Brake Pads

[Larryzv7]

Does anyone here think it is necessary to have heavy duty brake pads on your truck while towing, and are there heavy duty brake pads available for an F-150 or F-250?

I ask because at a recent routine maintenance check the mechanic told me that my brake pads had cracks in them from over heating and I should think about replacing the brake pads and rotors. He said the over heating was probably due to my frequently towing a 5th wheel trailer. My pads still had some meat on them so I don't have to change them right away but I've been thinking maybe I should get some heavy duty pads which may not readily overheat.

The pads currently on my truck are the ones which came with the truck when I purchased it back in 2012, but it seems I will soon have to change them. I realize that my 5th wheel trailer also has brakes and that should take some of the strain off of the truck brakes, but it does seem like the truck brakes supply a lot of the stopping power.

[time2roll]

Yes I agree Ford OEM is better than Motorcraft and a few $$ more.
Must specifically ask and possibly special order OEM in my experience.

[All_I_could_aff]

Bpounds speaks the truth!
FORD PADS! Not MOTORCRAFT. Not the same. I believe the ones you want come in white and blue box as opposed to the red and white box

[time2roll]

Larryzv7 wrote:
.....I have done a lot of mountain camping or gone over lots of mountain passes where I ride my brakes.....

Yea don't do that.

Use engine braking by downshifting so the motor is 3200 - 4200 rpm, maybe more. Use the brakes to slow the vehicle 10 to 20 mph below the speed limit and let it coast back up. Use moderately firm pressure to really slow the vehicle.

Firm braking will better proportion the stopping forces and heat to all wheels and axles. Riding the brakes gently to maintain a fixed speed will tend to over use your front pads and underutilize your trailer brakes. Just going slower helps too.

[Tachdriver]

Haven't replaced mine yet but you could go to one of the F150 forums and ask or lurk around. There are folks that like what is out there in the aftermarket.

Also maybe time to adjust your fifth wheel brakes as well.

[bpounds]

Ford OEM pads are the best compromise between friction and wear, in my opinion. Not on all years, but in my opinion for your truck, you cannot beat the OEM pads.

Make sure you tell the counterman at the dealership that you want brown box Ford OEM pads. NOT Motorcraft replacements. They would like you to believe that Motorcraft is always the same as the original pads that came on your truck, but they are not.

I would replace the rotors, even if I had to buy them.

[R12RTee]

DownTheAvenue wrote:
www.powerstop.com

X2
This was my choice.

[DownTheAvenue]

www.powerstop.com

[rekoj71]

thomas201 wrote:
Get any good quality brake pads, the OEM are good on Fords. If you do not feel pulsation, the rotors are fine. Take them off and check run out if you are technical.

I agree with this. Generally most high performance pads, although they may not heat up as bad, can transfer the bulk of the wear to your rotors. It's a trade off and as with anything high performance you pay for the better performance either in the initial cost of the equipment or in the end with higher wear of other parts. In other words the better pads may help you stop quicker but you will probably be changing rotors a little more often. The cost verses the tradeoff would be up to you.
Rotors have a thickness they need to be whenever a brake job is done. They come oversized and as they wear they have to be measured to see if they are thick enough to be reused. If they measure thick enough and are not warped (causing vibration when you brake) then I wouldn't replace them. A good brake shop will machine them when they put new pads on though, while most backyard mechanics will just put on new pads, but the pads will last longer if the rotors were machined first. Basic pads are cheap though so there again it's a tradeoff.

[thomas201]

Nick is right, I was driving a dump truck before a car (private roads), and as Dad beat into my head, the brakes are for stopping, the engine is for dropping down the hill. Served me well on the million dollar highway when the trailer brake controller broke.

My 2012 is fine with 45,000 half towing. Get any good quality brake pads, the OEM are good on Fords. If you do not feel pulsation, the rotors are fine. Take them off and check run out if you are technical. Then with a change in your driving technique and you should be fine. Use that engine.

[nickthehunter]

Lockout Overdrive and Manually downshift the truck when coming down the other side of the mountain and you'll get a lot more engine braking and won't need to ride the brakes. By the way, you shouldn't ride the brakes. Stab the brakes hard and slow way way down coming down the hill then get off them (let them cool) till speed is too high again; Use the transmission and engine braking as stated above and you won't be overheating your brakes.

[Larryzv7]

Thank you everyone for your feedback. I must say that I purchased my truck and trailer brand new at the same time, my truck is approaching 35k miles and I am just now noticing the overheating cracks on my brakes after frequently towing in all sorts of terrain, and I still have some pad life remaining on my brakes. There is a lot of good advice here and I probably should look into getting disk brakes for the trailer. I am satisfied with my towing capacity and payload; have had many discussions on that. But getting heavy duty brake pads for the truck and taking a good look at replacing the trailer brakes seems prudent. My trailer stops very well when I apply the brakes, it's just that I have done a lot of mountain camping or gone over lots of mountain passes where I ride my brakes, especially coming down the mountain, and I think that is where most of the overheating occurs because I often smell it when I am riding my brakes. The brake controller in my truck has an adjustable gain for the trailer brakes and maybe I need to increase that gain, although I don’t want to make it too tight. Again, thanks for the feedback.

[Strabo]

EBC pads rock!! Gotta have good ones.

[rhagfo]

B.O. Plenty wrote:
Looks like a big load for an F-150. Have you weighed the trailer and matched the weight against the towing capacity of the truck? Trailer brakes don't do nearly as much as you would think they do.

B.O.

Larryzv7 wrote:
Everyone who sees my F-150 towing a 5th wheel says “it looks like a small truck to be towing a 5th wheel.” I have had this discussion many times; yes I have weighed my trailer and truck and I am at least 1,000 lbs. below my trucks towing capacity. The rear wheel ratio and echo-boost engine makes all the difference in the world, and I have been towing my 5th wheel for almost 5-years with this truck. I can go over mountain passes at 70mph without any strain whatsoever and most of the time it does not even feel like I am towing anything. I get between 9 to 11 mpg depending on how fast I drive. I like my rig combination very much and it really sets those with an F-250 or above back on their heels. Although I think I may benefit from some heavy duty brake pads.


P.S. My F-150 is an automatic and I usually use over-drive when towing. BTW, As a retired person I go out with my RV 2-weeks each month so I do a lot of towing, and I lived in my 5th wheel for 2-years, renting out my house, when I first got it.

The fact that the Eco-boost can pull a 10,000# 5er doesn't mean it does well at slowing or stopping the same!
The 3.5 is a small displacement engine so has limited engine braking.

You might thought to installing disk brakes on your 5er, and let it take more of the load.

[laknox]

azdryheat wrote:
If your trailer's brakes are operating properly there wouldn't be any overheating of the truck brakes. I'd be checking the trailer.

x2! Trailer should stop itself; truck should stop itself. If you're showing signs of brake overheating, =something's= not right. Also, you may be under the truck's TOWING capacity, but what about its PAYLOAD capacity?

Lyle

[azdryheat]

If your trailer's brakes are operating properly there wouldn't be any overheating of the truck brakes. I'd be checking the trailer.