Disc Brakes Longevity

[tjh@reagan.com]

Hello Redwood Forum,



I have a question about the life expectancy of MorRyde disc brakes and BW Companion Hitch. My rig is a 2018 Ram 3500 diesel dully with a 2019 Redwood 3941FL and B&W Companion Hitch..I had disc brakes and independent suspension put on 18K miles ago and love the performance. I have the brakes inspected and bearings packed every year or 10K. Recently I heard a loud crunch upon reaching my destination I inspected the brakes and found the pads were gone on the driver side scoring the rotor and the brakes on the passenger side were nearly completely worn.



I think the brakes should have lasted longer the 18,000 miles and was wondering what others experience might be. I have my brake control setting at 8 and I constantly use my engine brake along with down shifting when in the mountains or heavy city traffic to minimize the wear on the brakes.



Another question I have is has the life expectancy on the BW Companion hitch's shock absorber. It is hidden under the fifth wheel plate, i didn't know it existed until a tech told me about it. Ours needed replacing after 33,000 miles.



In conclusion I want to say that MorRyde and BW were very supportive.Their technicians were very responsive and timely. MorRyde replaced all the parts and labor under warranty. BW sent me a shock absorber free of charge.

[drj564]

Disc brake wear would be totally dependent on your brake settings and use. If you set it to where the trailer slows the truck down then you will burn through the trailer pads faster. I set mine right at trailer brake lock up and back off 1 click. I do try to get as much from the trailer as possible without lockup. I replaced mine at about the same as you but I still had meat left on them, maybe 1/4 left. I also went with Power Stop ceramic for my new pads, will see how those do. So far I have about 5K on them and stopping power is the same. Don’t know about wear yet.

Personally I would rather replace trailer brakes than the truck brakes. Can be done at the same time as repack easily. Surprised your shop didn’t say anything about them. I always do my own and when they get low, out they go.

[mhs4771]

We were at MORryde last July for a Suspension Check-Up Bearing repack.
Needed one Sheer Spring and all Disk Brake Pads, our '16 39MB runs very heavy like 19-20K and had 53000 Miles on it. So I would say yes your experience is not normal.