Motorhome brake upgrade
I have a 40' 2002 Beaver Santiam. I have never been entirely pleased with its braking capability. We are about to travel to the 5 National Parks in Utah and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestio...
Forum Discussion
This may or may not help but here is how I handle the steep grades in my MH. I have a 35' diesel with air brakes and Exhaust brake. I am smaller and I am sure less weight than you when towing I am using the ready brake.
My 1st thing is to measure the gear I climb certain grades in on a 6% grade I am often in 2nd gear. When I top the grade I shift the Allison into 2nd and engage the EB on the decent I watch the RPM and as it gets close to max and to the point where My Allison will shift to the next gear, I stab the brake and hold it until I drop below my Sweet spot (RPM) and then release the brake pedal. Again repeating the same procedure until I can upshift or release the EB completely. There are a number of EB's out there and each works a little differently. On the other hand if you have a larger Motor you may have a Jake type brake which is different. There Have been improvements in the EB's in the last few years and if you are using one of the older EB's you may want to look at an upgrade. I guess I can't help you on what may bee available for brake pad enhancements. I can say that my rear brakes were just changed for the 1st time at 98,000 miles the mechanic stated that they were not completely worn out but that it was time for a new set of shoes. That tells me that my brakes were being used properly and as about 60% of those miles were in the mountains I did well. I changed the fronts at about 60,000 miles after a rotor hung up. Call the maf. of your EB and explain your concerns and what you have seen maybe they could suggest an upgrade. I do know that riding the brakes instead of stabbing will cause more heat. Good luck and welcome to the forum I am sure you will get some good feedback to your question.
My 1st thing is to measure the gear I climb certain grades in on a 6% grade I am often in 2nd gear. When I top the grade I shift the Allison into 2nd and engage the EB on the decent I watch the RPM and as it gets close to max and to the point where My Allison will shift to the next gear, I stab the brake and hold it until I drop below my Sweet spot (RPM) and then release the brake pedal. Again repeating the same procedure until I can upshift or release the EB completely. There are a number of EB's out there and each works a little differently. On the other hand if you have a larger Motor you may have a Jake type brake which is different. There Have been improvements in the EB's in the last few years and if you are using one of the older EB's you may want to look at an upgrade. I guess I can't help you on what may bee available for brake pad enhancements. I can say that my rear brakes were just changed for the 1st time at 98,000 miles the mechanic stated that they were not completely worn out but that it was time for a new set of shoes. That tells me that my brakes were being used properly and as about 60% of those miles were in the mountains I did well. I changed the fronts at about 60,000 miles after a rotor hung up. Call the maf. of your EB and explain your concerns and what you have seen maybe they could suggest an upgrade. I do know that riding the brakes instead of stabbing will cause more heat. Good luck and welcome to the forum I am sure you will get some good feedback to your question.
