Cost of New Brakes on Motorhome?

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JudyJB

JudyJB

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Joined
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In Florida for winter
I am pretty sure I need new brakes on my 32' Class C motorhome, which was built on a Ford e-450 chassis.  I had a Ford dealer check everything (40 point or whatever) a couple of months ago, and they checked the box that said brakes were OK.  However, vehicle has 104,000 miles and has been driven full-time for just over five years.  Brakes have started to squeal recently, but still seem to be stopping vehicle.

I am really worried about getting ripped off on the cost of new brakes, however.  (I had a bad experience twice with dealers, one Ford and one motorhome, trying to charge me ridiculous rates for stuff I did not need. Luckily, I did not buy in either case.  For example, went in for oil change over a year ago, and RV dealer gave me estimate of over $4,500 of stuff including brakes, all new tires, and a bunch of other stuff.  The "piece de resistance" was windshield wipers which I had replaced the week before and all new tires when two were brand new.  Brakes had also been recently checked and were fine at that point.  I must look like an old lady with dementia.) 

I have an appointment at a Les Schwab store in about 10 days.  Can anyone give me a rough estimate of what I should pay for new brakes? At least then I will know what to expect and won't look so dumb.  Thanks.
 
I think it's a shame that shops take advantage of people, especially women. Get a guy to call around to different shops and ask how much for brakes per axle for a Ford E-450.
 
Disc brakes are much less expensive than the old drum brakes.  I just did my front brakes and the pads were under 35.00 of a good name brand.  The labor is what is the majority of the bill.  Without a lift it took me less than and hour to replace the front pads in my driveway.  Rears will take longer because of the dual wheels.
 
Don't be surprised if you get an estimate of $500.00 or more if it don't need calipers or rotors. Yea pads can be bought for $35 but those are the cheapies. I put a set of metalic pads on my Daybreak last year and those pads cost me about $70.00 a set with a discount at O'Reillys. You won't get discount prices from a mechanic, they will sell them to you at retail.  If you want a complete brake job done with rotors and calipers, your probably looking at over $3000.00.

I just checked O'Reillys prices without knowing your exact model, metalic pads were very close to $250.00, rebuilt calipers $70.00 each, best cast rotors right around $ 100.00 each. So just the parts, I would say close to $1500.00 and you can bet labor is that or more.
 
My '96 Safari coach needed new disc brake pads, (and ONLY pads), for the 1st time at 144,500 miles.
Reusing the original rotors and calipers the shop charged me $696.50, ($269 for the pads and $427.50 for labor).
 
Don't let them go to far!!!, That squealing could be the warning strips or rivets on the discs. It gets expensive at that point!!!

An RV dealer is the last place to go. It is very likely that they would sub contract out that kind of job. Many cannot fix properly the house portion of an RV, imagine what they would do with the truck portion....
 
I doubt if DIY parts costs are going to be helpful to JudyJB, and they certainly don't bear on shop costs.

She should shop around Ford dealers and independent shops that do brake work and get estimates.  And assessments as to what is needed.  At 104k miles, chances are the pads are getting worn down and the squeal may be the wear indicator warning. Some shops will recommend a complete overhaul of rotors, pads, etc, just on general principles (age & miles). The full treatment may not be strictly necessary, but may be worthwhile for peace of mind if the budge permits. Tough to know if you aren't a brake expert yourself, so getting multiple estimates is your best protection.

Few Rv dealers have chassis repair techs and all of them are high-priced, so I would not even ask for estimates from RV shops.
 
Thanks.  I obviously cannot replace brakes myself, nor will I ask my son since he works and takes care of kids, so just does not have time. 

I tried a couple of places about 25 miles from where I am at right now, but none can handle a big vehicle.  Closest place is Reno, which is about 80 miles away, so I will drive to the Napa area where I am planning on spending two weeks and where my son lives.  There is a lot more in that area.

And, no, I will not go to an RV dealer.  Part of that high estimate for stuff I didn't need was sending most of the work out to repair places and charging me extra for the privilege of them sending it out.  For example, their cost for taking my vehicle across town to a tire dealer for 6 tires was $3,000 when the going rate was only $2,000!  I will never go back to them for anything! 
 
JudyJB said:
I am pretty sure I need new brakes on my 32' Class C motorhome, which was built on a Ford e-450 chassis.  I had a Ford dealer check everything (40 point or whatever) a couple of months ago, and they checked the box that said brakes were OK.  However, vehicle has 104,000 miles and has been driven full-time for just over five years.  Brakes have started to squeal recently, but still seem to be stopping vehicle.
Click to expand...

http://www.fordparts.com/Commerce/CatalogResults.aspx?y=2012&m=Ford&mo=E-450%20Super%20Duty#Search

Ford brake pads range from ~ $82 to $110

You can put your vin# in and search parts related to the Chassis

http://www.fordparts.com/

Typically cost for brake pad replacement for automobile disc range from $100 to $300 per axle.  Replacing rotors, calipers, mastercylinder would all add to this cost.

The brakes on your E450 cutaway chassis are not any different than those on most automobiles.  Just larger.  Actually, changing the brakes out on the motorhome went easier for me than our Honda's or the 4runner's. 

 
Read reviews of shops on www.yelp.com.  I've never trusted Midas and the like.  They will try to upsell you everything.

Look for a mobile brake mechanic too.

On a motorhome I would definitely use metallic pads.  Hawks is one of the top brands.  The stopping power of good metallic pads is lots better than Ford stock.

Nobody thinks about it but it may be time to replace your brake fluid.  A good shop will have a chemical test strip to indicate the fluid condition.  (Not kidding, it should be done every few years)
 
On my Workhorse the front pads were, as I recall $99 or $90 at NAPA. we did not remove the rear wheels so we did not do those.. Labor was $0.00 since I replaced the pads as part of the larger Engine Replacement and removal and replacement of the pads is about a 5 minute added to the job so he just blended it in  Was not worh the added paperwork for that amount of time.
 
Unless there is something major wrong replacing front pads should only cost you about 200 dollars including labor.  Rear brakes?  Not likely as most braking is done by the fronts, and they can go 150K plus.  Doing front brakes should take no more than an hour for any compentent DIYer.  What I would suggest it after the brake job, pay one of the quick
Lube places to flush your brake system.
 
Thanks for info on metal pads and flushing brake fluid.  I did have the transmission fluid flushed a month ago.  Supposedly, they checked the brakes then as part of their checks, but I suspect they really did not check them thoroughly.  Were at 35% front and 50% rear about a year ago. 
 
I suspect many shops would recommend replacement if the pads show 1/3 or less remaining on a big vehicle.  They have both a profit motivation and a safety /liability motivation to do so.  Rears are probably still OK.

$200-$300 seems like a reasonable price range for front pad replacement only.  Some shops won't want to work on a tall vehicle if they can't put it on their lift for easy access, but shop around and find one that is able/willing to handle it. Truck shops certainly ought to be up to the job.
 
i have a different take on metal pads.
Now this may be old-school thinking
but I won't put any brake pads on that are not form the OEM.... Ford in this case.  I certainly would never go for any of those "lifetime" metal pads or shoes.

Years ago I went to some tire shop general mechanic type place and got a brake job on a little car.  Lifetime pads.
Those thing squealed, squeaked, and squawked.... and in short order ruined my rotors.  They had so much metal in them I'm sure they were harder than the rotors or drums.  That's not how these things are supposed to work!

Since then, I have always gone to the dealer for pads and haven't had a problem since.


 
blw2 said:
i have a different take on metal pads.
Now this may be old-school thinking
but I won't put any brake pads on that are not form the OEM.... Ford in this case.  I certainly would never go for any of those "lifetime" metal pads or shoes.

Years ago I went to some tire shop general mechanic type place and got a brake job on a little car.  Lifetime pads.
Those thing squealed, squeaked, and squawked.... and in short order ruined my rotors.  They had so much metal in them I'm sure they were harder than the rotors or drums.  That's not how these things are supposed to work!

Since then, I have always gone to the dealer for pads and haven't had a problem since.
Click to expand...

Ceramic pads can be just as bad if you tow alot.

To the op, price out pads at ford/autozone/napa, were ever you wish, figure in at least 2 hours labor at $100 per hour. this should get you in a ballpark
 
My experience was quite different.

When I bought my F250 I was never happy with the braking power.  After doing much reading and research and a couple of scary close calls I replaced the front rotors with non-cryogenic slotted ones that cost about $100 each.  Then I replaced the ceramic pads on all 4 wheels with Hawks street race metallic pads. 

What a difference!  The brakes went from scary to almost as good as the Porsche 911 I drove for fun.  Those were the same brakes and rotors on the truck when I sold it 13 years later.  Mostly used for towing.

When my mustang needs new brakes I'll probably do the same thing again.
 
FWIW...Les Schwab has a very good reputation.  I have dealt with them in the past and was impressed with their effort to do things right at a fair price.
 
I had my brakes replaced and the brake fluid drained and replaced on my rig back in May.  Cost was around $900.  Hopefully, I won't have to do this again for this rig.
 
  Try Les Schwab tire centers and get quotes from the two closest. I have very great service from them in the past.
 
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