Brakes for tow rigs

Loganwayne

Loganwayne

#BTL
Joined
Feb 15, 2013
Location
Clyde, North Carolina
What is everyone using. I replaced all the pads and rotors on my truck 2.5 years ago and have probably put 8,000 miles tops on it since then and they suck. Everytime i brake it is choppy/jerky.

Are slotted and drilled rotors worth it?

Also do surge breaks on a trailer cause they choppy stopping. New boat trailer has surge breaks and seems to have gotten worse since i started pulling it.

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I have never had any issues with chop on surge brakes, i have had a couple of trailers with them. On the trailer i have now you can put a pin in the tongue and basically turn turn the brakes off. If yours has that feature you can just pin it, go for a short ride and see if it changes. I put slotted brake rotors on the front my 99 tahoe and a set of carbon metallic pads and it stopped a world better, it never got the soft pedal after coming down the mountain pulling my trailer like it did before that. I put them all the way around on my 03 Silverado after i smoked the stock stuff coming back from Alabama (trailer brakes quit). It never felt any different but it did have 4 wheel disc and stopped good before i cooked them. I have a 2500 now and haven't had any issues thus far so it is still stock. I recently lifted my Colorado and put it on bigger tires and wheels and now it stops pretty awful. I believe in the drilled and slotted stuff enough that im going to put them on it. Hawk is offering an LT pad now that is designed for heavier vehicles that i plan to try.
 
I prefer ceramic or Kevlar pads with slotted or drilled/slotted rotors.

My dad had ebc pads and rotors and it stopped great. Put oem acdelco ceramic pads back on, and brakes got worse.

They are worth the money. Ceramic doesn't glaze or fade as bad, and the slotted rotors help that.

Drilled holes help cooling and get rid of gas under the pad.

Best thing is good trailer brakes to keep the load off the tow rig.
 
Mac5005 said:
I prefer ceramic or Kevlar pads with slotted or drilled/slotted rotors.

My dad had ebc pads and rotors and it stopped great. Put oem acdelco ceramic pads back on, and brakes got worse.

They are worth the money. Ceramic doesn't glaze or fade as bad, and the slotted rotors help that.

Drilled holes help cooling and get rid of gas under the pad.

Best thing is good trailer brakes to keep the load off the tow rig.
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Jeep trailer has good brakes but boat trailer is surge brakes, not sure on condition of them. But may change them to electric brakes. I know I'm not going to have as long as life as others since i basically have to go up then down a mountain anywhere i want to go

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Mac5005 said:
I prefer ceramic or Kevlar pads with slotted or drilled/slotted rotors.

My dad had ebc pads and rotors and it stopped great. Put oem acdelco ceramic pads back on, and brakes got worse.

They are worth the money. Ceramic doesn't glaze or fade as bad, and the slotted rotors help that.

Drilled holes help cooling and get rid of gas under the pad.

Best thing is good trailer brakes to keep the load off the tow rig.
Click to expand...

I tried the ceramic pads from the local Orielys on my f350 and it stopped like crap. Went back to the regular parts store pads and stops good again. We run the ceramics on my wife's van and seem to do great so not sure why that is.
 
Performance friction (PFC) makes a decent set of upgrade pads and are generally carried by most local Oreilly auto stores (maybe others). They are not a super aggressive compound that will chew up rotors and make a lot of noise, but they grab better than ceramics and don't fade as bad as normal semi-metallics. I am running them on my Yukon and they made a significant difference.
 
I've had no complaints about wearever gold with oe type material and oe style aftermarket rotors. (Advance is my preferred supplier) 10 or so towing customers, different vehicles,. (1/2-1ton pickups). Never really pushed platinum series pads, so can't vouch for any difference there, either positive or negative. Originally changed to gold series after changing on my own service Jeep (which occasionally tows at or above (!) Rated tow weight (5k with weight dist hitch and trailer brakes, which my trailer is brakeless, and no WD hitch, but my xj has upgraded rear disc & DD booster, matching prop valve, all my pads wear out at the same time nearly, as well as tires)
 
I put Performance Friction pads on my truck. They work great but squeal constantly. I will probably replace them soon with something else because the squeal is so annoying. I used to work at PFC so I really wanted to like them. If you go that route, get em from O'Reilly and tell em you run for Wix, you get about a 50% discount on em.
 
thanks all for the recommendations...... went to the truck today and there is a big cut in the side wall.... not all the way threw to where it leaked air but enough for the tire to push out in that area... so two new tires tomorrow and ill have to live with the brakes for a couple more weeks
 
jeepinmatt said:
I put Performance Friction pads on my truck. They work great but squeal constantly. I will probably replace them soon with something else because the squeal is so annoying. I used to work at PFC so I really wanted to like them. If you go that route, get em from O'Reilly and tell em you run for Wix, you get about a 50% discount on em.
Click to expand...

I put PFC pads on a 5.0 Mustang I used to own MANY years ago and had the same problem. I had to change them out after only a couple of months. I could not stand the squealing.
 
Older Chevy 1500 s were famous for a soft squishy pedal. My 98 never felt good, & more than once engaged the ABS doing a Hard stop while towing. I installed a set of Power Stop rotors & pads, from 4 Wheel Parts, & probably Doubled my braking quality, & pedal feel!
 
Use to always use the basic, cheap brake parts until I had an issue with my 83 Sub 5 years ago. The rear shoes were dragging/sticking at slow speed. After inspecting/replacing everything else, finally replaced the cheapo shoes and the problem went away immediately. Made me realize that the extra bucks for much better brakes was insignificant when you think of the true function of these things - the old safety vs. budget argument. The daughter's Xterra front pads are in need of replacement now. Have been doing much reading on the web about organic vs. ceramic vs. high performance stuff. Decided on ceramic. BUT the one thing I did learn that I've never really done (and maybe I'm the only one here that doesn't) is the importance of bedding the brakes. I've always just slapped the shoes/pads/drums/rotors and hit the road. Didn't realize the job wasn't done. Do a search and there are a gazillion methods for bedding the brakes - different speeds and repetition numbers and cool down times. I will pick one and do it this time!

Otherwise, have used AA Wearever Gold on the other vehicles....without bedding:(
 
I've put Power Stop on a couple cars now, and I'm really impressed with the performance! I put the standard set on my folk's Pilot that was bad for warping rotors. So far, no problems. My dad tows a 24' airstream with it, and says they work as well or better than factory, but haven't warped yet like the factory was bad for. Another set on the front of an 07 Ranger 4wd. Those were the drilled and slotted performance set. Owner says the shudder has gone away and braking performance has improved considerably. Both sets are still quiet, too.

The biggest thing to remember is to follow their bed-in procedure exactly. You'll feel ridiculous doing it, but it should be the key to long life with them. The price on them is great and the kits are very complete. Amazon or Rock Auto usually have the best price on them.
 
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