rgnprof wrote:
We started off for Colorado and I noticed the back left dually tires smelling and getting hot - so I decided to back it off some before we left. I probably loosened it too much, I don't know...they braked alright on our trip - maybe better than it has in the 6 years I have owned the coach, but pedal is still spongy...and front brakes got really hot once - coming down from Bobcat Pass in New Mexico. I am sure I'm still 'overusing' the front brakes...
ryan
Very interesting.
First, please understand that I am not an expert on this, but...
That pad-burning smell could be the pad material wearing to conform to the drum properly. Was it hot to the touch, or just that burnt brake pad smell?
If I were you, I would tighten them up as we discussed earlier and take short trips driving around town to work, shopping, church, etc. and let the temperature-to-the-touch on the hub determine if you over-tightened the rear drums. If all your brakes are working together, the rear hub temperature should feel a little less warm than the fronts. If they are initially warmer but not too hot to touch, I would continue to drive locally and see if it changes to give the rear brake shoes some time to wear and seat properly. If you have wheel covers, take them off so you can touch the hubs directly.
The automotive industry states that brakes on cars, the fronts do 2/3 of the braking, and the rears do 1/3. I would think that a motor home with 2/3 to 3/4 of the weight sitting on the dual rear wheel axle, the ratio could be 50/50 or even flipped.
I have in front of me the 2007 Ford specs on the E-series, covering the E150 all the way to the E450-stripped chassis. The E150 has smaller brake parts which is understandable. But the E250 van all the way up to the E450 cut-away and stripped chassis use the exact same rotors and calipers. As with the shock absorbers and stabilizer bars and such, Ford uses critical safety E250 (GVWR 8900) van parts on an E450 (GVWR 14050) that carries 5150 pounds more weight. What does that indicate? Not so good a feeling for me. That explains why I had to upgrade my stabilizer bars, shocks, and steering damper.
I am not suggesting to upgrade your brakes to heavy duty aftermarket versions. Just get your rear drum brakes to do their share of the work.
I nearly killed me and my family in our rig with rear drum brakes that were not adjusted which had rendered them completely ineffective. On a trip in the mountains, braking in the turns, the fronts were doing 100% of the braking. The rig was pre-ABS so the fronts would on rare occasion lock up and skid while braking in the turn in the mountains with the cliffs right in front of me. What saved us was practicing so much engine braking. During that trip, the light bulb in my head went off about checking the adjustment of the rear brake shoes. When back home after adjusting and the break-in period had passed, the vehicle stopped on a dime for the remainder of our ownership which was over 10 years. I never touched the rear brakes again.
Ryan, I know you don't need convincing. I say this for the others reading this.
