I have a 2015 Crossroads Rushmore Springfield 5th-wheel. (36-foot with dual axles.) I had the wheel bearings repacked, brake wear checked, brakes adjusted, and tires rotated at 7,500 miles (at Les Schwab). I was told that the brakes were in good shape, but should have them checked every time I have the wheel bearings repacked.At 15,000 miles, I took the trailer back to Les Schwab. (Note: It was my intention to have the bearings repacked every 6,000 miles as recommended by Crossroads; however, I postponed the service both times due to being on the road and not wanting to trust a service center far from home.)This time i was told that the brakes shoes were beyond worn out and had scored and caused "hot spots" on all four drums. I needed new electric brake assemblies which included new shoes and new magnets, new drums, and new bearings and seals. Had the condition of the shoes been noticed sooner, I would have been looking at around $1100 for new brakes. Instead, it cost me around $2400.Les Schwab came up with various ideas as to what could have caused the damage (stuck shoe, stuck magnet, etc.), but all made sense for only one or two wheels and made no sense for all four wheels.Obviously, I will have the brakes checked more often in the future, but I do have some questions:Is it normal for brakes to wear this quickly? If not, what could have caused premature wear? (Note: I would have expected the wear to be less than average as I always use the exhaust brake going down grades and rarely have to use the brakes.)How often do others check for brake wear?Thanks

Don't know but E-trailer sells the entire brake assembly, shoes and all for a lot less. So does Dexter axle. Only 4 nuts to take off to install.

I lost a set of brakes in less than a year, linings let loose and came off. For the what they want to do your brake job, is way over priced. Parts will run you $150-$175 per wheel at most, that is a complete backing plate and new hub assembly. If you shop around, you can get the parts for about $125 per wheel, that is what I spent for 7,000 pound axles.For the money they want, you could easily have disc brakes installed. When my drum brakes went the second time,in less than a year and 5,000 miles, I went disc. The kit cost me $1600 at my door. I spent 6.5 hours installing, I'm a former line mechanic for KW. Should of done the conversion sooner, there is no comparison.

Did 'Les Schwab' show you each/all of this 'damage'?Were the drums scored, hot spotted?Were the magnets worn, face of magnet slanted, discolored?Typically recommended service is at 6000 miles for brake 'adjustments' and 12,000 miles for bearing repack and brake assembly inspectionsPersonally I think 'Les Schwab' over adjusted your brakes and caused the beginning of your issues back at that 7500 mile service

I guess it would depend on the frequency and duration of your braking as to how long brake shoes should last. My triple axle has about 20,000 miles when I checked the brakes last year and they still looked good. But that's a 15,000 lb. triple axle toyhauler. Might be that a double axle will wear the brakes out quicker. OTOH maybe they weren't set correctly from the last time and they have been wearing a lot faster than normal. Or like Click and Clack often posit: The shop foreman may have had a boat payment due. :)Personally I would give them a pass the next time and take it to a real trailer shop that works mainly on trailers and trailer axles. JMO of course.

I think you should find another "trusted" service center.While replacing entire brake assembles is common and often cheaper than replacing the parts, the drums can be turned, and I would question the need for bearings. As mentioned there are cheaper places to get the parts. That being said, the amount of brake wear depends on how much you use the brakes. Makes sense right? But it also depends on where the brakes are used. If you have been in the mountains, you will use the brakes more and harder. Perhaps over heating them.Also, how you have the brake controller and shoes adjusted will affect the wear as well.

What is Normal Brake Wear? | Good Sam Community

myredracer
Explorer II
Jul 26, 2018
If it were me, I would have gone to a frame & axle shop that does brakes on a routine basis, unless you were away on a trip and had no choice. Did you by any chance keep the old shoes and drums? It would be interesting to take them to a frame & axle shop or brake shop for an opinion. It would also be interesting to measure the remaining material thickness on the shoes. It does sound like the b/c is set too high and over-braking that you wouldn't notice.

Hot spots on all 4 brake drums would be an indication of overheating the brakes from excessive use/application and/or uneven wear on the shoes for some reason. I would think that's an important clue (if it was as bad as LS said).

What size of brakes are on it? Dexter has up to 15,000 lb rating per pair for 12-1/4" x 5" electric brake assemblies without having to go with discs. Don't know if it requires a change-out of rims or axles. I would have gone for larger rated assemblies instead of replacing with the same. I also would have done a bearing inspection & repack at the same time, esp. with something abnormal like that going on with the brakes.

We have 5200 lb axles and 12" brakes when 3500lb/10" is stock. Have towed over 20K miles up & down the west coast on mountain roads, very twisty roads and plenty of stop/start in city traffic without ever having to worry about brake performance or wear. Having larger brakes has been an excellent upgrade and would do it again in a heartbeat. Can't even tell the TT is "back there". :R
CarnationSailor
Nomad
Jul 26, 2018
myredracer wrote:
... It does sound like the b/c is set too high and over-braking that you wouldn't notice.... :R

myredracer:

Thanks for your post.

If the b/c is set too high, shouldn't I be able to lockup the wheels? (I've never been able to do that even at the highest setting of 10.)

If the b/c is set too high, shouldn't I feel the trailer holding back the truck when I brake? Instead, the truck brakes and the trailer brakes seem to be working together to stop the rig which I thought was supposed to be ideal.

Also, as I said in my original post, I did have the bearings replaced too as this was recommended by LS anytime new hubs are installed.
myredracer
Explorer II
Jul 26, 2018
I know that there are folks that are much more knowledgeable here on brake controllers than me and someone should be along before long.

If you have a somewhat heavier trailer like yours, I have to wonder if the brakes can't generate enough force to lock the wheels up and are creating more friction and heat to slow the truck and trailer down? Or if it's an integral OEM b/c you'd be better off with an aftermarket one like Prodigy? Are the brakes really at max. clamping force at a setting of 10 and perhaps there's a wiring related issue? Maybe some other reason?

I missed the part about the bearings, but did they note any issues with them or did they just go ahead and replace them regardless? I replaced our (cheap) Chinese bearings after just 2 seasons with new Timkens because one bearing was running warmer than it should have been. The dealer had the drums off at one point though (per our request) and they over-tightened the nuts. Am now leary of anyone touching our brakes or bearings that I don't know.

Am interested in hearing if there is an answer to this problem.
CarnationSailor
Nomad
Jul 26, 2018
myredracer:

LS said it was prudent to replace the bearings with the hubs because the old bearings and the old hubs would have had mating wear grooves, and that the new hub would have none; hence, the old bearings wouldn't fit well with a non-grooved hub. Anybody know if this is true?
fj12ryder
Explorer III
Jul 26, 2018
CarnationSailor wrote:
myredracer:

LS said it was prudent to replace the bearings with the hubs because the old bearings and the old hubs would have had mating wear grooves, and that the new hub would have none; hence, the old bearings wouldn't fit well with a non-grooved hub. Anybody know if this is true?
Well, if they're trying to get that past you it would make you wonder how much other stuff they also made up. Total BS.

Wheel bearings have an outer and an inner race, the rollers turn against those surfaces. The hub only holds the outer race in place.
CarnationSailor
Nomad
Jul 27, 2018
fj12ryder wrote:
CarnationSailor wrote:
myredracer:

LS said it was prudent to replace the bearings with the hubs because the old bearings and the old hubs would have had mating wear grooves, and that the new hub would have none; hence, the old bearings wouldn't fit well with a non-grooved hub. Anybody know if this is true?
Well, if they're trying to get that past you it would make you wonder how much other stuff they also made up. Total BS.

Wheel bearings have an outer and an inner race, the rollers turn against those surfaces. The hub only holds the outer race in place.

I may be remembering their explanation incorrectly because I have found on the web some advise that it may be safest to replace both the hubs and the bearings together. Not sure exactly what LS said, but it did make sense to me at the time.
fj12ryder
Explorer III
Jul 27, 2018
They may have been referring to replacing both races of the bearing at the same time, not just the one on the axle or the one in the hub. You do want to replace both races at the same time.

Tapered roller bearings, should be replaced as a set: inner race, outer race, and roller assembly. Whether you choose to replace the drum at the same time is totally dependent on you.

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