Where is the Brake Fluid Reservoir Located? '87 Chieftain

[dlkilgore]

I have a 1987 Winnebago Chieftain 27 with the 454 Chevy Engine. I would like to check the brake fluid, but I can't find the reservoir. Does anyone know where the brake fluid reservoir is located?

[tiinytina]

they were very sneaky on the 1987 models. if you are on a P30 chassis the brake reservoir is located up behind the drivers side tire, behind a piece of shielding. Believe it or not there is an access panel to it under the carpet to the left of the steering column.... I was able to fill mine up working around the shielding but you have to feel your way and will not be able to see what you are doing.... of course if you are not in a parking lot on the side of the road where your brakes gave out because your fluid is low you would have the correct tools to remove the sheilding 

I wondered what that access panel was for when I re-carpeted the cockpit... but of course I "secured" my carpet way to well to be able to access it without ripping everything up...   

Tina

[JDxeper]

ClydesdaleKevin had posted some pictures of the floor location of the trap door at one time.  When he redid his carpet, he fixed the trap to open from the cockpit.  They don't exist on the Dodge chassis.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Yep...if you have a P-30 chassis, at least on my 77 Itasca, there is an oval trap door hidden under the carpet secured with four countersunk phillips head machine screws.  Sitting in the driver's seat, looking down at the floor, it is just to the right of the steering column.  When I recarpeted the cockpit and found it, I made sure I cut around it, and then carpeted the trap door so I could check my fluid with ease.

Now, I'm not sure if it was a Chevy thing, or if Winnebago made the floor and thus the trap door.

Also accessable through that trap door is the control center for the cruise control, which I have yet to make work!

The master cylinder sits forward of the opening a bit, but you can still easily remove the bales to remove the top, and look right down inside it with ease...use a small bottle of brake fluid to top it off...there is room for a small bottle without spilling it, but you'll never get a big bottle in there.

Kev

[dlkilgore]

Thanks so much for this information. I tried to find it and couldn't. I asked several people, but they did not know where to look. I received a recommendation for this board and you guys solved my problem. We really love the Winnebago. We have owned it for 2 years now and it has been a great experience for our family.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

If yours has the trap door under the carpet and you cut around the carpet to access it, do yourself a favor, like I did, and replace the stock screws with stainless ones.  My rig lived its whole life until I got it in the desert, and there was still rust on the original screws and they were hard to remove.  The stainless screws make it a breeze!

Kev