Life Expectancy of new brakes & drums

[ROBERT CROSS]

The way I did it before getting the TruControl.

Run at 20mph, set gain, apply brakes. I kept it just below lock-up on a loose surface or whatever is the most comfortable on a dry road. At 20mph the distance of AS only braking should be comparable to TV only braking, slight advantage to the TV.
Believe me you WILL know if it's set too high.

Bob
🇺🇸

[CMHM]

Thanks Bob, so when you adjust the gain you ONLY apply brakes to the trailer? This is where I might have done things the wrong way, I was testing with my car brakes pedal, thus both car and trailer brakes.

[Bill M.]

I do not have a Curt or a ProPride. My controller has 2 things to set. The power (voltage) to the brakes which I set the way you and Bob are discussing. I think that would be the Gain. The other knob is called the Boost and it acts as a sorta over ride over the inertia proportional braking. It makes the brakes respond to the set level when the brake lights come on. I can set it so that I feel the trailer starting to slow the truck before the truck brakes do. Or set it so that I do not feel that. My understanding that is to get some braking before the TV brakes much to keep from having that bump that people with the ProPride have trouble with. I set the Boost up in towns and down when descending long grades. I pump on grades when towing rather than constant braking. I do not know if I am setting it correctly but that is what works for me. My TV is quite capable of stopping the rig without the trailer brakes but it takes further.

[Fungus]

What Bob said.

F-250 gain is set to 8.5 out of 10, IIRC. Seemed high to me but lowering didn’t feel right. Effort set to medium. I have the ProPride. On gravel the brakes will lock up if I push hard.

Emergency stop situation (DW told the two grandsons with us to hold on) from about 60 mph — no lock up and trailer stayed right behind me. I did not notice the PPP bump but I was busy bracing for impact. I really though it wouldn’t stop. When I realized it was working fine I glanced in the mirror (camera). I couldn’t see any of the grill of the car behind me. Cars behind that one were ditching into the median to the left.

[carl2591]

best place to do this is on a long hill.. I get to about 40 and pull the trailer brake controller to full.. for about 4-5seconds.. let up and get some speed and do it again for 5-6 seconds.. I do this for about 5 times then do nothing to let them cool.. you an feel the bedding in and the brakes start holding better and better. i not give them a lot of chance to cool between hard braking applications till the 5th and final time.. its sets the brakes shoes and hardens the resins in the shoes and magnet as well, which is a brake shoe of sorts.

we traveled 35K miles frm june 2020 to now or more.. lots of high mountain passes and when i checked the shoes in mesa last year they were good, plenty of material left.. now i do have a diesel with engine brake so i can come down like I-17 out of flagstaff heading south on the 7 mile 5% grade and not hit the brakes for the most part.. got love diesel..

Originally Posted by SSquared

Brakes do require some break-in time to get to where they are working well. My mechanic said he talked to Dexter and they said that you should have 200 miles or so on the brakes before declaring new brakes "bad" for either grabbing too little or getting too hot.

When we inspected my problem brake the first time, the wear pattern on the shoe surfaces showed that they were still not fully broken in; the end of the shoes had no wear on them.

I found the following in one of Dexter's installation manuals. I wonder how many mechanics actually instruct their customers to do this:

After replacement of brake shoes and linings, the brakes must be
re-burnished to seat the new components. This should be done by
applying the brakes 20-30 times from an initial speed of 40 mph,
slowing the vehicle to 20 mph. Allow ample time for the brakes to
cool between applications. This procedure allows the new brake
shoes to seat in to the drum surface

[carl2591]

i find the adjusting boost lower in town and higher on road is better for me. when you set boost up it causes the voltage to go higher quicker on trailer when you hit brakes which at low speed can cause a bump on all hitches.. as the trailer is braking hard for a bit.. Watch the readout and see..

Originally Posted by Bill M.

I do not have a Curt or a ProPride. My controller has 2 things to set. The power (voltage) to the brakes which I set the way you and Bob are discussing. I think that would be the Gain. The other knob is called the Boost and it acts as a sorta over ride over the inertia proportional braking. It makes the brakes respond to the set level when the brake lights come on. I can set it so that I feel the trailer starting to slow the truck before the truck brakes do. Or set it so that I do not feel that. My understanding that is to get some braking before the TV brakes much to keep from having that bump that people with the ProPride have trouble with. I set the Boost up in towns and down when descending long grades. I pump on grades when towing rather than constant braking. I do not know if I am setting it correctly but that is what works for me. My TV is quite capable of stopping the rig without the trailer brakes but it takes further.

[carl2591]

don't think being a "left foot-braker" i cause more brake wear.. not anticipating the traffic or not having a diesel with exhaust brake is a bigger issue.

As a left foot- braker I can get to the brake pedal quicker and if thing looks bit odd i can slide my foot over and hoover so if i need to slow quickly i can.. (no i am not riding the brakes, SMH)

most high performance drivers,, nascar, F1, indy tend to be left foot breakers as you can be applying power and brake at same to time if needed..

when towing especially in city/towns i tend to spend less time on the fuel than on.. allowing plenty of space in front and looking down teh road to see what the stop light are doing, stop signs and places people can pull out in front of you etc.

we did 30K miles from june 2020 to oct 21 and my brake are still in good shape and that is trip out west through some long 6% downhill grades.. exhaust brake is the deal..

too much gain can be a issue as well..

Originally Posted by Fungus

The drums come off no matter what so there should be no additional labor for new drums.

Terms: Drum brakes have shoes not pads. Pads are for disc brakes.

1. Are you a left-footed-braker? If yes, you could be braking too much.
2. Do you anticipate the need to brake and, therefore, do it less when towing?
3. Is the brake gain set correctly? If not, the trailer could be doing too much of the braking for the TV.

[SilverWind]

Following. Interesting thread.

[Fungus]

Originally Posted by carl2591

don't think being a "left foot-braker" i cause more brake wear.. not anticipating the traffic or not having a diesel with exhaust brake is a bigger issue.

As a left foot- braker I can get to the brake pedal quicker and if thing looks bit odd i can slide my foot over and hoover so if i need to slow quickly i can.. (no i am not riding the brakes, SMH)

most high performance drivers,, nascar, F1, indy tend to be left foot breakers as you can be applying power and brake at same to time if needed..

when towing especially in city/towns i tend to spend less time on the fuel than on.. allowing plenty of space in front and looking down teh road to see what the stop light are doing, stop signs and places people can pull out in front of you etc.

we did 30K miles from june 2020 to oct 21 and my brake are still in good shape and that is trip out west through some long 6% downhill grades.. exhaust brake is the deal..

too much gain can be a issue as well..

I agree with most of what you say: anticipate traffic; use engine braking (my F-250 gasser has engine braking, too); slow down in congested areas; plenty of space in front; look down the road for danger spots; coast up to stop signs, yield signs, and traffic signs (red or otherwise).

I can't think of a circumstance in which I need to apply both the brake and the accelerator. I'm not a NASCAR driver with a need to keep the engine revved up while also slowing the vehicle into a turn. That's what they do. And they tailgate. I don't.

If I'm prepared for an emergency stop with the left foot then it must be hovering over the brake pedal. That's a lot of fatigue. Maybe it's taking a little nap on the brake pedal to reduce fatigue but not riding the pedal.

If I've anticipated a traffic situation and moved my left foot to hover, why is my right foot still on the accelerator? A right-footer has already made a quick move to the brake pedal (same for a lefty from the deck) or a leisurely stroll to the pedal (more likely and also same as a lefty moving from the deck). And with right-foot braking, there is no chance that the right foot will slip behind the brake pedal, impeding is full travel (as could happen with my Jaguar). Plus, the right foot is more adept in 90% of us.

If my left foot is on the deck then there is no difference between left or right foot emergency braking. The left foot has to wake up to move to the brake pedal vs the right foot already awake because it's been doing all the driving. The right foot probably has a slight advantage.

I drive how I was taught and influenced by the equipment on which I taught. Probably true for most if not all of us. Me...stick, left foot for the manual clutch, right foot for the brake and accelerator, turn signal long before tapping the brake. It required some dancing of feet when reaching for the dimmer switch on the floor while also coming to a stop. I drove for 15 years before I drove an automatic transmission.

Bottom line is that towing is akin to trucking, not racing. Or at least it should be. I try to emulate the best truckers not the best race-car drivers. How are truckers taught today? I don't know. A quick glance at forums revealed that some people are reluctant to hire left-brakers due to the potential for wear and tear on company-owned vehicles. Do they have data to support that assumption? Probably not.

Is right better? No. Is left better? No. If left-foot brakers can safely and effectively get the job done then go for it. But I don't think the logic of left-footer brakers having quicker emergency braking to be sound, unless the left foot hovers over the brake pedal (but not touching) for the entire trip.

As for my original comment asking if the poster was a left-foot braker, it was just one of many possible contributing factors to increased wear on brakes. If a driver does brake with the left foot then he/she might need to evaluate any habits that adversely affect brake lining longevity.

[carl2591]

not sure i agree with the "forums" that incident companies do not hire left foot brake drivers.. would think they more look at past driving infractions etc. might be a huge stretch to claim that with no evidence.. (sorta like the 2020 election lie..)

my left foot is awake when i see something in front that cause me to take note.. like brake lights on the interstate at 70 mph.. i can feather the throttle and position my left foot close to brake pedal to help slow if needed.. one advantage when pulling especially on hills using the brake to slow a bit if needed while keeping the throttle feathered helps to keep rpm and boost up vs drop off rpm boost drops and power drops as well.. learned how to do that as OTR trucker in the 80's with underpowered governed trucks.

now let's get out there and geterdone!!!

[CMHM]

Thank you all for supporting me through the $4,000 repair that was vividly discussed on this thread. You might want to know that Dexter refunded me the entire amount, because of a manufacturing issue on exactly the equipment I had. You can read more about it here.