Half Ton Trucks & Brakes

[Haoleguy]

With the newer 1/2 ton trucks are the brake systems sufficient for the tow ratings? The Eco-diesel RAM and Eco-Boost F150 got me to thinking are the brakes upgraded in these trucks for the tow ratings or do they use a brake system found on all of their 1/2 ton trucks? Compared to trucks 5-10 years ago are the brakes on the newer trucks better?......Gary

 

[Diamondpilot]

With the newer 1/2 ton trucks are the brake systems sufficient for the tow ratings? The Eco-diesel RAM and Eco-Boost F150 got me to thinking are the brakes upgraded in these trucks for the tow ratings or do they use a brake system found on all of their 1/2 ton trucks? Compared to trucks 5-10 years ago are the brakes on the newer trucks better?......Gary

Night and day difference. My 2012 Eco Boost has brakes equivalent or better than my 06 F350.

Everything about the 1/2 tons of today are on par or better than the 3/4 tons of 10 years ago.

Chris

 

[jaotguy]

ditto... almost always improving ... but remember , that 1/2 ton rating for the truck is also the rating for the extra braking capacity that's built in ....

you can tow / haul a lot more than that, but stopping it will be another story unless you have trailer brakes.....

 

[dusty3030]

I think they are way better now as well. The big SUV craze has helped more than anything. Big, heavy, soccer Mama tanks have helped us get way better braking systems in the 1/2 ton size class.

 

[s219]

No questions the brakes are better just based on the hardware and technology. But you would require trailer brakes even to attain the paltry 5000# tow rating of the base V6 trucks with a ball on the bumper (i.e., no hitch). The huge tow ratings on higher-end models doesn't really change that aspect. They are all assuming you have trailer brakes for trailers above 3000# (it's the law).

 

[Haoleguy]

Glad to hear that the brakes are better now than ever.

 

[94BULLITT]

The front rotors on the new F-150's are larger than the F-250's.

A 4x4 Supercrew F-150 V8 will stop better from 60-0 than a 01 lightning.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

With the newer 1/2 ton trucks are the brake systems sufficient for the tow ratings? The Eco-diesel RAM and Eco-Boost F150 got me to thinking are the brakes upgraded in these trucks for the tow ratings or do they use a brake system found on all of their 1/2 ton trucks? Compared to trucks 5-10 years ago are the brakes on the newer trucks better?......Gary

Ford 04-08 brakes warped rotors stopping empty trucks. In '09, the front rotors were upgraded and only warped when stopping with loads. With ecoboosts carrying even more, Ford again upgraded the brakes on their F150s 2012.

With a max load, I'm more concerned about stopping than pulling with my 2011 Ecoboost. Trailer gain is set at max.

That said, the brakes do stop and Ford has spent more time trying to solve ecoboost-induced axle-wrap issues while maintaining a compliant ride in their F150s.

 

[ultrarunner]

No questions the brakes are better just based on the hardware and technology. But you would require trailer brakes even to attain the paltry 5000# tow rating of the base V6 trucks with a ball on the bumper (i.e., no hitch). The huge tow ratings on higher-end models doesn't really change that aspect. They are all assuming you have trailer brakes for trailers above 3000# (it's the law).

I'm not so sure...

My friend in Texas says the trailer brake law kicks in a 5,000 and some other states have higher than 3,000 for brakes to be required.

I asked him why there are so many trailers advertised without brakes and that is how we got into the discussion.

 

[s219]

I'm not so sure...

My friend in Texas says the trailer brake law kicks in a 5,000 and some other states have higher than 3,000 for brakes to be required.

I asked him why there are so many trailers advertised without brakes and that is how we got into the discussion.

Good point, it does vary by state -- I know that when I was shopping for trailers, some manufacturers had "50-state" models as standard equipment, and some had that as an option. What made my tandem 3500# axle trailer a 50-state model was having brakes on both axles. Apparently some states only require brakes on one axle for that size.

I guess my main point is that truck brakes are likely sized for the cargo capacity of the truck alone, to provide adequate brake cooling without fading. I seriously doubt a truck rated to tow an 11,000# trailer could safely stop an unbraked 11,000# trailer in an adequate distance without cooking the brakes to oblivion.

I remember setting the brake controller on my first tow vehicle when I got my trailer, and at low enough gain settings the vehicle brakes were almost negligible as far as stopping the vehicle/trailer combination. They would have burst into flames and fallen off long before there was any stopping!!

 

[nybirdman]

One change I noticed on my 2014 Silverado compared to my previous 2013 is that GM went back to rear disc brakes.I don't due a much heavy hauling myself but do like the disc in the rear.

 

[Haoleguy]

About 6 yrs ago I rented a large wood chipper that did not have trailer brakes. I didn't have far to go but at times that 5800 lbs chipper was pushing me. Won't make that mistake again. Our state has the 3K weight cutoff before brakes are required but only after a certain date of manufacture for trailer in question. There are many old chippers around that are over the weight and date requirement.

 

[ultrarunner]

About 6 yrs ago I rented a large wood chipper that did not have trailer brakes. I didn't have far to go but at times that 5800 lbs chipper was pushing me. Won't make that mistake again. Our state has the 3K weight cutoff before brakes are required but only after a certain date of manufacture for trailer in question. There are many old chippers around that are over the weight and date requirement.

We have the same thing regarding date of manufacture...

My single axle car trailer has a Date of Manufacture of 1960 and has a 4,000 axle.

They were very popular with SCCA racers at the time.

No brakes and to add them would require major mods as it has a drop axle with no springs... axle is gusset welded to the frame rails...

It tows like a dream, easy to move around and the 10 ply made in USA Springfield tube tires have been flawless

 

[tcartwri]

You could not put rims smaller than 17"on a new Ram because of the disk size. They are huge.

 

[nc redneck]

All the new 1/2 tons have great brakes no need for more or good trailer brakes, until some jerk cuts you off , runs you off the road , or you hit a 12% grade several miles long. At that point a 2500 or 3500 looks like a cheap investment with the best trailer brakes you can afford. A exhaust brake was mandatory for me after first trip down Black Mountain. After passing several tractor trailers pulled over with smoking brakes and some guy pulling tractor on 1/2 ton with trailer tires on fire I bought one. Dont need it 90 % of the time BUT.
It will happen if you tow a lot.

 

[NWOH_Grizz]

Recently changed the front rotors and pads on my 2011 F150 EcoBoost at 48K miles. They had been pulsating badly for a while, thought I had a warped rotor. Pulled the RF off first, discovered the inside brake pad was broken, and the rotor was made of such poor quality metal that it had pieces of metal flaking off. The rotor on the left side was the same, metal coming off the rotor surface, but at least no broken pads. On my 2005 F250 diesel, I didn't have to change pads until around 65K miles, and the rotors still looked good. I changed them too, since I was in there and I get Motorcraft parts at a big discount. Ford may be making them larger, but in my experience they aren't made of a better quality material. They sure stop the truck in a hurry though, even when pulling a loaded 25' trailer.

The worse part of that quick brake change? Getting the tires and wheels off the hub. If you take the wheels off for any reason, put some Never-Seize or similar product where the aluminum wheels contact the steel hubs.

 

[brain55]

In my opinion they certainly had plenty of room for improvement. We bought a brake lathe at the landscape contractor I worked for, because of the brakes on Ford 1/2 ton trucks. On our early 90's Ford trucks we were doing the front brakes every other oil change, so 3 times a year. We changed the oil every other month or about 7000 miles. Brakes every 14-15k miles is silly, of course we were using them like 3/4 ton trucks, but still. The 2001 F250's were slightly better. GM had always had the best brakes, we rarely did them before 80,000 miles. Dodge was barely better than Ford in my opinion. My 2008 F450 has the best brakes of any Ford I've ever been around. My 2001 GMC 1-ton was as good or better though.

Brian

 

[94BULLITT]

Here are the brake rotor diameters for 2014 trucks

F-150- 13.78''
Ram 1500- 13.23''
Chevy 1500- 12.99''
Tundra- 13.93''
2013 Titan- 13.77''

F-250-13.66''
Chevy 2500- 13.98"
Ram 2500- 14.18''

There is more to stopping a vehicle than just having large rotors but it is interesting to see how big the rotors are on these trucks.

 

[94BULLITT]

Recently changed the front rotors and pads on my 2011 F150 EcoBoost at 48K miles. They had been pulsating badly for a while, thought I had a warped rotor. Pulled the RF off first, discovered the inside brake pad was broken, and the rotor was made of such poor quality metal that it had pieces of metal flaking off. The rotor on the left side was the same, metal coming off the rotor surface, but at least no broken pads. On my 2005 F250 diesel, I didn't have to change pads until around 65K miles, and the rotors still looked good. I changed them too, since I was in there and I get Motorcraft parts at a big discount. Ford may be making them larger, but in my experience they aren't made of a better quality material. They sure stop the truck in a hurry though, even when pulling a loaded 25' trailer.

The worse part of that quick brake change? Getting the tires and wheels off the hub. If you take the wheels off for any reason, put some Never-Seize or similar product where the aluminum wheels contact the steel hubs.

It sounds like to me your brakes were overheated badly for the metal to be flaking.

 

[jejeosborne]

Here are the brake rotor diameters for 2014 trucks

F-150- 13.78''
Ram 1500- 13.23''
Chevy 1500- 12.99''
Tundra- 13.93''
2013 Titan- 13.77''

F-250-13.66''
Chevy 2500- 13.98"
Ram 2500- 14.18''

There is more to stopping a vehicle than just having large rotors but it is interesting to see how big the rotors are on these trucks.

Yes there is more than outer diameter. The rotor on the F150 weighs 29.5 lbs while the rotor on the F250 weighs 53.2 lbs. Thicker rotors with larger venting area is also important.

I agree the new 1/2 ton trucks are probably better tow vehicles than 3/4 ton vehicles from yesteryear but not when comparing to current models.