Brake Drums

[horseman]

Would like some comments/thoughts. I did a complete brake job on my n2009 Knight 41 SKQ (drums, shoes and new hardware). The drums were [overheated and hardened mso that they could not be turned. When the brake shop crossed numbers from the original drums they were going to cost approximately $2000.00 each. They recommended using drums from a 10 wheel dump truck that had more than 10,000 lbs. gross weight rating than the maximum for my motorhome (33,000 lbs.) The dimensions of the drums for the 10 wheeler (50,000 pounds max gross weight - less than $200 each) were all exactly the same as my old ones, but there was some difference in the heat treatment.

I have gone approximately 9,000 miles since completing brake job and everything seems great even during a couple of hard emergency stops.

Has anyone done something similar? does anyone have concerns because of heat treatment difference? I could replace these new drums 10 times for the difference in cost and as long as they are good for the heavier 10 wheeler I do not see the difference.

[tmw188]

You might call down to Josams Truck and Frame in Orlando and talk to Barry about this. Look them up on their website so you feel confident with his opinion. He’s a busy guy but very nice. Tell him the someone on the Monocoers referred them. 

[Craggar]

I doubt the shop would recommend them if there could be an issue and I’m sure the reason why they are so much cheaper is the demand for them compared to what the m/h came with. If it were me I wouldn’t be concerned about them especially knowing they are rated for a heavier application.

[Scotty Hutto]

Check out this thread...  It might contain some info that will help.  the 2009 Knight should have similar (or the same) drums as my 2006 Diplomat.  Not much changed with Roadmaster Chassis those last few years.

 

[jacwjames]

In comparison motorhome work duty is much less then any type of OTR truck.  Less miles, and most are highway type use so the braking is much less.

If a reputable shop offered to substitute the drums I'd be fine with that, no doubt they have to be concerned about liability and wouldn't do anything that could jeopardize their reputation and unsafe for a customer. 

[Jim Byrd]

I just did a brake job on my 04 Holiday Rambler Endeavor that included shoes, drums and hardware kit.  I was able to get all of the parts from FLEET PRIDE at a reasonable price.

If you go to their web site, you will find a search box to enter your Make, Year, Model and VIN number and it give you a parts list of all of the parts that they stock for your vehicle and list price for each item and all the location of the nearest store.

Hope this will help you and save some $$$$.

Jim

[jacwjames]

8 hours ago, Jim Byrd said:

I just did a brake job on my 04 Holiday Rambler Endeavor that included shoes, drums and hardware kit.  I was able to get all of the parts from FLEET PRIDE at a reasonable price.

If you go to their web site, you will find a search box to enter your Make, Year, Model and VIN number and it give you a parts list of all of the parts that they stock for your vehicle and list price for each item and all the location of the nearest store.

Hope this will help you and save some $$$$.

Jim

How many miles were on your rig at brake change?  What was the primary reason for doing the work.

What was the conditions of the drums, did you change any. 

What was the thickness of the shoes? 

 

I've got 125K miles on my rig, I pay attention to the condition of the brakes and shoe thickness for the first day I've owned it.  I have not seen a noticeable change in wear.  I religiously use my PacBrake.  So just trying to determine if I need to consider tackling this job in the future. 

[dl_racing427]

As long as the physical dimensions are the same, I see no problem with substituting a higher rated drum for OEM.
It's a precision part, but not particularly high tech.

[Jim Byrd]

11 hours ago, jacwjames said:

How many miles were on your rig at brake change?  What was the primary reason for doing the work.

What was the conditions of the drums, did you change any. 

What was the thickness of the shoes? 

 

I've got 125K miles on my rig, I pay attention to the condition of the brakes and shoe thickness for the first day I've owned it.  I have not seen a noticeable change in wear.  I religiously use my PacBrake.  So just trying to determine if I need to consider tackling this job in the future. 

I replace the shoes at 93K miles.  The pads were probably 50%, drums had signs of surface cracks, so I just change them since I had the wheels off. 

 

[Kenster]

I find it hard to believe your brake drums cost $2,000 a piece. Someone somewhere is mistaken.

Follow up, brake drums for your rig are all over the Internet for anywhere from $100 to $300 per drum. In fact, you can do both sides of the back axle for under $1,000 for the kit, and considerably less for the front.

[jacwjames]

9 hours ago, Kenster said:

I find it hard to believe your brake drums cost $2,000 a piece. Someone somewhere is mistaken.

Follow up, brake drums for your rig are all over the Internet for anywhere from $100 to $300 per drum. In fact, you can do both sides of the back axle for under $1,000 for the kit, and considerably less for the front.

I follow any posts associated with brakes, both here and on IRV2.  In my case my OEM brake drum is hard to find and if you do it is pricey,

I've seen prices of $1650 from FleetPride when I was checking parts, my front hub which is a Webb.  Would I pay that, probably NOT

 I'd look for an acceptable alternative.  But if you take a rig to a shop will they vary from OEM brake drum, maybe not. 

[diplomat don]

If you are replacing brakes at just over 90k miles you need to change your driving habits. I drove truck for 43 yrs and about 4 million miles and the brakes got done between 250k and 300k miles, mostly in mountains of BC grossing 84k lbs. Some of this was before brakes on the steer axle. Use the exhaust or compression brake, apply brakes firmly to drop 4 or 500 rpm then release brakes to allow to cool. If you have to apply them too often then you are going down a hill too fast. To gaze shoes and drums at those miles riding the brakes too much. As far as the replacement drums I would think they will be fine. Good luck, Don.

[Kenster]

2 hours ago, jacwjames said:

I follow any posts associated with brakes, both here and on IRV2.  In my case my OEM brake drum is hard to find and if you do it is pricey,

I've seen prices of $1650 from FleetPride when I was checking parts, my front hub which is a Webb.  Would I pay that, probably NOT

 I'd look for an acceptable alternative.  But if you take a rig to a shop will they vary from OEM brake drum, maybe not. 

Just out of curiosity. Who manufactures OEM brake drums for the Roadmaster chassis?

[Scotty Hutto]

3 hours ago, Kenster said:

Just out of curiosity. Who manufactures OEM brake drums for the Roadmaster chassis?

I can only speak for my coach, but the OEM drums on my 2006 Diplomat were made by Webb.  Very expensive and hard to find these days.  Some upper-level Roadmasters had disc brakes; someone else will have to answer that part…

Also, there is a plethora of information on brake parts in the parts list!!

PS - I used aftermarket drums (mine had a crack in the driver’s side steer axle drum) and they were significantly less than the Webb drums. The only difference was the aftermarket drums didn’t have the little screw holes to hold the drum to the axle before you put the wheels on. That’s been a few years ago and the aftermarket drums work just fine.  

[Kenster]

I have a 2006 40' Diplomat PDQ.

Edited December 26, 2023 by Kenster

[Gbracer]

I just did new drums and shoes and hardware all axles 2005 Diplomat for $1200 cdn did the work myself

 

On 12/26/2023 at 8:11 AM, diplomat don said:

If you are replacing brakes at just over 90k miles you need to change your driving habits. I drove truck for 43 yrs and about 4 million miles and the brakes got done between 250k and 300k miles, mostly in mountains of BC grossing 84k lbs. Some of this was before brakes on the steer axle. Use the exhaust or compression brake, apply brakes firmly to drop 4 or 500 rpm then release brakes to allow to cool. If you have to apply them too often then you are going down a hill too fast. To gaze shoes and drums at those miles riding the brakes too much. As far as the replacement drums I would think they will be fine. Good luck, Don.

I'm gonna call you out on that I the guy that did the brakes on your trucks in BC no way they go that far

[diplomat don]

Well Grant you go ahead and call all you want. I am telling you what I did as a truck driver. You never did brakes on any truck I drove but you may have done them on trucks that were driven by people that drove trucks. There is a big difference between people that drive trucks and truck drivers. I have no doubt you did brakes on vehicles with a lot less miles as there were and now a lot of people out there, especially today that drive trucks but are not truck drivers. My coach is now at 90k miles and my drum brakes are at 75\80%. So call all you want as that may be your experience, although I noticed you didn't tell your experience, I gave you mine.

[Kenster]

2006 Diplomat PDQ 40 ft. 150,000 miles on the original Brakes and drums, and have a lot of life left in them. Granted I do have a Pacbrake but that's like putting a banana in the tailpipe. My same year Allegro bus had the jake brake and I seldom touched the brakes above 20 mph. It's all in how you drive it. FYI, I always tow a Jeep Grand Cherokee behind me and run heavy.

Edited December 28, 2023 by Kenster

[birdshill123]

When I was looking for drums for our Bluebird I found a crossover chart to Webb drums.  Webb not only mfrs. drums in the USA

 they also sell off shore drums that meet their standards. If the drum you need fits many other vehicles you may find one by Googling using the info for that vehicle. You also may find a post in a truckers forum with more info. Happy hunting. 

 

 

[Ken Thompson]

Are minor heat cracks normal? I have never had the front brakes apart on my 2001 dynasty before. I have minor heat cracks, maybe 3/8”-1/2” around the drum. The brakes and pivot points look fine. The drums  are Webb 65163 rev K. I don’t want to replace them if I don’t have to. I am chasing a clunk noise in the front end. It only happens under hard braking, and sounds like it’s on the drivers side. I’m now wondering if it’s the bushings in the upper and lower trailing arms (if that’s what they are called)? Does anyone make a rebuild kit for those 4 arms?

[jacwjames]

You can replace the bushings, here is a source but check around.

Do a search for brake drum DOT acceptable cracks, I couldn't find the info I have but I know there are acceptable levels of cracks. 

_Monaco_Suspension_Bushings_Replacement_pdf-1.pdf

[tmw188]

This past yr I had a shop look at my front end because of vibration at moderate to hard braking. The shoes looked really good they said but suggested replacing all the drums because they showed signs of heat cracks. I ask all the questions on how they could tell that with the drums on and they said experience tells them that. So they were pulling the fronts anyway for repacking the bearings. He said they would know more when they were pulled. They called and said the drums were within DOT specs as far as cracks and being round and said it was my call. I elected to put them back on and adjust all slack adjusters. 

[Ken Thompson]

After reading your responses, I checked out the DOT pages. It looks like my minor cracks are normal according to DOT, so I can save the $1600 for other repairs. I also found that Rev has the new front suspension bushings for less than $15 each, so it’s just a stop at Coburg to pick them up. Thanks guys!

[jacwjames]

1 hour ago, Ken Thompson said:

After reading your responses, I checked out the DOT pages. It looks like my minor cracks are normal according to DOT, so I can save the $1600 for other repairs. I also found that Rev has the new front suspension bushings for less than $15 each, so it’s just a stop at Coburg to pick them up. Thanks guys!

When I bought our coach in 2008, it had ~55K miles on it.  It came without any maintenance records (none, nada, nothing).  So first thing I did was take to the Cummins shop for a complete service and inspection.  Came back with flying colors, shop manager called it "cherry" saying I got a heck of deal.  It was a repo, in 2008 I paid $67K for it. 

Since then I've done all the major maintenance myself, only thing I had a shop do was a radiator change since it was an insurance claim.  Every time I crawl under the rig I take a good look at the brake shoes on all the drums.  Look at everything else also.  From the time I bought the coach I have seen minimal wear on the shoes, I take pictures yearly just for my benefit.  Although I can't see a bulk of the drum you can see the wear edge from the shoe rubbing on it.  Again, no major change. 

Braking is good and at present I have no plans to replace any of the shoes or drums, I have 127K miles on my rig now BUT I religiously use my PacBrake.   

Last year I was getting ready for a trip in June and during my service I took a really close look at the axle supports and found cracking on the passenger side, this is pretty common. Here's a post I did on it, I'd suggest you take a close look at yours since your chassis is the same as mine. 

 

 

[Ken Thompson]

3 minutes ago, jacwjames said:

When I bought our coach in 2008, it had ~55K miles on it.  It came without any maintenance records (none, nada, nothing).  So first thing I did was take to the Cummins shop for a complete service and inspection.  Came back with flying colors, shop manager called it "cherry" saying I got a heck of deal.  It was a repo, in 2008 I paid $67K for it. 

Since then I've done all the major maintenance myself, only thing I had a shop do was a radiator change since it was an insurance claim.  Every time I crawl under the rig I take a good look at the brake shoes on all the drums.  Look at everything else also.  From the time I bought the coach I have seen minimal wear on the shoes, I take pictures yearly just for my benefit.  Although I can't see a bulk of the drum you can see the wear edge from the shoe rubbing on it.  Again, no major change. 

Braking is good and at present I have no plans to replace any of the shoes or drums, I have 127K miles on my rig now BUT I religiously use my PacBrake.   

Last year I was getting ready for a trip in June and during my service I took a really close look at the axle supports and found cracking on the passenger side, this is pretty common. Here's a post I did on it, I'd suggest you take a close look at yours since your chassis is the same as mine. 

Thanks,I will check it out