Motorhome brake upgrade

if you overheated the brakes you may have glazed the drums or shoes. This will cause reduced braking capability. Take your coach to a good truck brake center and have them checked. With an exhaust brake and proper transmission use you should never overheat your brakes to the point of smoking.

Thanks. I do have an exhaust brake which helps a lot, and I have hade the pads and air recently checked. The problem I have is on long, steep descents the brakes get very hot (smoking hot), and begin to fade. This is with the exhaust brake on and in low gear. I was wondering if maybe there are any enhancements I could make. Perhaps high performance brake pads etc. thanks again,

Ken

If you're unfamiliar with the Air Brake Test, here it is. This is the standard proceedure. (This was posted by foosh1 here on the forum back on 3/2/10)


1) Start vehicle and let pressure build up to proper level (usually 120 psi)

2) Leave parking brake engaged, put trannie in D and gently press the accelerator. It's called a tug test, and parking brake should hold the vehicle.

3) Stop engine, but leave key in whatever position that allows you to read your air pressure gauges, chock vehicle if necessary and release parking brake.

4) Press brake pedal very hard and start timing one minute. Watch gauges and check to see you don't lose more than 3 PSI in one minute (4 psi for a combo vehicle). Listen for leaks.

5) Start pumping the brake pedal rapidly, and you'll hear air bleeding off. When PSI drops below a certain level a warning buzzer should sound, and when it drops a little lower the parking brake will automatically pop out. (This is a safety feature that allows you to stop if you were to lose your service brakes).

6) You're done.

NOTE! It is very important that you NEVER press on the brake pedal hard while the parking brakes are engaged. You could damage the springs that operate the parking brake system!!

When you say, "I have never been entirely pleased with its braking capability." Could you please be a little more specific? Are they not stopping the coach properly?

There are a lot of knowledgeable people here that may be able to assist, but they will need a bit more info to go on in order to determine what your brake problem might be. What chassis do you have? Have you performed an air brake test? Is your air system functioning properly?

Don't you have an exhaust brake of some type, that would be the best way to control down hill speed.