Trailer brake upgrade question

[Campteacher]

Hello friends,

As you can probably see based on my other posts, in less than a month I'm picking up my new 2018 Jayco Jay Flight 285 RLS SLX. Its GVWR is 8250 pounds, and I have a 2017 Ram 3500 CTD.

My question is this: is it worthwhile at all to look into a disc brake upgrade? Would that just be wasted money? I will only tow in flat Alberta this summer, but my destinations will change next season.

thanks!

Kevin

[mike-s]

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
Drum has a lot of advantages over disk. Two of the biggest is they can apply more braking force and they last longer.

Uh, what? They definitely don't provide more stopping power. That's why cars went from all drum, to front disc back drum (most of the stopping is done by the front), to all disc. They last about the same, but pads are much easier to replace than shoes and they seat faster. The only advantage of drums is they're much cheaper and (usually) don't get wet when traveling.

[path1]

My kid puts alot of them on at his shop. Twice now over a 3 or 4 year period I've almost put them on. Great improvement in stopping. And in older pickup more stopping power would be great. However he also tells me about the people that their controller thing you have to have for them to work quits, sometimes not a convient place. That is only thing holding back. Surprisingly more failures from units that don't get used Much compared to people that use them often or commercial.

[Campteacher]

Thanks for all the great advice, as usual. I'm really liking the ideas of testing out the brakes that come with the Jayco first, and then seeing how I feel about it over time.

thanks!

Kevin

[DutchmenSport]

time2roll wrote:
Since it would appear to be too late for a factory option I would run a season or two with what you have. If then you think you will keep the trailer long term then the upgrade is worth it IMO. Just install the disks at the first service in a couple years.

I did a self install last year and it was a huge improvement to go with disks.

This ^^^^^

Test them out first. With your 3500 truck, you should have no problems braking. If you find yourself uncomfortable after a few trips on the road, THEN change them. Don't change them just for the sake of changing them. That is a waste of money.

EDIT!
AND you test them first in a parking lot at a very slow speed. Then gain a little more speed and test again. Finally exit the parking lot on a back road, or a back city/town road and test a time or two before hitting a highway. Gain speed slowly until you really feel and are comfortable with the brakes. And no doubt you'll have to adjust your brake controller several times. Do all this BEFORE hitting a major highway in traffic or an interstate at 75 mph!

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Waste of money for sure unless they are junk brakes from the factory; then get good brakes. Junk brakes are junk brakes whether disk or drum.

Drum has a lot of advantages over disk. Two of the biggest is they can apply more braking force and they last longer.

The only real big advantage disk has over drum is very little heat retention compared to drum. And that only really comes into play when you ride your brakes down a hill.

With the brakes they have now days if you over heat them; drum or disk; you are doing something seriously wrong!

[time2roll]

Since it would appear to be too late for a factory option I would run a season or two with what you have. If then you think you will keep the trailer long term then the upgrade is worth it IMO. Just install the disks at the first service in a couple years.

I did a self install last year and it was a huge improvement to go with disks.

[ScottG]

I think the biggest benefit is emergency stopping power you end up with.
That is definitely worth something.

[jim1521]

Yes. I upgraded my Grand Design 313RLTS in part because of a known failure of earlier Lippert brake seals failing, bathing the brakes in grease (not a good thing), but mainly because I wanted to not have to rely on 50's technology to try and stop my 10,000 lb trailer. The difference is night and day. Out the door it cost me $2,800 to do both axles, but the brakes are really great - then can actually stop the truck.

Well worth the money in my mind.

[azrving]

I would basically say waste of money. The engine braking works really well. Besides, 8200 pounds is nothing.
But on the other hand have you searched late model ram in dash low controller voltage issue?