Ceramic Brake Pads on TV

[mountainrev]

I'm ready to replace the brake pads on my TV (2004 Durango).  I'd like to put ceramic pads on, mostly because they will eliminate the brake dust (and hopefully the horrible squeaking my Durango's brakes make), and they also ought to dissipate heat better than metalics.  

But Wavery, in a recent post, said that he found some warning by ceramic brake pad mfg's not to use them for towing.

Does anyone have any experience and/or opionions about ceramic brake pads on a tv?

[mars00XJ]

Interesting question. Being in the current market for a pup I would like to hear the answer to this. I currently have the ceramic pads on my Jeep Cherokee.

John

[jbalash]

Fwiw, I've had ceramic pads on my 2001 Dakota for 3 years without a problem. I've never had a problem towing my Baysde. I cant remember what brand I used but I don't remember a warning against towing. The best thing is that they haven't squealed since I put them on. (seems to be a problem on newer Dodge/Chrysler products).

Jim

[tknick]

I googled ceramic pad while towing and found several sites, most notably Bosch that does not recommend using full ceramic pads for towing.  Select brake pads from the drop down menu and scroll all the way to the bottom you can read the entire response.  They recommend semi-metalic on tow vehicles.  I cannot explain why, only repeating what they have on their site.

travis

[mountainrev]

By the way, it must have been a Freudian slip when I typed in brake Bads instead of brake Pads.  And for some reason, I can't seem to edit the subject line.  Thanks for your input so far.

[wavery]

I haven't been able to determine why they have that disclaimer on the ceramic pads. I have made calls to several manuf and have not received a straight answer. The impression that I get is that it is a CYA disclaimer (just my impression). Ceramic pads have been used on race cars for years. They have excellent heat dissipating qualities, however, there may be some question as to whether they can handle the stress of the extreme weight (friction) that they can be exposed to while towing. The surface area of the pad vs the amount of weight the pad can handle may be the issue. That tends to make me think that it could be an adhesion issue, between the pad and the pad backing plate or in the pad material itself.

Because I am towing with a "questionable" TV :yikes:  I decided to switch to carbon metallic pads that are specifically designed for towing. I let them seat for about 500 miles then put them through some pretty severe tests. They seem to be as good as the ceramic at dissipating heat.

[pershingd]

I'm running ceramic pads on the front of my '03 Ram and haven't had any trouble with them in the three or so years I've been towing/hauling with it.

David

[ForestCreature]

OK, I've been using ceramic pads on my van for years. The van is our TV, and it's stopped every time without problems. DH manages an underbody warehouse.

The quality of the pad comes into to play, use a quality pad not a cheap pad.
Something in the Super Stop (severe service) pad. , he reccomends Akebono pads for the Dodge Ram.  Leave the Bosch pads alone.