Preferred Brake Shoe Brand? | TruckersReport.com Trucking Forum

Hey guys looking for input on a preferred brake shoe brand? I did my trailer brakes around a year ago I think and I just bought whatever the parts store had and they aren't lasting great. I need to do some on my truck and trailer soon so I was wondering if you guys have had good experiences with a certain brand? The shoes I got from the part store are the worst wearing I have ever seen. I don't remember the brand but they weren't one of the big brands, wabco, Bendix etc. Thanks in advance.

The supplier I get parts from stocks Bendix thats why I perfer them but they can get Webco ..
I did a cut off here a couple months ago the guy that own's the truck brought me in some cheap shoes .. American was in the name if I remember right .. they were in a blue box with red & white lettering I open the box and looked told him take them back I will get some good shoes ..
I said ain't your life worth the 60 or 70.00 a set more ?

Yep I didn't give it much thought because before I moved location my parts store just had all Bendix stuff which is probably the biggest brand so I figured they were good. The new parts store I put all new everything on my trailer about a year ago and they are pretty much done already...bendix stuff would last years.

It is not just the brand but there are different friction ratings on brake shoes or pads.

We used to use Carlyle HD2 on general fleet trucks . HD1 on dump, concrete and some tank trucks. The HD1's were more aggressive with more metal in them. A refrigerator magnet would stick to those. Great stopping but you might need drums every brake job.
I thank those may have been replaced by MB20 and MB23 linings. Used to have a sheet with many different brands and their corresponding numbers.
Have no complaints with any brand name shoes but there is a lot of off shore crap out there anymore.

Floyd County, Iowaper DOT

Subpart C - Brakes
393.47 Brake actuators, slack adjusters, linings/pads and drums/rotors.

(1 ) Steering axle brakes. The brake lining/pad thickness on the steering axle of a truck, truck-tractor or bus shall not be less than 4.8 mm (3/16 inch ) at the shoe center for a shoe with a continuous strip of lining; less than 6.4 mm (1/4 inch ) at the shoe center for a shoe with two pads; or worn to the wear indicator if the lining is so marked, for air drum brakes. The steering axle brake lining/pad thickness shall not be less than 3.2 mm (1/8 inch ) for air disc brakes, or 1.6 mm (1/16 inch ) or less for hydraulic disc, drum and electric brakes.

(2 ) Non-steering axle brakes. An air braked commercial motor vehicle shall not be operated with brake lining/pad thickness less than 6.4 mm (1/4 inch ) or to the wear indicator if the lining is so marked (measured at the shoe center for drum brakes ); or less than 3.2 mm (1/8 inch ) for disc brakes. Hydraulic or electric braked commercial motor vehicles shall not be operated with a lining/pad thickness less than 1.6 mm (1/16 inch ) (measured at the shoe center ) for disc or drum brakes.

(g ) Drums and rotors. The thickness of the drums or rotors shall not be less than the limits established by the brake drum or rotor manufacturer.

Website:
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmc...

-

Edited by Mark@Northern Iowa 7/28/ 09:35
The DOT specs aside... the general rule of thumb that's applied here is that if the shoe is at 1/4" at any point it comes off. The Q-Plus shoes I run have a 1/4" indicator on each end of the lining. As far as the drums go... if there's any appreciable wear shown on them you're just as well to toss them. The way I've come to view this issue... you may technically be 'legal' running a shoe down thinner than what I've described... but you're also diminishing the braking performance by a significant amount. For the cost involved I think it's just as well to change them out and keep GOOD brakes. Also make sure to free/replace the shoe pivots/bushings and check for wear on the s-cams and their bushings... A worn cam also seriously imperils brake performance.

Rod

NC NDSteve you will save yourself alot of trouble if you keep good drums on. During the winter when you get the ridge on the edge a little snow will blow in there, melt freeze then you have frozen brakes every time you go to use the truck/trailer. Also when the shoes wear down in a bit they tend to stick from rust also. Bad on trailers even worse on your drives, somebody gets in pops the clutch, now you are working on a rearend.