PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

Maybe there are compatible parts available, like from a Tundra, FJ, or 4R.

 

One thing I'm afraid of is that I won't get nearly 85K miles out of rear discs like I did the stock drums...

 

I don’t know the answers to your questions but how are you only driving 9k miles/year?

I’m pushing like 25k/year. I wish I didn’t have to put so many miles on my truck.

 

You got that many because they weren't adjusted often enough thus not providing the amount of braking needed. A lot of people see major differences or perceived differences in braking from disc to drum because they don't keep the drums adjusted properly

The company I linked makes the brackets to use parts from other vehicles. Still not cheap for just the bracket kit.

 

The drums are self adjusting, when you go in reverse and step on the pedal they adjust themselves.

 

Do you have a pic of the toolbox? Does it hang over the sides of the bed?

 

Dude that never works in the real world that was an engineers failed dream.

 

I drive way more than 9K a year now...

My dad got the truck before I got my license, and only had a learner's permit for the first year. As such, I only put about 7,500 on it in the first year (Carfax shows a little over 7,500 at the time of first state inspection in October 2010; Truck is a 2010 purchased new in September 2009). By October 2009, I had only 31K or so on the clock. From 2009 to 2014, I didn't have a job and only drove to college and car shows. I hit 50K in July 2015. Beginning in 2016 or so, by which time I'd been working at the bar for over a year, I started to really rack up the miles. By the summer of 2017, I had over 75K. At the time of the 2018 Carlisle Truck Nationals, I had a little over 86K. Less than a year later, I'm at almost 98,500; That's more than 12K in less than a year!

By comparison, my dad drives a lot for work and generally puts over 20K a year on his vehicles. His 2013 Honda Pilot had about 99K when he traded it for a CPO 2018 GMC Yukon SLT in December of 2018. The Yukon had about 8,200 miles on it when he bought it, and less than seven months later has over 16K on the clock.

My mom has a 2013 Nissan Murano that she and my dad bought used in September 2014, with only 11K miles. Almost five years later, the Murano only has about 35K on it! My mom drove down to Virginia a lot when her mom was still alive, but after Grandma passed, she didn't need to drive down there anymore.

 

I'll take 'Incorrect Assumptions' for 200, Alex..... On my old T-100, I got well over 100,000 miles out of the rear drums and I used the parking brake religiously. I do on my current Taco as well and haven't checked the rear shoes lately but at over 75,000 miles, I'd bet you my next paycheck that they are still better than 50%. There's a lot of surface area on a drum brake system. There's a reason big trucks still use them.
I wouldn't waste the time if you're not using the truck for auto cross or something like that.

 

I should of kept my mouth shut was trying to actually help the OP but guess the keyboard jockeys are out in full force. OP you best listen to these guys they are right! I'm going to bow out of this one no matter my experience etc. I will be wrong.

 

You must live in a state with no stupid safety inspections if your shoes haven’t been looked at lately...

 

NO.

OEM Drums.

Too much.

 

Just realized those are all for 6-lug trucks...

 

Yeah being a 5 lugger you are probably not going to have many options other than doing some fab work yourself. The brackets will probably work and you could possibly redrill the rotors to accept a 5 lug. It would be a project and I would suggest digging really deep into some research on stuff. Like finding 5 lug vehicles with rear discs and interal E-brake. Getting measurements of the rotor hat etc. BTW GM trucks had 5 lug internal e-brake you may want to look that direction. Also aftermarket companies like wilwood make caliper style mechanical e-brakes.

 

Yeah...

May I'll just stick with stock...

 

Am I wrong in believing that a drum brake is actually a stronger brake, but just has less modulation than a disc? On the topic of towing or hauling, drum brakes are the way to go. A 4 wheel disc setup will provide higher performance through modulation, for all of those instances where you need to rail through curves and turns, and may need to feather your brakes so that your Toyota Pickup truck holds turns at speed...in a way that it was never intended to do, because its a pickup truck. Cars make for crappy trucks. Trucks make for crappy cars. Maybe some folks on a forum where they like their trucks "murdered out" could set me straight, if I'm wrong about this.

 

NO,a complete waste of money.

 

Yes, sort of, when they feel like cooperating. Much of the time they do not and its no secret they do not work very well.
Actually if you study the whole mechanism in the drum it seems to me that a rocking action is in order. Maybe try rolling forward and stab the brakes and then reverse and stab again. Do a number of times. Mine seem to work best when also lightly applying a bit of bake pedal and then the foreward-reverse thing but nothing beats the manual adjustment IMO. Those who drive my truck are way impressed by the brake performance but I keep the rear adjusted.

 

You’ve got this wayyy backwards! Drum brakes are shit for towing and hauling because they can’t dissipate heat for shit!
Toyota gets away with it on the Tacoma because most buyers don’t use them as trucks and drive around with empty beds 99% of the time. And they require less maintenance and make for a better parking brake