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  • Disc brakes

    Interested in changing to disc brakes on my 2018 Reflection 295RL. Don't know the axle rating, will it handle disc?

  • #2
    Call the guys at Performance Trailer Braking and they will give you great advice. They took very good care of me.
    2017 310GK

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Fortuitous View Post
      Interested in changing to disc brakes on my 2018 Reflection 295RL. Don't know the axle rating, will it handle disc?
      Axle rating? I've never read that question regarding disc brakes. What rating is pertinent? (I had disc brakes installed by MORryde on my 315RLTS.)

      BWT--welcome to Grand Design's Technical Forum!

      Howard
      Forum moderators are not GD employees--we are volunteers and owners presumably just like yourself. Unless specifically mentioned otherwise, we have nothing to gain should you choose to purchase a product or engage a service we discuss on this forum.

      2017 Ford F-350 DRW, '19 315RLTSPlus

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Fortuitous View Post
        Interested in changing to disc brakes on my 2018 Reflection 295RL. Don't know the axle rating, will it handle disc?
        Hi Fortuitous,

        I see this is your first post . . . welcome to our owners technical forum !

        The previously mentioned supplier is one alternative, but there are others.

        Based on my experience (installing a disc brake kit myself) I would suggest that you also consider discussing your plan with Bill Halasyn at Stop Your Trailer https://stopyourtrailer.com (813) 363-4685. Bill will also want pictures of your axle tags to make sure you get the right parts.

        Rob‬
        Last edited by Cate&Rob; 02-26-2020, 10:10 PM.
        Cate & Rob
        (with Border Collies Molly & Angel + Kitties Hazel & Elsie)
        2015 Reflection 303RLS
        2022 F350 Diesel CC SB SRW Lariat
        Bayham, Ontario, Canada

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        • #5
          Disk brakes vs drum brakes is always a good topic of discussion. Are they necessary? I had a pretty good discussion with an RV tech that I trust who said that in tests disk brakes and drum brakes stopped in the same distance. I believed him, then I asked him which system required less maintenance and was less prone to failure, disk brakes. Brake maintenance is not on my top 10 things I want to do today list.

          So I got the disk brake upgrade, twice. I now prefer the disk brake systems. I had my Momentum done at a GD rally by Performance Trailer Braking with Kodiak brakes/hubs. They did a good job. A year later I had bearing problems. It was difficult to get them to provide bearing specs for the repair. They did eventually get back to me. On my former 5th wheel I had Dexter brake with NevrLube bearings. They got replaced under warranty. I travel lots and lots of miles so this is normal for bearings to fail. Of the two, I liked the Dexter system better, the Kodiak is good, just my preference.

          Axle ratings, in order to get specific pricing you will have to know what axles you have. Cell phone in hand crawl under and find the axle label. It will look like this:
          Click image for larger version

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          With that information in hand you will get specific quotes.
          Last edited by d2reid; 02-29-2020, 01:00 PM.
          2017 Momentum 376, 2019 Ford F450
          2022 Triumph Scrambler Motorcycle
          E-bikes, Hobi Pedal Kayaks
          Kota the dog and KC the Kitty Cat

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          • #6
            Originally posted by d2reid View Post
            I had a pretty good discussion with an RV tech that I trust who said that in tests disk brakes and drum brakes stopped in the same distance.
            Hi Dallas,

            This will likely be a controversial claim ! I would like to see the referenced "test" data.

            All the disc brake conversion retailers claim a 50% reduction in stopping distance with disc trailer brakes. My personal experience would be that this is close to true. This is also the experience of virtually everyone who has upgraded their towable RV to disc brakes.

            With my original electric drum brakes, even with non-greased shoes and proper adjustment, the trailer never pulled back on the truck during heavy braking. This is regularly the case with disc brakes on the trailer. With disc trailer brakes, I can lock the trailer brakes at 60MPH (if I am not careful). I could never come even close to this with the original trailer drum brakes.

            The other big difference is brake fade. With the drums, the first heavy apply would be good, but a subsequent apply would be less effective because the drums do not dissipate the heat from the previous apply. The vented discs are not much different on subsequent apply than they were on the initial apply.

            Now . . . for the other side of the story . . . I have a friend with a high end horse trailer weighing about the same (loaded) as my Reflection 303. He claims that he can lock the trailer drum brakes at highway speed. I helped him do a brake inspection / bearing repack on this trailer. These electric drum brakes are massive . . . compared to the OE drum brakes on my 5th wheel RV. The point being that all "trailer drum brakes" are not created equal.

            Rob
            Last edited by Cate&Rob; 02-29-2020, 04:20 PM.
            Cate & Rob
            (with Border Collies Molly & Angel + Kitties Hazel & Elsie)
            2015 Reflection 303RLS
            2022 F350 Diesel CC SB SRW Lariat
            Bayham, Ontario, Canada

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            • #7
              Rob,

              All good points. Drum brake fade can be severe where once its encountered, there simply is not much braking action going on at all. I've also seen disc brake fade but its much more difficult to get into than drum brakes.

              IMO, if folks are adding disc brakes, they should highly consider having the V Clips added to the rear hangers where higher forces under heavy braking would be applied.

              Jim

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