Rear drum brakes?

Hello all from the west coast. After owning a brand new 1989 SR5 Toyota truck ( yes I’m that old) I’m considering getting a 2021 Tacoma next year. After specing out the one I want and going over the build specs I’ve noticed that for some reason Toyota still runs the archaic drum brakes on the backend. I will be towing about a 5000 lb trailer with it and was wondering if anyone knows first of all why? And if anyone knows of any issues with them? And if there is an aftermarket upgrade?

Thanks for reading and hopefully your comments.

 

No issues whatsoever, you will be fine with drum brakes out back.

 

Because Toyota is cheap as fuck when it comes to R&D on Tacomas. They're too busy giving Rachel all the creature comforts in the RAV4 including rear discs

 

On my 3rd Tacoma, one from each gen. I've always had plenty of breaking power. Only problem i have had is needing to replace the front rotors on each from "spirted" driving.

I'm pretty sure the stopping distance of the Tacoma is equal or better than the competitors with disc rear brakes and the e brake works better.

 

The simple answer is rocks, they are more likely to get jammed up in rear disc brakes. So for off-road or gravel road driving, drum are better on the rear.

 

It works so why change it?

 

Because they work, why change it.

 

Mike Sweers is that you

 

Rear drum brakes help maximize profit for Toyota. Period.

 

Pics of ‘89?

 

It won't be an issue. I'd rather a proven setup with minimal cost, maintenance and quirks over a swing at a new system and them cheaping out because of the platform just to have it go wrong like GM on the silverados. The gmt800 had discs for a short time, they ate pads and loved to seize so they went back to drums. My 2006 had drums with zero issues. My buddy's 2000 had 3 rear calipers put on it. Ymmv.

I had no qualms about drums ordering my Tacoma. They will not be the weak point on your truck unless you let yourself hyper focus on it and create a problem that's not there. (Like 99% of the people on this forum.)

Relevant: 18-wheelers run drums for the same reasons- cheap, easy, reliable, sufficient. Some new rigs are going to disc on the front but it's a slow adoption due to the reasons above. Someone in that industry is welcome to correct me.

 

Yep, must of been those rear drum brakes that put Toyota over the top.

 

Drum brakes are fine in the rear of a pickup. No reason to upgrade.

 

Easier to install tire chains on drums, too.

 

So many experts to choose from.


My 07 frontier has discs. They're fine. So are the drums on my taco. I dunno why Toyota goes with drums, but they seem to be happy with their choice.

 

Party pooper.

 

If you find yourself needing a little more braking power you can upgrade the fronts to the Toyota 4Runner Disc/ Caliper. Its inexpensive and helps out.

 

Same reason base model Tacomas don’t have intermittent wipers...

 

Don’t fix what’s not broke.

 

Ha ha! I drive a Tacoma, my drum brakes work just fine, but Toyota uses them to maximize profitability. This isn’t controversial and there’s nothing wrong with a corporation trying to maximize profit.