On Tuesday, May 18, 2004, at 01:39 PM, Scott Cowle wrote:
> I've got 2 concerns about my tow vehicle this year- 1) The rear leaf
> springs are starting to sag under weight-is it better to add leafs or
> is it
> okay to use air shocks. 2) The brakes overheated at least twice on my
> trip
> to the point I could not get the truck and trailer safely stopped-
> once I
> was headed for the back of a tractor trailer- thank goodness he started
> moving cause I ran out of room. Considering the distance I drive to
> get to
> Maxton I feel like I'm taking an unnecessary chance with substandard
> brakes,
> yet the truck-a 1998 Dakota-V8- can easily pull the weight. What brand
> of
> brakes do some of you use on your tow vehicles to get better braking?
>
We've got a 2002 GMC 4x4 pickup -- four-wheel disc brakes, no trouble
towing our 4,000# trailer. The rear disc assembly is a maintenance
point, though -- the brakes accumulate crud and wear quickly -- had to
have new rotors and calipers at 40,000, inspect-lube-clean at 80,000 to
prevent a replay of the $450 event.
No problems getting the rig to come to a halt, no hassles going through
the hills 'tween here and there, no problems at stop lights. I'm now
looking at an '04 with the Duramax diesel (gotta save money on fuel
costs to pay for racing!), and since it's a 3/4-ton it comes with
enough smarts to compensate for trailer load -- more weight on the
rear, more braking effort is made available. Still -- $40k+++ for a
pickup truck!?!
Jon Wennerberg
Seldom Seen Slim Land Speed Racing
Marquette, Michigan
(that's 'way up north)
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