Why do trailer brake shoes cost so much?
Another post that talked about his oddly cracked brake shoes got me thinking about maybe changing mine out this spring. After doing some checking I've discovered how expensive those darned things are!...
Forum Discussion
valhalla360 wrote:wa8yxm wrote:
28 per wheel is not that bad but the answer to why things cost so much is GREED. Corporate GREED.. Company after company is crying how they are need to raise prices while reporting record profits. Oil companies. Fast food. Slow food. Amazon (and their competitors) nearly everyone.
Odd how if they are overpriced due to GREED, no one steps in and undercuts them taking away their business...hmmm.
I'm sure you are going to look into staring a brake pad business and make a mint selling them at $8 each because you aren't GREEDY?
Right?
It's easy to see who is a capitalist and who is a socialist, even in a discussion about, of all things, brake shoes!
But, yeah, bottom line, trailers brake shoes are expensive compared to "comparable" brake pads or shoes.
I recall the same thing 30+ years ago, when I was in high school turning wrenches. (I also bought the parts)
Since then, I've had probably a dozen "personal" trailers with brakes and I've replaced exactly 1 pair of brake shoes on one wheel on one trailer. And that is because the lining came off the backer and disintegrated.
It's a comparatively low volume product in the brake parts industry, and essentially gone, save for antique cars and trailers.
Yes, I noticed that I paid $30+ for one set of shoes, for one wheel.
It also never occurred to me to complain to the internet that I felt they were $10 too expensive!
But good brake pads are also not cheap...because they last 3x as long as 30-40 years ago. I don't think anything of dropping $50-100 for a pair of 2 disc brake pads. I also do way less brake work than 30 years ago. If they last 3x as long and cost twice as much are they really "expensive?"
