Forum Discussion

tomthyme's avatar
tomthyme
Explorer
May 07, 2015

Never really happy wtih barkes

We have a 2011 Carriage Cameo 37cksls. We bought it new and just love the rig. We've replaced tires (to G range), now just replaced to H rated tires and wheels. Unfortunately, we have never been happy with the braking capacity. Now I have 1 wheel locked up and 3 that flow freely with or without brake application. I can't even get the spinning 3 to engage when I pull the emergency rip cord. Clearly this won't pass inspection and I don't want to run this kind of risk going down the road.

So, I've seen discussion of 8000lb axle upgrades, disk brake upgrades etc, and I'm happy to do whatever is most reasonable. However, I just dropped a ton of cash on the 2015 f350 and the new tires/wheels (partially sponsored by a Goodyear due to blow out of G614s) so I would like to be frugal, but effective.

Any advice?

Thanks so much!
Tom
  • laknox's avatar
    laknox
    Nomad
    May 07, 2015
    wilber1 wrote:
    If it is an elecrical problem, new brakes might not fix it. Troubleshoot the existing brakes first.


    x3!

    Lyle
  • wilber1's avatar
    wilber1
    Explorer
    May 07, 2015
    If it is an elecrical problem, new brakes might not fix it. Troubleshoot the existing brakes first.
  • donn0128's avatar
    donn0128
    Explorer II
    May 07, 2015
    Disc brake conversion will set you back around two grand plus labor. It is a wise investment. I seriously doubt you need to upgrade axles. There is a fella on here that sells a complete kit for 7K axles pretty reasonable.
  • TucsonJim's avatar
    TucsonJim
    Explorer II
    May 07, 2015
    You can upgrade all you want. But basic maintenance and brake adjustments will go a long way for a lot less money. If you have factory installed brakes, do you realize that they have to be adjusted every 3000 miles?
  • mich800's avatar
    mich800
    Explorer
    May 07, 2015
    The most frugal option would be to figure out why your existing brakes do not work. When you perform a test with the manual brake lever one brake locks up? Does the entire rig slow down when you perform this test? Have you adjusted the pad and confirmed no grease contaminants on the braking surfaces. Many options to troubleshoot before slapping on different axles.
  • Water-Bug's avatar
    Water-Bug
    Explorer
    May 07, 2015
    Step #1 is to figure out what is wrong with the current brakes. Fixing is usually cheaper than replacing. If the fix exceeds 50% of replacement cost, then you consider replacement.

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