Ok, here is the story. I was driving on the interstate it must have been approaching an uphill. Truck in the right lane moving slow. Another truck moving up on me in the left lane. So I hit the gas to pass the slow truck in front of the truck approaching in the left lane, and bang there is another slow moving truck in the left lane in front of me that I hadn't been able to see because it was blocked by the slow moving truck in the right lane.I had to brake very hard. As I braked my truck swerved into the right lane. Lucky there was nobody beside me.This was with my 2016 Ram 3500 dually with the truck camper installed.Would this swerve indicate that there is a brake problem, so that I should have the brakes checked? Or is this just what happens with a truck loaded with the truck camper when braking very hard? That was the hardest I had ever hit the brakes.Also that I have 42,000 miles on the truck. However almost all of those miles were highway driving.I am taking the truck in for an oil change and debating whether to ask for the brakes to be checked. But I would rather wait until the next oil change because removing the dually tires to check the brakes is a job and I just put new tires on the truck so I don't need tire rotation. Next oil change I could do both tire rotation and the brake check. I will have 50,000 miles at that point.I now see that the manual says brake linings should be inspected every 20,000 miles. But it is a big difference in brake usage city driving or almost all of my current 42,000 miles was highway driving.Opinions? Can I wait until the next oil change to have the brakes inspected? Other than this one experience with the slow moving truck the brakes have been fine.

A hard brake should still keep you straight if everything is working correctly. Hard braking to the side indicates a problem that should be checked right away! I'm surprised you are asking on a forum instead of a mechanic... good luck and report back what the problem was.

Lot’s of variables when loaded up with TC. Certainly start with a good brake inspection and consider this a lesson learned. When I first started hauling a TC, someone on this forum told me;The slow lane is your friend when hauling the TC.That was some good advice.

Brakes are nothing to be asking advice about. You had a bad experience and will not feel confident in your brakes until they are checked. Don't cheap out on brakes.

Your story would indicate that the left front caliper has an issue where it didn't apply with the same force as the right front. As noted, this is NOT something you wait around to fix. Have you thought about what would have happened had you already been in the right lane when you hit the brakes? Go get the brakes fixed NOW and worry about the tire rotation and oil change later.By the way, what's your camper weigh? Only asking because I am shopping for a 2015 Ram right now.

You did ask for opinions. ;) I’m not understanding how you had to brake that hard going uphill or flat with a gasoline truck. I’d also suggest not following as close if you couldn’t see the left lane.Back to the truck, it’s probably worth inspecting the brakes, shocks, and steering components. If you do change brakes, consider upgrading to better pads while you are at it.

truck swerved with hard braking | Good Sam Community

49 Replies

camp-n-family
Explorer
May 16, 2020
Double post
specta
Explorer
May 16, 2020
camp-n-family wrote:
Have the brakes ever been serviced? If not you are way overdue at that year and mileage. I have similar mileage on my ‘17 and they have been serviced twice. The manual recommends brake service every 20k miles, more under heavy duty use.

What do they do every 20,000 miles when they service your brakes??

My 2011 has 212,000 miles on it and its still running the factory brakes.
jimh406
Explorer III
May 15, 2020
I agree that you might need a different shop. For brakes/tires, you might consider a major tire outlet that has a great reputation if you can’t find a good mechanic otherwise.
bobbolotune
Explorer
May 15, 2020
Well the truck is back from the dealer and I can report results. I was told the mechanic inspected the brakes and there is plenty of life on the pads (10mm) and the brakes are functioning properly. So they did no service.

I had said might as well rotate tires but only if you need to remove the tires to check the brakes, otherwise the tires are not due for rotation. I was told they did not need to remove the tires. That they were able to inspect the brakes without removing the tires. This surprises me. I thought tires needed to be removed to inspect brakes.

So the braking incident remains a mystery. Several theories were presented in the responses here that it could have been an anomaly. I will do as some suggested to find some open road and try some hard braking to see if I can reproduce the problem.
bobbolotune
Explorer
May 15, 2020
camp-n-family wrote:
Have the brakes ever been serviced? If not you are way overdue at that year and mileage. I have similar mileage on my ‘17 and they have been serviced twice. The manual recommends brake service every 20k miles, more under heavy duty use.

Was this 20k miles of highway, city, or mixed? I have 42k miles almost all highway. I am surprised you need brake service every 20k miles. The RAM manual says to check the brake pads every 20k but I have been googling brake work and that 20K is a check but pads usually last longer than 20k.

Also from my recent google reading "brake service" can mean many things. New pads, or add rotor, or add caliber. Possibly bleeding and replacing fluid. What service have you needed?
bobbolotune
Explorer
May 15, 2020
TxGearhead wrote:
How much do you drive the truck unloaded vs. loaded?
If mostly unloaded and you load the camper and slam on the brakes, the piston in the caliper is travelling to a spot it likely has never been before. It doesn't take much for the piston o-ring to grab or lock onto a bit of trash.
How does the truck handle braking now? Does it feel like it is pulling to the side?
Did you have a recall on the front suspension, to align it then weld it in place?

The miles on the truck are 96% loaded (and almost all highway) and 4% unloaded, so this might be a good theory. The braking handling other then this one incident is fine (good, never a problem). No pulling to the side. There has been no front suspension recall.
bobbolotune
Explorer
May 15, 2020
lakeside013104 wrote:

Understood, but with respect, you are allowing the traffic to dictate how you drive and 'push' you into an unsafe situation. You are trying to make an excuse for why you were in the position of needing to do the hard braking that you did.
Lakeside

Please read what I said in my post again. I said that I was driving 65 mph or less when the braking incident happened. Then as an aside I mentioned that I know this because I always drive 65 mph or less unless in heavy traffic.

As far as going faster because of heavy traffic. At times it can be a trade off of increasing speed or having a line of cars in back of you all trying to swerve into the left lane around you. There is danger either way, going faster versus unsafe drivers around you.

I don't know, I assume that speeding up to 70 or 75 in the right lane on a highway to keep up with traffic isn't unsafe. Is it? I have a dually truck with a lightweight camper and the truck handles fine up at 70 or 75. I more stick to 65 because of gas mileage. I find that the jump from 55 mph to 60 to 65 definitely hurts gas mileage. Going over 65 and gas mileage really tanks. If I am on an empty interstate I have chosen 62 mph as a sweet spot, or if I am in no hurry I may just go 55 mph and save some gas.
TxGearhead
Explorer II
May 15, 2020
How much do you drive the truck unloaded vs. loaded?
If mostly unloaded and you load the camper and slam on the brakes, the piston in the caliper is travelling to a spot it likely has never been before. It doesn't take much for the piston o-ring to grab or lock onto a bit of trash.
How does the truck handle braking now? Does it feel like it is pulling to the side?
Did you have a recall on the front suspension, to align it then weld it in place?
Supercharged111
Explorer
May 15, 2020
Sounds to me like it was a trailbraking scenario and you didn't realize it in the heat of the moment. Get the truck checked, but don't chase your tail too much over this.
Grit_dog
Navigator II
May 15, 2020
OP, so many folks who don’t know jack about brakes or mechanics responding with their uneducated opinions it’s hard to wade through for a person who is asking the question.....
Personally, I refrain from handing out advice on things that I’m not well read on. Some of y’all should consider the same!

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truck swerved with hard braking

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