Best disc brake pads for heavy towing

[Arctic Wolf]

If you can find them locally... Centric series 106 pads are great. I use them on all of the pickups in my fleet.

[Crusadernoob]

Go back to OE and stay with OE. That weight I’d upgrade to disc.

[emm-dee]

Question for the OP: If you stand on the brakes hard enough do you feel the anti-skid system activating?

I had a Dodge van back in the 90’s that showed problems similar to the OP. Turned out to be an anti-skid control issue.

[OKI Marine]

Originally Posted by emm-dee

Question for the OP: If you stand on the brakes hard enough do you feel the anti-skid system activating?

I had a Dodge van back in the 90’s that showed problems similar to the OP. Turned out to be an anti-skid control issue.

Haven't noticed any issues with that not warning light.

[emm-dee]

I didn’t have a warning light when I had the problem. Not familiar with current systems but on the ‘95 model I just pulled the anti-skid system fuse and all braking returned to normal. Drove it another ten years like that.

[Murbella7]

Originally Posted by OKI Marine

What recommendations are there for best front brake pads for heavy towing on Silverado 3500HD? I have been using Power Stop brake pads and Cross drilled and slotted rotors. I have never felt as though I have adequate stopping power while towing 5th wheel. If I have to stand on the brakes once then it seems like I have weak pedal and fade. I generally change the brake pads every year and rotors every other. Parts all look nearly new with little wear. Is there something I'm missing here or is anyone else experiencing this same issue

Your truck was designed to carry heavy loads. That means the factory brakes should be adequate. As said, if you are having trouble pulling up then the issue is more likely the trailer brakes. You can get bigger magnets for electric brakes. If you are pulling over 5 ton, then you might need air brakes, an expensive upgrade.

[emm-dee]

Originally Posted by Murbella7

Your truck was designed to carry heavy loads. That means the factory brakes should be adequate. As said, if you are having trouble pulling up then the issue is more likely the trailer brakes. You can get bigger magnets for electric brakes. If you are pulling over 5 ton, then you might need air brakes, an expensive upgrade.

Just about any fifth wheel RV in the USA is more than five tons. Seven to nine would be more the norm. Never heard of any having air brakes. Most are equipped with very inadequate electric drum brakes which have high failure rates. I wish disc brakes were required for any trailer over 4,000 pounds.

[OKI Marine]

Originally Posted by emm-dee

Just about any fifth wheel RV in the USA is more than five tons. Seven to nine would be more the norm. Never heard of any having air brakes. Most are equipped with very inadequate electric drum brakes which have high failure rates. I wish disc brakes were required for any trailer over 4,000 pounds.

I agree on the disc brakes being standard equipment

[babock]

I put Kodiak disc brakes with the Titan Elec/hydraulic unit on my boat trailer. Huge difference over the surge drum brakes that were on there.

[Murbella7]

In Australia, if you want to tow anything over 5 tonnes (5.5 ton) the trailer must have air brakes, like a semi. This requires, as you can imagine, fitting air bottles and compressors to both truck and trailer, with all the associated pipes, tubes, couplings, wiring and the brake drum/disc changes. Typically here that runs out to somewhere between AU$20-30K.

Of course, while there are a lot of overweight vehicles on the road, weight checks are rare, so the general unwritten rule is, if the dealer has not fitted air brakes, then he will not tell you about these regulations and you will happily go motoring down the highway, illegally. Whether it is safe to do so is another discussion that revolves around how big and grunty your tow vehicle is. Unfortunately here, too many owners think that Nissan Navaro's, Mitshubishi Triton's, small Isuzu's, Iveco Daily's, etc are good enough for pulling 5th wheels, which of course they are not.

The reason for this thinking, apart from shear ignorance, is that trucks like we drive, Silverado, Ram, F250/350, etc, are so expensive here (about double of that in the USA), that it never enters their tiny minds. They start at their bank balance and don't go much further than that.

When they trash these inadequate vehicles after 2-3 years of travel (and I have many discussions with other campers who have this attitude about this) do they discover the truth. They rarely heed advice from other big rig owners that the truck capacity needs to exceed the requirements of towing a big TT, 5'er, whatever.

I went the other way. Bought the 5'er then decided how big a truck I needed, went looking, found the best deal, obvious but not common thinking.

[W5CI]

I'll never wear out the brake pads on my RAM3500, I put disc brakes on my Cedar Creek and just with a light touch of the brakes on the truck I can stop. Put disc brakes on your camper and be a Happy Camper

[OKI Marine]

Originally Posted by W5CI

I'll never wear out the brake pads on my RAM3500, I put disc brakes on my Cedar Creek and just with a light touch of the brakes on the truck I can stop. Put disc brakes on your camper and be a Happy Camper

What brand and where to purchase from? You do it yourself or dealer?

[spock123]

I installed disk brakes on my Cedar Creek and I can stop quicker than a commercial truck can. Best mod I ever did to camper

[OKI Marine]

Originally Posted by spock123

I installed disk brakes on my Cedar Creek and I can stop quicker than a commercial truck can. Best mod I ever did to camper

Where do I purchase these from? Expensive? Easy to install?

[emm-dee]

Originally Posted by OKI Marine

Where do I purchase these from? Expensive? Easy to install?

Performance Trailer Braking.

https://performancetrailerbraking.com/disc-brakes

Awesome customer support. They even give you a weekend number to call if you are doing the job yourself. I did mine and would say it’s not that difficult.

You need to understand basic+ mechanical stuff and know how to use a torque wrench and drill (drilling needed to secure the fasteners holding the hydraulic lines in place). I took the rotors and bearings to my local (and trusted) tire shop to have the bearing set and grease packing completed. The electrical is all 12 volt stuff and is no difficult at all as long as you prepare and be methodical.

Their kit has every single part needed, down to screws, wire and tie wraps. About $1,675. My tire guy charged $40 for the packing and for that price I’m not gonna tackle that just because of the mess. The only thing I changed were the clamps to hold the steel hydraulic lines. I just didn’t like the plastic ones in the kit so changed to stainless padded ones from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Ancor-403182-...s=Ancor+403182 ).
You’ll have to call them but generally they charge about $1,00 to $1,200 or so to show up at your place and do the complete job. They may have an independent shop in your area to recommend.

[spock123]

Someone came to my house and installed the disk brakes, you can buy a kit and do the install yourself. It was above my pay grade. It was $1700.00, the best money I ever spent.

[spock123]

It was Performance Braking

[babock]

I did the job myself on my boat trailer. Super easy on that type of trailer. Routing the brake lines is the hardest part on a TT.

[Comanchecreek]

You mention the "front rotors". No mention of rears. Chevy's are notorious for having the outside edges of the inside of the rotors rust and cause a severe narrowing of the braking area of the pad on the rotor causing increased pedal pressure for stopping. I have worked on trucks where the inside pad will only be touching on a 1/2 inch of the rotor. Be sure to check the inside on all your rotors to see if they are getting rusty and wearing the pads excessively. I had this happen with my 03 Duramax 2500 and I have seen it repeatedly on many years of the Chevy and GMC pickups and Suburbans. It also happens with the aftermarket rotors from NAPA and Rock Auto. Besides all of that go to someone that can do a complete brake fluid change with a pressure bleeder. Also look for different pad wear from side to side as an indication of a seized caliper. That can definitely affect braking power. You need to go through the rears the same as the fronts even though they are not the primary braking, they can have a dramatic effect when towing heavy loads. Finally I agree you are wasting your money on slotted rotors. Have never really seen or heard of any improved braking, just appeals to the inherent hot rodder in most guys. Good luck on your hunt. Sure it's a nice truck otherwise.
Oh yah just want to mention that when I found the rust issue I was having the same symptoms as you talk about. Heavy pedal pressure, and fade.

[W5CI]

Originally Posted by OKI Marine

Where do I purchase these from? Expensive? Easy to install?

Performance trailer braking in Oklahoma City, they will come to your House or campground. I had the MORryde Independent Suspension with Disc Brakes out on my Cedar Creek in Elkhart, Indiana