I had problems on my 1988 33'Regal SE with the tag axle being useless. To get a better idea of the problem,review my post on Feb.02 2004 and Bill H's post on July 24 2002(which was before my owning a Barth) Last week I had the rear air bags replaced and found out a brake line was ruptured and
the tag axle brakes had not worked for a long time AND as Bill H stated it is a seperate system. I also had a valve stem extension kit installed on the front air bags(I'm too old and fat to slide under the front axle)so I can check the bag pressure through the front grill.However,that showed one of the front bags won't hold air. Will be replacing both bags this week. Last Feb.I couldn't locate tag axle shocks comparable to the OME but the following equipment is recommended for Neway tag axles.
Monroe RV Shock #M555003 (Gas Magnum 55)
Air Bags Firestone #5423
When all of the current glitches are fixed I'll try to type (with one finger,) the whole story. Hoping this can help other tag axle owners,a sincere thanks to this web site.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Carl Flack:
[B] Last week I had the rear air bags replaced and found out a brake line was ruptured and
the tag axle brakes had not worked for a long time AND as Bill H stated it is a seperate system.

The tag axle on my 1987 34T, is different. It has the master cylinder for "front and rear Discs" (the expensive one of course) and as you take the line out to the rear axle, there's a "Tee" fitting and the tag and the drive axle are supplied by that. 'seems to work OK...
Cheers, John

Carl, you are in for a treat. Good bags in front are going to really make things better. Having one front bag low and one up must have really screwed up your handling. I'm glad for you that Florida is flat.

My wife informs me the only time she has seen fear on my face is when we took a P30 with empty front bags for a test drive on a mountain road.

John, I'm a little confused. Do you mean that your tag axle brakes operate directly off the main system without an Ultravac booster?

[This message has been edited by bill h (edited May 15, 2004).]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bill h:
[B]Carl, John, I'm a little confused. Do you mean that your tag axle brakes operate directly off the main system without an Ultravac booster?

Yes.

Not being a mechanic and not fitting under the coach I had to go with what was discribed to me as two seperate braking systems. I definately had a much better 7.3 mile ride from the shop back to the storage yard ,increased stopping power,smoother ride and most noticable,QUIETER. There is about an 80% reduction in noise.

THE TOY 1988 33' Regal SE Coach #3448

Perhaps I created some confusion. In my post of July 24 2002, https://www.barthmobile.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000160.html I said "the tag axle on your gas Barth has its own master cylinder and must be filled separately from the main one."

I did not mean to imply or infer that they were two separate systems. I have only been underneath mine, but it is just like the Neway manual. The Chevy brake system has a little line that goes back to a vacuum modulator valve, where the Chevy brake pressure modulates engine vacuum going to an Ultravac, which is essentially a power brake. So, the MH brakes modulate the vacuum which operates the Ultravac which operates the tag master cylinder which is bolted to it. This master cylinder has its own reservoir, and operates the drum brakes on the tag axle.

They are not separate. The Chevy system controls the tag system. If anyone has a suggestion on how I could edit my post to make it clearer, let's do it.