time for brake job?

[Chuck N. Wined]

I am thinking it may be time for a brake job on the Cruiser. I pulled a wheel this afternoon and I have an 1/8 inch of shoe left. I don't see any cracking or other damage to the shoes. The magnets look good. The axle manual says to change the shoes at 1/16 of an inch left. I am just not sure if I am good to wait 1 more season or not. At what point did you guys change brakes? Also, I know some folks have replaced the whole assembly instead of the shoes only. I am really thinking that may be the way to go since it looks like a pretty simply bolt on and wire up. I am interested in any input any one might have.
Thanks,
Lonnie

[spinella]

lonnie, i cant speak for our campers but i can tell you that i have done brake jobs on a bunch of equiptment and equiptment trailers. i always have picked up complete backing plates with brakes and magnets all attached. the guy i purchase froms says you just cant buy the seperate parts cheaper than buying the whole unit. last time i did it for a asphalt hot box the assemblys were 465 a piece. 1 hour and your done. you'll spend more time jacking the trailer up and taking the wheels off.

[fixit5561]

Same here Lonnie,



I just changed my brakes last spring . I went with the Dexter self adjusters, and love them. No having to adjust the brakes yourself, and they werent too much more expensive than the non adjustable brakes. Here is where I found had the best price on the Dexternev-r-adjust brakes http://www.easternmarine.com/Electri...ke-Assemblies/ The nev -r-adjust were only $5.00 more each brake so it was a no brainer for me.



Just change the whole backing plate with hardware, its 4 bolts on mine and 2 wires. The wires do not have to be hooked up in an particular way too. You just cut and rewire them. Make sure you use a watertight type of splice. (I soldered them shrink tubed mine)

[Chuck N. Wined]

Thanks for the input guys. I see what you are saying about the cost of the whole assembly versus the shoes alone, never mind the magnets. Just doesn't make sense not to replace the whole deal.
Thanks again,
Lonnie

[Dayle1]

Also, if you think that the drums need turning, then it will be cheaper to just buy new drums. Since both shoe face and magnet face should be turned, labor will be high even if you can find a machine shop set up to turn the magnet face. Plus with a new drum, you get new bearings and seals.