How Long do Class A Brakes Last?? When To Replace?

Hi,

Curious how long people go on their Class A breaks before replacement. Looking for a general answer as I know a lot depends on how you drive, miles and so forth. Did a search but didn't find anything. I'm nearing 40,000 miles now. Found a place pretty close by that works on fleet trucks that will also work on motor homes.

My brakes went out on my 1994 Damon Challenger class A at about 60,000 miles. But I was only the driver for the last 10,000 miles. If I would have driven it the entire time the brakes would still be good. It all depends on how you drive.

Too many variables to give solid answers. Driver technique is one major factor,  the size of the brakes vs chassis loaded weight another, and the actual driving conditions (cruising vs stop & go) still another.

Older gas chassis coaches, which often had just 16" wheels, had modest size brakes for the GVWR and were often loaded to or beyond the max, so brakes typically lasted 55k-70k miles. More recent models often get 65k-85k. Diesel pushers with 22.5" wheels and exhaust or engine brakes typically go well over 100k  and 150k isn't unusual.

As Gary said, depends on the rig and driver. We had a 38' diesel pusher with 22.5" wheels and exhaust brake. When we sold it, it had over 80,000 miles on it. The last time the brakes were checked the mechanic said the brake pads looked as good as new.

Use the exhaust brake as much as you can.

Greetings,

Surprised this was moved.

Thanks everyone. I just measured my wheels and I have 19.5 inch. I am hoping that will be better breaks for the Coachmen I have. Since you have armed me with some information, I feel confident that I can deal with the check up I am going to get here in the next two days or so. I'll report back here to people on the findings for general information.

They last longer if you avoid mountainds.

I replaced the FRONT pads at 35,000 miles. not because they were wore out however but beause it was as 100 dollar job. Parts only, no labor, we had the pads off for DIFFERENT reasons.

112,000 miles on the original brakes.  15 times across the U.S.

Hello,

Thank you for all the answers on this. One thing I thought of was my coach did sit for a few of years. Don't know if that is a good or bad thing, concerning breaks. Seems to me that if they were only getting exercised three or four times a year (owners kept things moving), break wear would be more like having 7 or 8 years on them.

I did make a fairly quick stop (light changed in a zone where I couldn't make it through but barely got it stopped) and don't know if one quick stop like that wears breaks extra hard. Most of the time I drive far enough ahead that I anticipate when I need to slow in order to get the RV stopped in reasonable amount of time.

Again I'll chime in here when I get them inspected to let others know how much wear so they might use that for a rough guide.

We have a 45' 44,000+lbs coach with 124,000 miles and the brakes are about 80% remaining. It all depends on how you drive. I have seen a similar coach in a shop getting new brakes with less than 30,000 miles.

camperAL said:

Curious how long people go on their Class A breaks before replacement. Looking for a general answer as I know a lot depends on how you drive, miles and so forth. Did a search but didn't find anything. I'm nearing 40,000 miles now. Found a place pretty close by that works on fleet trucks that will also work on motor homes.

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Why do people continue to insult his intelligence. He states clearly that he realizes a lot depends on the driving habits of each individual. That is highly obvious to absolutely everyone. He is just trying to get a feel for how long everyone else's brakes lasted. Give him your total and don't insult the guy.

Hello,

Picked up the RV today and the shop said the breaks looked real good and not excessive wear. Had them change the oil in the coach and genny, along with chassis lube and general inspection. They filled the tires with proper air pressure for me. I want to check and see where they are now as I usually do that but a truck place should know. They were very efficient and I checked the RV for any blemishes but was in same good shape I gave it to them.

So I am good to go for this year anyway. Perhaps I can get 65,000 to 75,000 miles out of them but now have an idea where I am at. I want to thank everyone who gave me some insight and piece of mind.

Let me tell you when I picked up the coach today, it was not fun hooking the car back up to tow it home. Cold hardware, stiff wind and more difficult when things are warm. Thanks again!

They filled the tires with proper air pressure for me. I want to check and see where they are now as I usually do that but a truck place should know.

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You absolutely should not trust the shop to put the right air pressure in your tires. They have no clue how much air to put in. You should immediately go to a truck stop and get the unit weighted after it is fully loaded with all your stuff and your passengers. Then consult the tire manufacturers chart to find the correct inflation. The number on the tire is only the maximum inflation allowed it is not the recommended inflation.

Hi SeilerBird,

He said they put the amount on the side of the tire, which I wondered if it was too much. Since my drive was very short, I just left it where it was until I can get a tire gage and check. We unloaded most of the items we have in the coach until it gets warmer outside. There is a place we can weigh not far from my son's house and will do that later on. Yesterday was too cold to do much and it isn't exactly warm now. I can probably check the air though. Thanks for your information and help. It's always appreciated.

That amount on the side of the tire is the max pressure the tire is designed for, not a recommended pressure for your application. Weigh it, as Tom said, while loaded for travel. A truck place probably won't know the proper inflation, either -- they don't deal with RVs a lot, compared with doing trucks.

In the meantime, use the psi recommended on the federal weight & tire placard, which should be on the wall next to the driver seat on a Mirada.  That is the RV manufacturers recommendation based and almost always suitable for a fully loaded coach.

He said they put the amount on the side of the tire...

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Many shops now do that for legal reasons. They cannot be accused of underinflating the tire if they set it for the sidewall max load psi, and that legal liability concern has trumped engineering and common sense.  A related reason is that tire shop techs lack the time, data, and training needed to determine the right inflation psi for the many various tires and vehicles they handle every day.  They can read, though, so they are near always instructed to read what the sidewall says and use that. It is both expedient and legally safe.

There were some major tire inflation lawsuits back in the early 2000's, most notably the Ford Explorer tire rollover debacle and a Country Coach inadequate tire load/inflation that resulted in a death.  Neither was the direct fault of the tire manufacturer or any tire shop, but they all got dragged into hugely expensive lawsuits that scared the pants off them and resulted in substantial procedural changes designed solely to avoid future lawsuits. Firestone ended up paying out $240M in damages and more millions in legal costs largely because their brand name appeared on the tires involved, even though the tire itself was not at fault.  Toyo spent millions defending their brand and were ultimately successful, but the legal lesson was clear.

Greetings Gary, Larry, SeilerBird,

My curiosity got the best of me so checked the place card as Gary said (front driver side) and it says 80 lbs for both duels and fronts. Took air measurement and saw they had the duals at 72 lbs each/all. So if anything, they let air out of the tires as I had kept them at
78 lbs per Cooper charts for the duels and 80 lbs for the fronts. I'd say that air has probably escape of the course of a few months and I haven't added to them.

Not sure what the Cooper Tires say on them as I didn't look at that this time around. Airbags need some air before I go anywhere. Thank you for the help on this!

Getting the tire pressure correct is very important. The wrong pressure can cause bad handling, a bumpy ride and shorten the life of the tire, which could lead to a catastrophic failure.