Brake pad wear

[Cameron]

Hello all, hope I'm not duplicating something here but couldn't find it on the forums.

I took my trailer in to a shop today to get the wheel bearings repacked and the zerks greased. They discovered that the pads are just about shot and showed me. The wear seemed even on the pads, but they were pretty thin. The trailer has about 24k miles, much of it up and down the mountains in the west. My brake controller is set at 7.5. It this normal for the pads to wear out after 24k miles? The shop also told me that in order to replace the pads they also have to replace the bearings, even though they said the current original bearings look ok. They said they'd have to order the parts so I didn't the work done, but will want to get those pads replaced before another trip. They quoted me $390 per axle for the bearings and pads. 

[jd1923]

We've got a couple Forum Mods and several others who have miles in the 100K+ range, so they could answer to that. But 24K sounds too soon!

Given your brake shoes have worn prematurely, it must be too much gain on the controller, your trailer is likely braking some for your tow vehicle.

Hard to say on price, depends what they are truly replacing. You should look into purchasing complete brake plate assemblies. This is likely not the correct part (BTW Dexter support can tell you the correct part #s based on your axle tag), but for example a left/right axle pair is not expensive. If your handy at all, these bolt on. Or buy the parts you need and hire the guy to do the work. And to do it right, see if a local trailer or auto parts shop can turn (machine) the drums.

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Brakes/Dexter/23-26-27.html

1 hour ago, Cameron said:

The shop also told me that in order to replace the pads they also have to replace the bearings...

This is certainly a FALSE statement! The bearings only need to be re-packed. Worn shoes down to metal can damage the drums, not the wheel bearings.

Believe me, I've owned many 50-60s classic cars that all had drum brakes on all fours and I've done more brake jobs than I can count, including rebuilding 3 dual-axle trailers! When I hear something suspect, I tend to not trust the shop. Beware and be cool! 😎 Also, we're here to help if you need installation advice. Best wishes, JD

Edited 1 hour ago by jd1923