I am prepping a "new to me" TV and looking for some pre-season advice. My tow vehicles have always been trucks I bought new, so was very aware of prior maintenance etc. My new TV is a 3500 Silverado (06) 8.1 with 6 speed Allison auto trans, and this will be my first season with it. I have not owned either a dually or any vehicle this large. I am concerned with the brakes, not because they don't stop me, but because I have not tried with a vehicle in tow. Vehicle is going it for full fluid changes, transmission flush and replacement filters this next week, and I will be having the brakes checked (which nearly always means, "buddy, you need a brake job")Is there a reason to shop up some hard core aftermarket HD brakes, or are the OEM on a vehicle like this already maximum heavy duty? It has 4 wheel disc brakes. Fifth wheel is about 9K fully loaded.

If you want to spend the money, you can definitely get stronger brakes.At a minimum I would have the brake fluid flushed.Someone will be along to tell you the brakes stop the truck and the trailer brakes stop the trailer. According to GM that is not the case. The brakes on the truck are part of the whole stopping package and have a dramatic impact on stopping the trailer.Frankly, when an emergency arises you wont care what brakes are doing what. You only care that the whole package stopped you before you hit that heard of elk (my case) or what ever. I have kept mostly stock parts with Bosch rotors and Hawk brake pads. They have a better bite that stock compounds. They also cost more than stock stuff but your getting a better product.

I expect brakes on my trucks to last the life of the truck. I had to do the brakes on my 03 Duramax but I think it had a bad caliper that caused premature wear. Stock brakes have always worked for me.

I don't know what you mean by heavy duty?Brakes for different applications do different things.I can put street brakes on my race car but they would not do a very good job. I can put race car brakes on my street car but again, they would not do a very good job.The best brakes have to do a balanced job. They have to do a good job in many areas. If you have brakes do a great job in one area you don't have very good brakes. Another thing. All OEM brakes are programed into their ECM for the type of pad material they have. IOW's it's best to stay with OEM material. All OEM do a great job with balancing their brakes for the job they need to do. My advice is to stick with that.

Turtle n Peeps wrote:I don't know what you mean by heavy duty?Brakes for different applications do different things.I can put street brakes on my race car but they would not do a very good job. I can put race car brakes on my street car but again, they would not do a very good job.The best brakes have to do a balanced job. They have to do a good job in many areas. If you have brakes do a great job in one area you don't have very good brakes. Another thing. All OEM brakes are programed into their ECM for the type of pad material they have. IOW's it's best to stay with OEM material. All OEM do a great job with balancing their brakes for the job they need to do. My advice is to stick with that.For the sake of discussion, let's assume that the intended purpose if said brakes are to ensure the best performance when pulling a recreational vehicle (note this is not is racers-r-us forums but an RV forum) and it is unsurprising that OEM brakes do what they are expected to do. Define heavy duty? Really?? Consider managing steep and windy grades without overheating, and without fading. Like heavy loads, expected to handle additional heat buildup on long grades.Thanks for your condescending response to a legitimate question. For the most part I have found friendly and honest advice, not colored by some misdirected sense of superiority.

Much of my braking on grades is handled by my tow-haul transmission mode. Your Allison trans could be equally Impressive. I use the best over the counter brakes on hand although this is the first year I will be trying ceramic pads. I pull my brakes apart each year to inspect because I’ve had brake problems on the road before and the maintenance seems to help-but that may just be me and/or my particular truck. Don’t forget to check out your tires too-they are part of the stopping package and older tires that are carrying more weight might not take the strain and heat of a steep grade very well. Overall I think you will enjoy those 1-ton brakes over your smaller trucks, especially when towing less then 10K.

Heavy Duty Brakes? | Good Sam Community

Paul_Clancy
Explorer
Apr 07, 2018
GM brakes on the HD trucks have a real reputation for lasting forever and working extremely well. As with any they can suffer from rust in caliper pins if in heavy salt. As t/p said - oem is best on these for several hundred thousand. An inspection is always wise as is fluid change.
TakingThe5th
Explorer
Apr 07, 2018
Much of my braking on grades is handled by my tow-haul transmission mode. Your Allison trans could be equally Impressive. I use the best over the counter brakes on hand although this is the first year I will be trying ceramic pads.

I pull my brakes apart each year to inspect because I’ve had brake problems on the road before and the maintenance seems to help-but that may just be me and/or my particular truck.

Don’t forget to check out your tires too-they are part of the stopping package and older tires that are carrying more weight might not take the strain and heat of a steep grade very well.

Overall I think you will enjoy those 1-ton brakes over your smaller trucks, especially when towing less then 10K.
Passage0ftime
Explorer
Apr 07, 2018
Turtle n Peeps wrote:
I don't know what you mean by heavy duty?

Brakes for different applications do different things.

I can put street brakes on my race car but they would not do a very good job. I can put race car brakes on my street car but again, they would not do a very good job.

The best brakes have to do a balanced job. They have to do a good job in many areas. If you have brakes do a great job in one area you don't have very good brakes.

Another thing. All OEM brakes are programed into their ECM for the type of pad material they have. IOW's it's best to stay with OEM material.

All OEM do a great job with balancing their brakes for the job they need to do. My advice is to stick with that.

For the sake of discussion, let's assume that the intended purpose if said brakes are to ensure the best performance when pulling a recreational vehicle (note this is not is racers-r-us forums but an RV forum) and it is unsurprising that OEM brakes do what they are expected to do. Define heavy duty? Really?? Consider managing steep and windy grades without overheating, and without fading. Like heavy loads, expected to handle additional heat buildup on long grades.

Thanks for your condescending response to a legitimate question. For the most part I have found friendly and honest advice, not colored by some misdirected sense of superiority.
Turtle_n_Peeps
Explorer
Apr 07, 2018
I don't know what you mean by heavy duty?

Brakes for different applications do different things.

I can put street brakes on my race car but they would not do a very good job. I can put race car brakes on my street car but again, they would not do a very good job.

The best brakes have to do a balanced job. They have to do a good job in many areas. If you have brakes do a great job in one area you don't have very good brakes.

Another thing. All OEM brakes are programed into their ECM for the type of pad material they have. IOW's it's best to stay with OEM material.

All OEM do a great job with balancing their brakes for the job they need to do. My advice is to stick with that.
4x4ord
Explorer III
Apr 07, 2018
I expect brakes on my trucks to last the life of the truck. I had to do the brakes on my 03 Duramax but I think it had a bad caliper that caused premature wear. Stock brakes have always worked for me.
ScottG
Nomad
Apr 07, 2018
If you want to spend the money, you can definitely get stronger brakes.
At a minimum I would have the brake fluid flushed.

Someone will be along to tell you the brakes stop the truck and the trailer brakes stop the trailer. According to GM that is not the case. The brakes on the truck are part of the whole stopping package and have a dramatic impact on stopping the trailer.
Frankly, when an emergency arises you wont care what brakes are doing what. You only care that the whole package stopped you before you hit that heard of elk (my case) or what ever.
I have kept mostly stock parts with Bosch rotors and Hawk brake pads. They have a better bite that stock compounds. They also cost more than stock stuff but your getting a better product.

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