Glass

I have an 05 2500 I use to tow a 5th wheel toybox mostly through heavy mountainous areas on my way to the desert many times per year. The toybox weighs approx 15,000 lbs. After my first 27,000 original miles, the front pads and rotors were shot as in the oe rotors had small cracks in them. I had the local guy replace them with "lifetime warranty rotors and brakes". 20,000 miles later, the rotors were cracked again and the mechanic replaced rotors and pads under warranty ($180.00 for labor). Now, 30,000 miles later the rotors are cracked again and pads need to be replaced.
Although I paid a bunch for the "lifetime warranty" parts, I would rather start over by providing my own parts and doing the job with a friend.
Anyone have an idea for the best rotor/pads setup for the type of use described here??
Thanks.

tryNto

Welcome to DTR...
Man you are hard on brakes.... you would benefit from an exhaust brake.
I don't think with your setup, any parts are going to hold up much better. Try adjusting your trailer brake to take a little more of the stopping...

I don't tow anywhere near what you do, so I am still on original pad & rotors @ 92000 miles.
hope you find something...
Fill in a Sig with your truck info so we know what you are running.
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/....html?t=224825

.boB

Don't just replace parts. You'll end up right where you were before.

If you have cracked rotors, then they're getting overheated. Fix that by fabbing some ducting to direct cool(er) air into the center of the rotor. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, 3" ducting should work fine. Don't use plastic stuff from Home Depot, it will melt and catch fire. Check with Pegasus Auto Racing for the good stuff.

Do not use dimpled or drilled rotors. The provide no performance advantage over a solid rotor. They will crack in about half the time.

You could consider a slotted rotor, but I wouldn't recommend it. The slots act like a cheese grater, and slice off a very thin layer of pad material. On the track that's a good thing, to prevent a glazed surface. On the street that just means more dust and faster pad wear.

Go to some place like Autozone, Pep Boys, NAPA, whatever. Get the best quality solid surface rotors you can find.

For pads, I like Performance Friction carbon metallic. I'v not seen that more expensive pads - like EBC Green Stuff - provide a significant improvement for their significant cost.

Many counter guys will try and sell you some ceramic pads. In a lot of cases, the ceramics are an improvement. But most are not recommended for towing.

You might also consider an exhaust brake. Pretty expensive, though.

CrashCade

EBC YellowStuff Pads and a Cryo treated rotor will be your best bet.

Glass

Thanks for the insight so far.... I didn't mention in the original post that I do have a PacBrake exhaust brake and have had it for approx 30,000 miles or so. It works well and my truck stops effectively with my trailer going down grade or otherwise. It just seems I'm replacing parts too often.

cincydiesel

My originals lasted 120,000 miles with about half that pulling 10,000 + lbs. Just replaced them with Brembo rotors and Napa heavy duty pads.

Bozy

You would benefit greatly from an Exhaust Brake, especially in the mountains.

COUNTRYBOY

X2, I have them on my Dually and have really been happy with em'.... I also have the pac brake and between grabbing gears slowing me down and the PAC Brake, I don't hardly touch the brakes anymore!

kry226

With all of that heat and replacement of front brakes that many times, it seems like your rears should be showing lots of wear by now too...unless your proportioning valve was not up to spec. Too much braking on the fronts would cause what you're seeing. I'd check your rears, and depending on the amount of wear you find, I would then start looking for other causes.

To add, I've always been hard-pressed to find better pads than OEM. Rotors, on the other hand, are a different story.

Dr.Dizzle

In addition to the replacement of brake pads and rotors, one item that often gets overlooked is the brake fluid. Under normal driving conditions, neglected brake fluid may not pose a serious safety concern. The calipers on most cars and trucks won’t get hot enough in everyday driving to make the fluid boil. However, under severe conditions (as when driving down a mountain or towing a heavy trailer), the brakes may get hot enough to make the fluid boil. Once brake fluid turns to vapor, the bubbles cause an increase in the distance the pedal must travel to apply the brakes. This is called “pedal fade” and it may result in brake failure.

With that being said,I strongly suggest you also consider flushing and bleeding the brake fluid. Albeit, there are several choices of quality brake fluids available, you might want to step up to a brake fluid with higher dry and wet boiling points. Valvoline and Castrol are two choices that can be found in auto parts stores

sloride

X2 on the rears. If they haven't been replaced yet then they probably aren't working as well as they should. Inspect them and make sure they're working properly.

Ditto on checking and adjusting the trailer brakes also.

Rednax

Yup, the trailer brakes are supposed to stop the trailer just as the truck brakes stop the truck. Excess wear on either shows something wrong.


DEXTER SELF-ADJUSTING BRAKES
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fu...d/23458294.cfm

BRAKE WIRING DIAGRAM
http://www.championtrailers.com/Elec...l%20wiring.pdf

BRAKE AXLE WIRES
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...72&postcount=3

WIRE UPGRADE FOR TRUCK
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fu...d/23470880.cfm

Trailer lighting (Modulite)
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/....html?t=242893

Trailer Anti-Theft and Wiring Correction
http://www.allpar.com/fix/electrical...er-wiring.html

Generic Brake Wiring Diagram
http://www.championtrailers.com/Elec...l%20wiring.pdf

Brake Inspection
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...6&postcount=11


("JELAG" on TurboDieselRegister.com, a fleet business owner with DODGE one-tons and a variety of trailers):

We tow several trailers and have run a 8 gauge wire from the battery to the trailer connector in place of the factory 12+ wire... we've also installed an 8 gauge ground... at the truck battery we have a 40 amp fuse.... from the male trailer plug we've used the same gauge wiring to power the battery and keep it charged...

On all our trailers we draw off the trailer batteries with a group of relays... using the 12+ as power to the relays and run clearance, turn, and backup lights from these relays... we have 50 watt bulbs for backups on the trailers...

We use the power from the truck through the trailer connector as the trigger for the relays....

Since I own several trucks and several trailers this was a task... but in the long run we've had fewer problems.

If you look at the actual diameter of the wire going to the factory connector I can't see how it can carry the kind of current they expect in a modern trailer... power to the battery, lights, etc...

We've had problems with trailer brake circuits in the past with some of the wiring going through the axle from one side to the other.... the wire can chafe on the inside of the axle and cause high current and blown fuses... so on all our trailers we have a trailer junction box, and wiring to the trailer axles that is outside the tube....

We also use non-insulated butt connectors and shrink tubing.... we buy from Del City - Wiring Products and Professional Electrical Supplies a clear heat shrink tube that has an adhesive on the inside like what is used on water wells... this is a waterproof connection....

We understand and use ohm's law and the use of a digital meter...

Your brake controller should be fine... its the connections that worry me....


(I prefer ANCOR "Marine Grade" wiring products as the USCG bans soldering for vibration-prone terminations; therefore these spendy products last forever).

On my vehicles I start by modifying the electrical system:

BIG THREE UPGRADE
http://forum.sounddomain.com/ubbthre...page/1/fpart/1

(more) BIG THREE UPGRADE
http://www.massdriven.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11811

bansh-eman

Something is not right. I used to pull through the same mountians on I-8 at least 2 or 3 times a month to go to Glamis. I had a 23foot Toy hauler loaded with 4 bikes tools, fuel, 100 gallons water and 18 gallons of gas under the trailer. I dont have an exhaust brake and mine never had any issues. There is something thats causing yours to wear so quickly, especially if you even have an E-Brake.