I took advantage of the warm Winter weather we've had the past few days and tried my hand at a disk brake conversion. Parts were sourced from several online vendors and totaled @ $1350.00. These were 6 lug wheels on 6000# axles ... 8 lug wheels would have run a couple hundred higher.
Although they're already cut and flared, I cringe at the made up brake line kits offered online. Some have way more tube that you need and watching videos of installers just coiling up the extra under the belly pan just seemed unprofessional to me. I cut and double flared the lines to fit the application. I used 1/4" line from the pump back to a spot just ahead of the axles, then Tee'd across to the other side. From those points, I used 3/16" line from there on to each caliper. I added a vibration loop just downstream from the pump to help absorb some of the vibration when running.
An added option on this install was oil bath wheel bearings. There's pros and cons to these on RV's, but once I get some feedback ... I'll report the findings. One thing I didn't like was the fact you cannot pass the outer bearing thru the aluminum cap that presses in to the rotor. You'd have to remove it if you wanted to inspect the bearing down the road. The spindle seal on the rear is unique as it is two piece ... a bit hard to get on right. Another component to report on once I get some feedback.
It took a bit over a day to get it all done as fabbing the lines took up 70% of the time. I also had a couple of leaks due to marginal flares. The double flare kit I rented from Autozone was not exactly a quality tool. Wiring it in was really simple with just four wires. I used fish tape to feed the wires from behind the pin box to the front storage compartment.
Once all was made good, the system bled, and the controller dialed in the results were amazing. When you step on the brakes ... you can readily feel more stopping power than you could ever wish for with the old electric drum brakes.
