Brake wear - Montana Owners Club

rosstok · 10-01-2010, 09:36 AM

I am having my 1 year service completed on our 2010 3455 and was told that I needed to have my brake pads and backing plates replaced. It was only the left sides that were cracked from over heating, I was told, but they said I should do the complete set of 4. My question is: does this early wear (about 4K miles, including the trip from the factory to Calif) make sense? I have a F350 TV which holds pretty well on the downhills, so I don't ride the brakes going down. At least one brake has always squeaked at times although I check at rest stops and they don't seem to be over heating.

Does this sound normal or should I be looking for some underlying problem? My dealer didn't think that this was all that unusual.

Art-n-Marge · 10-01-2010, 09:49 AM

If they thought it was unusual they'd probably have to fix it for free. Of course they said it's normal!!!!.... Plus you have to replace all of them to keep them even. And THAT's where you have them.

If it was that bad and that different between the sides and within ONE year, there is a problem, period. Trailer brakes should all wear evenly if installed and maintained evenly. Unlike a vehicle, a trailer brakes pressure is applied evenly. The same amount of current (or hydraulic pressure, if applicable) is applied to all four brakes. There should be NO difference side to side or front to back. I think you should bring this up. They need to find something wrong and fix it. If they don't and just keep replacing the damage the problem is causing you'll be wasting lots of money replacing the unworn hardware on the other wheels. And this doesn't even consider the problem from on half your brakes working on your rig.

If this is not the case, I'd surely like to know, but I doubt it.

Brakes should be lasting way more than 4,000 miles. Think about it, compare it to your vehicles. Do you replace your brakes on your vehicles every 4,000-5,000 miles? or only one side of your brakes is wearing? That should never happen. Time doesn't wear out brakes, braking does.

I hope they find something more significant or you'll be replacing brakes every year.

8.1al · 10-01-2010, 09:53 AM

It sounds like the left side was doing the work, wiring or adjustment may be to blame. Dexter says hairline cracks are acceptable. For more info try this from Dexter.
http://dexteraxle.com/i/u/1080235/f/...rakes_2-08.pdf

If you end up having to replace all 4 ask about the self adjusting brakes

Tom S. · 10-01-2010, 12:22 PM

You have a problem, but not one covered by warranty. Brakes are considered a wear item and thus usually not covered. Notice the word 'usually'. As Art and Charlie said, something was way out adjustment for them to wear that fast. 4K is way too early for your brakes to wear out. My first thought would be the wire running to the magnets, but that's just a guess. We have around 20K on ours and they still have half the shoes. If your dealer can't help, call Keystone yourself. And remember when you call, you get more bees with honey than you do with vinegar, which is to say, be polite but firm. Also remember that nearly everyone has a boss, so if the first person you talk to rejects the claim, ask for their supervisor.

paddler67 · 10-01-2010, 05:36 PM

i had approx. 25k mis. on our 07 trailer when i replaced the drum brakes with disc brakes and i still had a lot of pad left.
i went from using 9 on the tbc to using 5 and can lock the wheels. i locked the wheels last wk. when the deer crossed in front of us.

rosstok · 10-02-2010, 05:28 AM

Thanks for the quick responses - my guess was that these brakes should go well beyond 4K, as you have now confirmed - I am going by the dealer today to pick it up and will report back on what I find.

rosstok · 10-02-2010, 02:29 PM

On backwards??

Upon inspection, it turns out that the Dexter brakes are self adjusting and have a left and right side designation. And when you look at an axle, it is pretty hard to tell which side is which - except that there is a little label inside the brake. In our case, the sides were reversed. Right brakes on the left and left on the right. Our dealer is talking with Keystone and Dexter next week to get some resolution on the warranty application to this problem. (seems pretty clear to me).

Tom S. · 10-03-2010, 02:51 AM

Wow - what a screw up! Sounds like something that would happen to me. Maybe it's a good thing they didn't have self adjusters when we bought ours.

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