Brakes - drums vs. disc? - Montana Owners Club

KathyandDave · 10-08-2008, 05:06 AM

I'm wondering what people have, both on their tv's and their Monty's.

bigmurf · 10-08-2008, 05:18 AM

Eight rotors on ours.

bsmeaton · 10-08-2008, 05:30 AM

I don't believe Montana has ever come out with a disc brake option from the factory. The few that have them are retrofits.

H. John Kohl · 10-08-2008, 05:42 AM

Four disk on Dodge 3500 and four drum on Monty. Wish they were hydraulic disk too. Have not saved enough pennies yet.

mopar1 · 10-09-2008, 03:34 AM

Six drums and two disks. The only complaint I have with the Montana's drum brakes is the application time. I move about a foot before they lock up while doing my hitch pull test. Seems like farther while driving.
Although disks will stay cooler helping prevent brake fade they will not stop any faster than drums once they are applied.
I wonder if they will ever put ABS (anti lock brakes) on campers? That would be a high dollar option!

Delaine and Lindy · 10-09-2008, 03:10 PM

All Disk and no Drums, not sure which will stop the fastest, but I do know the Disk are like day and night when comparing the two. Once you go to Disk you will not go back to Drum. This is our second 5th wheel with Disk brakes and want be the last. GBY......

Glenn and Lorraine · 10-10-2008, 12:21 AM

Drum brakes on the Monty and for the cost of adding Disc brakes I do believe I will stay with the Drums. Are Disc better than Drum? I honestly do not know but I doubt they are that much better to justify the Xtra bucks. Maybe, just maybe, if I were keeping the Monty for many many more years to come I'd spring for Disc brakes but even that is very questionable.

Delaine and Lindy · 10-10-2008, 03:44 AM

As I said don't know which is best, but I do know its hard to buy a new Truck or car without Disk Brakes. I would add that if your getting a new 5th wheel and had a choice I would go with the Disk Brakes, I paid $3,093.00 in Mar of 2006 for the install on the Cambridge. Don't know what the cost is on our (SOB) because its in the price it came standard. Good Luck on your choice. GBY....

trukdoc · 10-10-2008, 05:18 AM

The question about ABS, trucking industry already uses ABS on trailers so I suspect the trend will follow down to the RV industry. Drum VS. Disk, I am a professional mechanic so what I say is true to the general vehicle market and maybe not necessarily the RV trailer market. Disk is definitely the better braking system basic maintenance is cheaper and easier meaning changing pads. Major maintenance can get expensive. Because disk brakes not widely available cost can be an issue which will get better as the aftermarket kicks in to give competition. The weak point in the disk in RV's is the actuator, this is the component that converts electrical signal from the truck to hydraulic pressure to the disk brakes on the trailer. The system I looked at would hold the brakes without moving which is a plus especially on hills. In wet weather without a doubt disks are better in that they sling the water off them so when you hit your brakes you will quickly have braking effect. Cost is a factor that must be weighed with the benefits and how much you drive. Disks are a better system and will out stop drums. Drums are tried and tested, while not the better setup not a bad system by no means. To change the shoes there is a bit more to do. There is no conversion to hydraulic, so one component is eliminated. The trailer must be moving for the electric drum brakes to work, there is no holding effect while sitting still. In wet weather water tends to gather in the drum especially if there is any wear in the drum the water will sit in the low area. the centrifugal motion holds the water in place. So when the brakes are applied you have to squeeze the water out, somewhat dry the brakes (Friction)then they start to work. While driving in rain I tend to hit the trailer brakes pretty regularly to help with this. But even a total maintenance, Magnet, Drum, Shoes and adjuster kit is still pretty cheap. There are plenty suppliers so competition has driven the price down. so it comes down to a personal choice to what is better for you. How much you pull the trailer probably is the biggest factor in determining the cost issue.

mopar1 · 10-10-2008, 06:31 AM

Trukdoc, you are correct on all the things you have said above but my thinking is when the brakes are applied when water or heat are not a concern, you can only slow that tire down so fast before locking it up. As a mater of fact the most effecient and quickest braking is just before the tire starts to skid. My drum brakes will lock up and slide the tires if not adjusted correctly. So disks can't have more stopping power than that. But when you throw in water and heat, disks would be better.

exav8tr · 10-10-2008, 12:29 PM

I have 4 discs on the truck and added discs to my Montana. MorRyde did the conversion using Kodiak Brakes. So far I really like the stopping power and smoothness......

jimcol · 10-10-2008, 04:54 PM

Truckdoc, Great explanation but I don't understand your statement that they only work when moving. I think my brakes hold the vehicle while sitting still. I can let off the truck brakes, manually operate the trailer brakes and they stop both TV and 5th wheel. What am I missing.

trukdoc · 10-11-2008, 03:54 AM

I am trying to think of an easy way to explain that,,, it is the magnet that reacts against the turning face of the drum to give braking power. The more your TV sends a signal the stronger the magnet is and same if you barely use your brakes, the magnet has very little power. The turning drum pushes on a arm that the magnet is attached to and has a reaction lever working against the brakes on the opposite end. As your wheel turns it puts pressure on the brake shoes if you STOP in this position the magnet is still holding and so are your brakes. If you momentarily let go of the brakes the magnet will let go and the wheel will have to turn to reapply pressure to the shoes. Whereas the hydraulic actuator on the disk brakes will apply pressure whether the wheels are turning or not. Not a great big difference as far as driving goes. And to explain the stopping power. Yes both will lock up the tires under normal conditions. In a test if you could load the axles to the point the tires would not lock up the disk would out stop the drums. I admit under normal circumstances this is irrelevant. Goes back to personal choice.

noneck · 10-11-2008, 02:44 PM

This is all good stuff, trukdoc your input is right on...I'd like to add;
Electric drum has no braking effect if applied at zero motion until motion is sensed, decelerate momentum is detected by the brake controller and forward motion allows actuator to cam pressure to the brake shoes.
There is no way to get stopping assistance from the drum system when going backwards, this could be a real problem if your into a high incline and have to stop dependent on not sliding backwards.

I am concerned with the electric to hydraulic module and its reliability as this unit must never fail during the life cycle of the RV use. This unit senses the electrical signal that translates deceleration momentum and uses an electric motor to pump hydraulic pressure to the pistons....that's a bunch more stuff to make our truck n trailers stop. I know we all rely on things to be very dependable, I just have not accepted this reliability exception and I do agree disk brakes are better.

Delaine and Lindy · 10-11-2008, 03:57 PM

We have electric over hydraulic Disk brakes and my brakes work going backwards and so does the electric brakes on my car hauler and gooseneck equipment trailer, I am using the Prodigy controler. GBY.....

noneck · 10-11-2008, 04:51 PM

I agree...there is benefit that disk conversion provides reverse braking potential...just not clear what brake controller translates this momentum determination and IF that equals brake pedal pressure compression because that is what needs to be communicated.

trukdoc · 10-12-2008, 04:38 AM

My integrated controller works forward or reverse, it is the mechanical mechanism in the drum brakes that is the problem. I may be wrong on this but I think the drum brakes work some in reverse but due to being designed for braking while traveling down the road they work best going forward. This is a OLD technology. I have worked on 50's vintage trailers and the design has changed very little if at all. The working principal is identical to my 2005 Mountaineer. The disk brake system is a good system but is fairly new to the industry. It will be refined and will get better. I mentioned that the actuator being the weak link, not to say it is totally unreliable and not worth getting.

trukdoc · 10-12-2008, 04:40 AM

And Noneck great addition to my post. After we get done everyone here will be well informed.

KathyandDave · 10-21-2008, 04:58 PM

Wow, great answers to my simple question! I've been told that drum brakes use the reverse motion to readjust the gap. i.e., self-adjusting brakes.

skypilot · 10-22-2008, 05:09 AM

Only some trailer brakes are self-adjusting -- looking at the dexter site it appears that only one model (their largest) has self-adjusting capability. That is one of the reasons that our manuals advise adjusting the brakes every so many miles and at least once a year (also to gives us the chance to check bearings, etc..).

Also, reading from that site I see that when you back up, only one of the two brake shoes actually strikes the drum, the 2nd shoe is applied by the cam lever that Trucdoc mentioned when brakes are applied during forward motion. So, it appears that there is some braking when going backwards but best braking when forward (makes sense).

I have upgraded to disc brakes a little over a year ago; love the stopping power but I have just experienced an 'Electric/hydraulic actuator' failure. Not driving but the thing just started running when sitting in storage. Still working with local dealer to get the parts and get it fixed.

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