Why do trailer brake shoes cost so much?

[fj12ryder]

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!

We're talking around $28 per wheel for two(!) brake shoes, just for the lousy shoes. I can get the shoes for the rear of my truck for under $20 for both wheels. And there is at least twice as much material on the shoe too! Around $200 for my triple axle is outrageous. IMO anyway.

Oh well, whatcha gonna do.

[Grit_dog]

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?"

[Grit_dog]

Veebyes wrote:
Might as well get the whole assembly & save your fingers putting the springs on.

You don't have a brake spring tool?
Shouldn't every man over the age of 50 have one of those? LOL

[2112]

bernetec wrote:
It seems to me that everything connected with movement has become very expensive. Okay, more brake pads. I couldn't even find cheap sneakers at all. LOL, it was only thanks to the https://www.forstepstyle.com service that I was able to find an excellent and stylish pair of sneakers for a relatively small price. When I walked through shopping malls, I was generally stunned by the prices for them. Sometimes it seemed to me that they were made of gold. It's just awful. Who buys it for themselves at all? For whom are such crazy prices? I'll never understand it, apparently.

TROLL ALERT

bernetec joined exactly 5 months ago but didn't post anything until 2 days ago when he dug up a 5 year old dead thread. I thought that post was a bit strange. Then he quoted his own post as if we wouldn't notice, changed the subject to sneakers and included a web link. Seems suspicious to me.

I'm not clicking his link

[bernetec]

It seems to me that everything connected with movement has become very expensive. Okay, more brake pads. I couldn't even find cheap sneakers at all. LOL, it was only thanks to the https://www.forstepstyle.com service that I was able to find an excellent and stylish pair of sneakers for a relatively small price. When I walked through shopping malls, I was generally stunned by the prices for them. Sometimes it seemed to me that they were made of gold. It's just awful. Who buys it for themselves at all? For whom are such crazy prices? I'll never understand it, apparently.

[ajriding]

I have always found etrailer dot come to be great prices, and they have great customer service, and great prices... I dont work from them, just buy.

Yes, volume. How many trailers do you see out there on the road compared to cars? It is not that trailer pads are expensive, it is that there are so many cars/trucks with similar pads/ similar applications that car/truck pads are sold cheap due to volume. SImple economics.

I set my trailer brakes to just stop the trailer, nothing more, and when I had the cheapo timed controller I would just turn the brakes off in city traffic.
the proportional controllers are so much nicer....

[valhalla360]

fj12ryder wrote:
Very true, but if you think about how many wheels/brakes are out there for that brake shoe. It's a common size for all Dexter 5200, 6000, and 7000 lb. axles. That has to cover a whole lot of trailers/wheels. But the other size of the coin, how often do you hear people talk about changing the brake shoes on their trailer? I would imagine most people own their trailer for quite a few years and have never changed brake shoes. Mine is 7 years old and this is the first I've considered it.

Keep in mind, your average car does something like 12-15,000miles per year. I think I saw where RVs average something like 3,000miles per year. So right off the bat, it's 1/5 to 1/4 as often to replace them.

Then most RVs avoid city traffic. 500 miles of stop & go city traffic vs 500 miles cruising on a rural freeway is likely 1/100th the wear.

Economy of scale issues still hold up very well as an explanation.

I agree with the others, for the amount of hassle saved, it's well worth just buying the assembly.

[valhalla360]

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?

[Veebyes]

Might as well get the whole assembly & save your fingers putting the springs on.

[wa8yxm]

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.

[JaxDad]

Those three little words that made Sam Walton rich beyond his wildest dreams….

Economy of scale.

Sell more, produce cheaper, lower cost.

The very reason Henry Ford shared so many parts between vehicles, even different types. My old pickup, 2 of my tractors, my irrigation pump, and my boat all take the same oil filter, a Fram PH8A, $6 each.

[bernetec]

It seems to me that everything connected with movement has become very expensive. Okay, more brake pads. I couldn't even find cheap sneakers at all.

[fj12ryder]

Thanks, any way this cheapskate can save some money is appreciated. 🙂

[Dave2001]

Try Eastern Marine. They usually have a sale in the springtime. I bought four self adjusting brake assemblies at a reasonable price.

[mapguy]

fj12ryder wrote:
Well, I don't know, just a quick look but Dexter shows the same part number for brake shoes for both the 6,000 and 7,000 lb. axles, 5200 lb. axles not listed. And Etrailer shows the same part number for all three sizes. Go figure.

Okay, I now have to praise Etrailer for quick service. I ordered grease seals for my trailer yesterday at 3 pm, and they got here just a few minutes ago. Granted Etrailer is located only across the state near St. Louis, but that is really quick service. The prices were excellent and shipping was cheap. I'm a very happy camper. 🙂

Many Dexter part numbers for 5.2K, 6K, & 7K axles in Electric 12x2 size:
5500 - 7000 d60/d70 axle

4100 - 6000 d44 d52 d60 axles