Looking for longer lasting brakes (budget upgrade options?)

[RaysnCayne]

Hey guys,
I have the standard factory brake system on R10. It works just fine for me around town and such.
But last summer, after I spent just 7-8 mins coming down the backside of a very small mountain (middle of VA), they got hot and less effective. Still stopped fine, but they were very easy to smell.
In another instance last fall, I was coming down another small mountain with two sbc long blocks in the back and the brakes quickly overheated then. Again, seemed to work okay, but not comforting.

Would it be worthwhile to simply upgrade to the factory HD brakes? Would just that 1/8" wider rotor and slightly wider rear shoe keep me from overheating so quickly?
Or could it possibly be worthwhile to try OBS brakes? Are they a fairly straightforward conversion/upgrade? Or are they a lateral move?
I like my 15" steelies, so I'd like to keep the brakes to the factory size (11-12", I think?).
I'd like to keep drums on the rear for simplicity's sake.
I have very little disposable income, so I can't just go buy a Baer big brake kit or some aftermarket set up. Not sure I'd want to even if I could.

Note: If this topic has been addressed 100 times before, please share a link (or two) to those informative posts. I did several searches and couldn't come up with anything that looked like what I was asking.

 

[78C10BigTen]

A little costy but i use powerstop extreme pads on all my vehicles. They stop very well and ive never had any smell, even when i jumped on them to avoid a collision in short distance. Im not sure if they make them for squares but i imagine they do.

 

[xm20k]

The HD brakes will soak up a bit more heat, but you would need to make sure you swap everything over as doing just one end or the other could cause a braking imbalance and cause issues.

 

[Ricko1966]

What brakes do you have on it? Best pads and shoes you can buy? Are the 100% working correctly,adjusted right,self adjusters working no air in the lines,all brake fluid less than 3 years old?

 

[Ricko1966]

If you go with Big 10 brakes or similiar,get a combination valve for THOSE brakes not just a generic combination valve.

 

[legopnuematic]

Get into the habit of dropping and holding a lower gear to engine brake on down hills if you aren't already. That will help keep from cooking your brakes again.

I have used power stop on my Ram and have no complaints. My 76 is still on its original GM rotors with over 200k on them, my 79 I think I put Bosch rotors on? But I haven't driven it so can't comment on them.

 

[RaysnCayne]

What brakes do you have on it? Best pads and shoes you can buy? Are the 100% working correctly,adjusted right,self adjusters working no air in the lines,all brake fluid less than 3 years old?

No idea. I'm assuming rotors and pads (and shoes) were probably replaced 10 or so years ago.
Bought the rig about 4 years ago. Been driving it regularly the last 3 years. And the brakes seem to work fine as-is.
The fluid is dirty. But the system seems to work fine as far as I can tell. They all have the right amount of drag.
No air in the lines. (I'm assuming I would've encountered a no-stop situ by now if there was.)

I'm thinking I'll try the small upgrade to the OE HD system (pulling the parts from a Square currently in my local junkyard) with some PowerStop pads (and shoes?) and maybe that'll get me where I wanna be for the occasional small mountain trip.

Is the MC the same between the standard and HD options on a 1/2 ton Square? They look the same externally.

 

[Ricko1966]

You could have air in the lines and that would not result in a no stop situation,just less efficient braking at one end or the other . And you could have water in the brake fluid,you probably do( brake fluid absorbs water out of the air) so under hard use the water in the brake fluid turns to steam and you lose braking efficiency. For all you know you have the cheapest parts house pads and shoes available. I'd concentrate on making sure what I has was up to as new condition. If you are going to pull parts off a junk yard truck,be sure to get the combination valve. There's at least 3 different brake options for a square,and actually I think more than that,so as for master being the same you need year and brake code for both vehicles, look up a master for both vehicles.

 

[idahovette]

Did you ride 'em all the way down?.......Ya know ya can't do that?

 

[Grit dog]

IMO the problem isn’t needing heavier duty brake system, it’s either making sure what you have is operating properly or adjusting your driving habits.
Think about it. No load (even a couple engine blocks in the bed won’t affect braking much) and the truck won’t stop itself down a mountain without smoking the brakes. If this was a problem they wouldn’t have offered the same brakes essentially for 15 years.
I think the answer lies in something other than bigger brakes.

 

[Old Guy Bill]

Look farther ahead when driving....

 

[legopnuematic]

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[Goldie Driver]

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I wish you could still buy the OE stuff for replacements.

 

[legopnuematic]

I wish you could still buy the OE stuff for replacements.

The magic was in the asbestos (joking, but not entirely).

 

[xm20k]

The magic was in the asbestos (joking, but not entirely).

Technically true it helped with the heat.