Fix’n Disc Brakes On a 06 Classic in Mitchell South Dakota

Friday we got a later start than we like, but the travel across Minnesota and into South Dakota was uneventful, and we arrived in Mitchell South Dakota after 5:00PM.  The RV Park that we chose is a part of a hotel, and we were told to chose a RV site, then check in.  As we were setting up the utilities, I noticed the brake that we heard dragging a few hundred miles ago, was actually a badly gouged brake rotor on one of the trailer axels.  We signed up for two nights stay, to give me a chance to plan on how to get the brakes repaired.

We drove to a large home improvement store, looking for some type of a jack, to lift the trailer, and found this truck in the parking lot.  Hail damage, and we were fascinated with how many dents there were.  Later on in the evening Anne-Marie and I went to a Ruby Tuesdays for dinner, and every where we looked, there were cars and trucks with hail damage, perhaps a third of the vehicles in the lot had hail dents on them.

Yesterday I disassembled the brakes on the trailer, and made a dash for the NAPA Auto Parts Store, and it was closed. The auto parts store is located two blocks away from the Mitchell Corn Palace.  The Corn Palace is decorated with different colors of grain and corn, and they change the patterns, colors, and pictures every year.  The left side of the front sign has a incomplete sign, two years ago when we visited, the whole outside was largely under construction.

Our trailer is a 34ft Airstream Classic, and it has three sets of axles, that are equipped with disc brakes.  Two years ago, in Carson City, Nevada, our brakes had wore down to the metal, on the same two wheels, and I rebuilt all of the brakes on the trailer.  Disc brakes are good, they stop smoothly and firmly, but I found out after calling Craig at the Airstream Dealer in Grand Rapids, that the brake pads only last 15,000 miles, and then they need replacing.  The folks at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Store that I took the rotors to, said that disc brakes on a trailer only last 12-15 thousand miles, and that is just the nature of how they work.  These are the two scuffed rotors, and the parts folks at O’Reilly’s looked up the numbers on the rotors, and they are a common rotor used on dodge trucks.

The worst brake pads, and the work site, here in the RV Park.  The brake pads, are regular automotive pads, that are used on some GM cars from the 1990s.

I got the system reassembled to this point last night, and today I hope to have the trailer road ready today.  The O’Reilly Auto Parts Store turned the rotors, and had brake shoes for one axel, and if we want more, they will be here on Tuesday.  We have chosen to take a chance, and hope that there are four or five more travel days on the remaining brakes, to allow us to get to the North West.

Doing the repairs myself, I have saved a bundle.  The cost of turning the rotors, brake pads, oil seals, bearing grease, and other goo’s and parts was $120.00.  I had to buy a 6 ton bottle jack and two jack stands for $65.00.  I don’t like this type of project, and I don’t like getting dirty, but I like getting it done on a weekend without any more layover days.  My only delays were my own energy levels.