drain on the fresh water tank to let it drain on the way out. About 10 or 15 minutes on the return trip home on the interstate at 60 mph, I see what appears to be whirling white smoke from the left (drivers side) wheel, just every now and then. I am getting spooked and look for an exit to check to see if I have a hot wheel/brake. Wheels and brakes are cool, tires are cool to the touch. I think what happened is that the fresh water tank when full is convex, however when empty is concave, with the drain open water is trapped in the front and back of the tank, then when hitting dips or changes in angle some of this water makes it to the drain. At 60 mph this water hits the road surface and swirls right behind the left rear tire of the pod. I put the drain cap back on and it did not reoccur, I though I had a problem but did not. Put the cap on the fresh water tank after draining so you wont get the Scare of Your Life. Happy podin
	Dane and Donna Smith 2011 RP-172 2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer 4X4 lift kit prodigy wireless brake controller

2Peas-n-Rpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 05 Jun 2011 Location: Nampa, ID Online Status: Offline Posts: 96	Posted: 13 May 2012 at 12:38am
	Thanks for sharing that information with us. I would have panicked, also, seeing that "smoke" coming from the back of my pod. One more thing chalked up to experience.
	2011 R-Pod 182G Hood River Edition "Ribbitt" Pod (now sold) 2000 Ford F150 5.4L V8 TV

Pawpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 10 Jan 2011 Location: Regina Sask Online Status: Offline Posts: 137	Posted: 13 May 2012 at 2:56am
	Done that! Water vaper looks a lot like smoke ! Lol
	Ready to pod around!

TIDALWAVE Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 21 Nov 2009 Location: MINNESOTA Online Status: Offline Posts: 315	Posted: 13 May 2012 at 12:52pm
	Check your state laws about allowing any fluids to drain from your Pod. Last year after doing a dump at a State Park, I realized that my fresh water tank was half full, so I opened the drain valve. After a couple of miles, I noticed that the dripping water was creating a vapor trail behind the Pod. After a brief moment of panic I realized that the vapor was water vapor and continued on my way. After a few minutes, I had a State Trooper pass me and pull me over. I knew I wasn't speeding, etc. He walked over to me and said that when he first saw me, he thought my brakes were on fire. Then he noticed that the fresh water valve was dripping on the pavement. He informed me that in Minnesota it was illegal to allow any fluids from a RV vehicle to drip on the pavement. The state was worried that people would try to dump black water onto the highways. He didn't give me a ticket, just a verbal warning. The worst case I ever saw, was when I was on the Big Island of Hawaii, following a small RV. He must have just completely filled his gas tank, but didn't put the cap back on. Every time he went around a tight curve, gas came spilling out. It was a two lane road with no pull offs and about twenty cars following him. We had to drive about ten very slow miles behind him, slow getting sick from the fumes. He never noticed he had lost quite a few gallons of gas. We finally were able to pull over...took us about an hour to recover.
	TIDALWAVE