Does this sound right? Replace brakes and drums already?

[aftermath]

Originally Posted by BayouBiker

.... When JC reported 1/16 they meant there was 1/16 remaining till replacement. In other words 1/2 gone, and at 20k miles, that is not too far off expected.

.........

I have an '06 25FB, purchased used in 2009. First thing I did was take it to our local Airstream dealer and had them pull the wheels, grease the bearings and inspect the brakes. All were good. I take it back every 10K miles and after 11 years of ownership and over 50K miles, the brakes are still in good shape. I have a hard time with half gone in 20K miles. My first reaction to this thread is to check if your controller is set up properly. Our dealer told me that they have seen TVs that need brakes too quickly because the controller was not set correctly. Likewise, trailer brakes wearing out too soon for the same reason. It might just come down to them having put on better brakes way back in 2006. I really don't know.

[stevejones]

Originally Posted by thewarden

Just because all the wheels were pulled doesn't mean that he looked at the brakes. They would also need to pull off the brake drums to inspect them and the brake shoes.

Our axles were replaced to upgrade them to heavier axles. So everything had to be removed and reinstalled on the new axles.

Steve

[stevejones]

Originally Posted by Ken G

Have you done a lot of towing in the mountains? Do you ride the brakes going down a mountainside, downshift or a combination?

We have a 3/4 ton diesel truck with exhaust brake. We let the truck engine do most of the braking while towing down mountains or hills. Braking using the trailer brakes only really happens when we need to slow down or stop.

Steve

[stevejones]

Thanks all for your input on this. We are currently full time in our trailer and wintering in Arizona at an RV park, so not too easy to pull a wheel and check things out. Don't really have what I need to do that. But I'm convinced I need to either do this or have someone else check. I'll also talk to Artie at the Airstream Factory Service Center to see what checking was done when they worked on my trailer in August.

Thanks for help.

Steve

[batman]

Originally Posted by stevejones

Our axles were replaced to upgrade them to heavier axles. So everything had to be removed and reinstalled on the new axles.

Steve

Let's see, You got new axles and didn't change to disc brakes? Wow! There goes that idea.

-Dennis

[Tim A.]

Originally Posted by batman

Let's see, You got new axles and didn't change to disc brakes? Wow! There goes that idea.

Once because of axle age and once because of damage, we have ordered new axles from Dexter including drums, bearings, etc. A simple procedure and a way to feel that all components are up-to-date. Do we need disk brakes on our 19'? Absolutely not. Twelve-inch drums can easily lock up the two wheels at any time and we have never experienced fade. Now, anti-lock brakes (disk or drum) would be a nice, but expensive, modification and we have chosen not to go that route.

Tim

[batman]

Originally Posted by Tim A.

Once because of axle age and once because of damage, we have ordered new axles from Dexter including drums, bearings, etc. A simple procedure and a way to feel that all components are up-to-date. Do we need disk brakes on our 19'? Absolutely not. Twelve-inch drums can easily lock up the two wheels at any time and we have never experienced fade. Now, anti-lock brakes (disk or drum) would be a nice, but expensive, modification and we have chosen not to go that route.

Tim

Tim, "A simple procedure and a way to feel that all components are up-to-date." Glad you feel up-to-date and "Never experienced fade" with drum brakes. Thank goodness! It is not about locking up your wheels. It's more about safely and smoothly stopping.

IMO anyone ordering new axles should consider the disc brake option. For both safety and convenience.

Electric drum brake are many times more complicated to maintain, more parts to fail, have wires that break, shoes wear out quicker, drums are very expensive to replace, Not made to work backing up, Brake fade in the mountains when you need them the most, etc., etc.

There have been many discussions about the performance of disc vs drum brakes. I guess that's why all modern UP-TO-Date vehicle manufactures use disc brakes.

-Dennis

[Tim A.]

Hi Dennis, it has been my experience that safely and smoothly stopping with electric drum brakes has very much to do with the brake controller and it's setting. I have nothing against disk brakes and, yes, they are used by auto manufacturers. Despite that, long after disk brakes came into wide use, drum brakes have been used for the rear brakes of smaller cars.

The drum brakes on our 19' are not that hard to maintain. In the 18 years since we bought the trailer new, I have repacked the bearings (which means removing the drums/hubs) and taken the opportunity to inspect the drums, brake shoes, magnets, and wires and, after remounting the hub, adjust the brakes. The inspection is not time consuming.

Are disk brakes simpler? Maybe just different.

Tim

[Action]

Disc brakes are simpler. Less moving parts. However they are more expensive to build a vehicle with disc than drums. Disc brakes are better at braking versus drums. Does not mean drums are not a good choice.

Motor vehicle manufacturers have put disc brakes on the front of the vehicle where most of the braking occurs. Rear disc brakes have been used in models that were generally heavier and have a higher price point. Smaller cars as noted above have drum brakes. That is two fold! They have less mass and the smaller car market is more price sensitive. (Some major US car companies are discontinuing building small cars because the profit is not sustainable)

RV companies usually lag in technology. Mostly because it is a consumer product for discretionary dollars. (left over cash) Not every one buys an RV and the even smaller pool is travel trailers. Because that market is so small there isn't buying in bulk in the same manner. The design of a part has to be expensed over a longer period of time and changes come rather slow.

An under 20 foot travel trailer may have less of a need for more stopping power than a trailer that has more mass. And a smaller trailer has more competition in the market place than say a 25+ foot trailer.

While there are a lot more benefits to disc brakes versus drums, drum brakes do the job. And do the job rather well if well maintained. The consumer gets to make the choice as to where the dollars are being spent.

Travel trailers have been around for almost 100 years. While driving down hill can be an issue that has been encountered since the beginning. Driving or towing a trailer is a matter of not out-driving the equipment. Avoiding brake fade is a matter of starting out slower and driving slower.

Action

[dayner]

Replaced brakes and drums at 75k, now over 150k still ok. 2010 28' FC. Ford diesel exhaust brake does almost all braking over about 15 mph. Ford front brakes replaced at 102k rear still fine at 120k. Trailer brake life is a function of how you use them, not how many miles on them, as are tow vehicle brakes.

[tjdonahoe]

Originally Posted by BayouBiker

Dexter pads start at 3/16 inch and need replacement at 1/16 of an inch according to their website and documents. Dexter uses bonded not riveted pads. When JC reported 1/16 they meant there was 1/16 remaining till replacement. In other words 1/2 gone, and at 20k miles, that is not too far off expected.

As others noted, can't say much about the drums without a photo, but I agree, it seems very odd they would need replacement.

My drum brakes.from e trailer.....lining starts out at .20. That is 1/5 of an inch...I know,as I measured them when I replaced at 40,000 miles..drums were fine..I did machine where the magnet rubs..

[Julie-Bob]

We have a 2009 25FB Classic with around 55,000 to 60,000 miles lots of mountain driving and we got lots of disk pads left.

Make sure your trailer brakes are set correctly per the manual.

I had do not trust car folks to check the pads, I check them at the end of the camping season.

If your going to Mothership soon ask them to check them, after all they build it. And they are trailer folks.

[Life is a Highway]

There have been many discussions about the performance of disc vs drum brakes. I guess that's why all modern UP-TO-Date vehicle manufactures use disc brakes.

-Dennis[/QUOTE]

As I follow or am passed towing by all those modern diesel computer controlled semi truck engines that still use them drum brakes.

And all them high tech disc brakes on cars light trucks trailers. Many that have sat in storage not used and now do not have fully operational calipers. Pins frozen etc so your stopping on 1/2 a system.

All systems need service. If JC told me I was 1/2 worn I would have replaced the shoes while they were apart. ( labor saved) if the drums need to be turned at JC service it is done by the local NAPA store.

If the brakes are worn out it’s from over braking or the controller is set to high.
Unless the drums are scored or overheated they do not need to be replaced. Replace the original shoes with application engineered Dexter brake shoes. These will have the same factory coefficient of friction. Brakes are a maintenance wear
item.

[robertcamp]

Just returned from service center, brakes need replacing, I saw them, they do. 16 foot Caravelle with less than 6000 miles in two years, mainly highway. Truck controller is set properly, we checked it at the shop. Is there any explanation, the dealer did not have one. He thought I drove with the brake safety key out of the vehicle, but I did not.

[Fungus]

Curious…How did you check the controller at the shop? Did they check it by towing your trailer with your TV while you drove it?

[tjdonahoe]

New backing plates….run them drums..