What is the advantage of trailers having disc brakes?

Never seen someone so mad at disk brakes.

 

Not mad at the brakes. Just the dumb ##### that think they’re “better”. They’re just another con by the OEMs to get people to spend more money. And the idiots lap it up

 

You know they talk about tankers, they talk about ABS. and you know I've seen those ABS trucks and seen the disc on tankers. We would load right next to Texico and they tried the disc brakes for a year. Then after that year they went back to drum. You know every driver was asking why. The company said there was no advantage using disc brakes for their fleet. Now that was gasoline deliveries in the city. As far as ABS we all swore by them IF they were adjusted to the truck and trailer. But if you pull different trailers all the time I'd say they were not as well as they could be.

 

Worst part about ABS is there’s always a stupid light on so it defaults to non ABS. More wasted time and money not to mention DOT tickets. Just replaced another $1,000 computer on a trailer a few months ago. And I currently have a ABS light on in my ‘98 KW.....that the dealer recently “fixed”.

Garbage

 

Thats the thing I want to understand why disc brakes specially if high performance ones are not good enough for trailers or tractors.

From my understanding and industry point of view discs offer better heat dissipation. So why aren’t they good enough for trailers and tractors?

 

If your load is so poorly chained down it will come through the cab from hard braking, you didn't chain it down well enough.
When you slam into something like that lowbed with a D9 on it, now that will be a rapid deceleration. And with the attitude you have, I can see it happening.
Your little pete and load are no match for a solid steel trailer and its load that weigh 220,000 lbs. It will fold up your pete like a soft taco. Then if you're still alive you'll be wishing you had disc brakes and stomped on the brake pedal.
But hey its your choice to just ram into things instead of braking to avoid the collision.
One of my low bed drivers was rear ended by a pete actually.
Totaled the pete, but my low bed had a scratch and one cracked tail light. The D9 on it was securely chained down and didn't move, my driver was fine to thank God. I doubt that pete driver ever got behind the wheel of another truck though, messed him up bad.
Quote from him in the police report " I just couldn't slow down fast enough and I rear ended the truck in front of me" . My driver hadn't so much as switched lanes in the last twenty minutes leading up to the accident.
Seems to happen to the ones, who say it will never happen to them.
Now go buy some more chains and binders, and cinch them coils down properly super trucker.

 

You are talking about something 20y ago.
Disks have improved in that time.
And you don't know if Texaco stopped buying disks because a beancounter wanted to save on the initial investement when buying trucks.

 

Unfortunately you will never change the mind set of some old guys. I am old, but also open to new ideas and technology. I don't drive a 1950 pickup with a carburetor, and drum brakes either. I like EFI and disc brakes!
Even if I do someday run into something, I would rather hit it at 10 MPH because I have great brakes, than hit it still doing 40 MPH with poor brakes. I wasn't sure if I would like disc brakes in a class 8 truck the first time I drove one...by day two in it I was very impressed with them. Came down a 22% grade with 70,000 pound excavator on the bed, and I felt like I could have just stopped it completely with ease, and not a care in the world anytime I wanted to. Not standing on the pedal and waiting for it to slowly come to a stop. They wear so slowly to, the life is twice that of drum brakes. I am completely sold on them, just like I am glad both my car and pickup have disc brakes and fuel injection.

 

I'm hearin' ya,,Sounds like we're of the Same school..
Go Down a Hill in the Same Gear you went Up it. Or at least that what I was Taught, But then that was a year (or 2) ago...

Most of the the Steering Wheel Attendants of Today wouldn't understand..

 

I think that is economics.
Correct me if i'm wrong but slotted drilled disks wear faster as do the disks.
Also truck/trailer disks are vented between the surfaces.