I need to follow up on this, been a busy time around this house. Truck also off being fixed for another problem at the moment as not able to work on myself.

The brakes never do lock up enough to leave black skid marks on road, and in panic, still not a throw yourself forward stop. Now wife's new Kia, I drove it one day, and did a pretty fast stop, no skid marks, but was thrown forward when braking- very fast stop!

The master cyl has not been replaced, new rotors, new drums, new calipers, new front hoses. No visual problems that I can see. I did notice something that seems wrong. I was testing pedal to see if it would pump up or when holding it would slowly go down. They didn't pump up and didn't slowly go down. But I did think I heard something when I pushed pedal all way down hard. What I believe I found was the pedal sounds like it is hitting a stop of some kind about an inch before it would be on floor. I couldn't get under there to look that day, but was sure the brake pedal was hitting something that made it come to a complete stop, I could feel it and hear it.

So in conclusion, when braking am hitting something that physically stops the pedal from going further. Maybe there is something there and normally the pedal is never suppose to go that far? That may be why I stop fine with just normal driving with no rush/panic stopping?

 

My brakes don't lock up either and never have. The brakes on these trucks are very small compared to new vehicles but were among the best in the 90s. Have to understand that we have gotten used to bigger brakes today and shorter stopping distances so comparing a 20-25 year old vehicle to today is unfair.

If you don't have pulsing or pressure issues I'd say you're fine. I drive very carefully and leave room in front (which means aholes usually jump in there) but I've had my share of scares. Never hit anyone yet in 17 years. And I have 33 inch tires.

Why hook up a buzzer for the ebrake when there's a light on the dash in your face? Of course, I have to use my brake since I drive a real transmission.

 

In an emergency type situation I have had the rears lock, but never the fronts.

 

I put the buzzer on because when the tilt steering wheel is just perfect, it blocks the brake light. Maybe also just because I had a 12 volt buzzer laying around not being used?

My 1996 Dodge Ram never has stopped as well as my previous 1971 3/4 ton Chevy or the 1975 Blazer. They both locked up the wheels and stopped throwing a person forward.

I am thinking it is not right the brake pedal goes down about an inch from the floor and stop solid like it has hit something, you can barely hear it hitting something and then it will not move anymore. On other vehicles I owned, if brakes went out pedal went all way to floor.

 

If the pedal makes it to the floor, somethin' ain't right. You should get a couple inches of travel, and then it should be like stepping on a rock.

 

My pedal won't make it anywhere near the floor unless I'm bleeding the brakes, something ain't right there like maybe a bad master cylinder.

You say the e-brake works good but does it work good when pressed half way down or all the way down? Mine holds in neutral on a hill when it's half way down, If I have to push it more than half way to get it to hold then it's time to manually adjust the rear brakes which is normally every other oil change. Every time I adjust the rear brakes it feels like a new set of brakes.
The automatic adjusters on the rear brakes are about as automatic about a youngin' telling you that they threw a rock through a neighbors window when they aren't home. When you go from the rears barely grabbing to them grabbing like they should then it's a night and day difference.

 

My parking brake works well, it will hold on a hill without going halfway down, maybe a third down,, not even able to push all the way down.

It feels like the brake pedal hits something about an inch before it gets to floor, that is what is strange. I can barely hear it hitting something and it seems like pedal is at a solid stop before it gets to floor, with engine running. As already said, I am use to pedal going all way to floor if you have leaks, bleeding etc.

I only noticed this when testing to see if brakes would pump up, thought air might be in line. And noticed when I pushed hard as I could on pedal and held it, then it felt like I hit something solid, yet I am about an inch from floor. I let up a little and pushed hard again, could hear a slight sound like pedal mechanism hit something like a stop of some kind that was there. My first assumption was Dodge had some kind of stop in there (instead of letting pedal go to floor) and brake pedal wasn't suppose to be going that far down. If that was the case I would think the master cylinder was bad, that fluid was leaking around inside seals. There are no leaks outside MC , wheels or anyplace visible and never have to add fluid.

 

And some trucks had a valve that adjusted rear braking according to the load it was carrying. It was based on ride height. If your truck has one of those, take it out. I thought they were on 2500 and 3500 trucks though.

 

My brakes on my 01 1500 4x4 are great. Even with 37" tires it stops just as good (if not better) then my 08 f150 that is bone stock.
I only run EBC pads, either green or yellow. EBC pads are by far the best brake upgrade you can do, short or a big brake kit. Then get drilled/slotted rotors to dissipate the heat and keep the rotors from warping. Get some good quality rear shoes and new drums too.
For me the key to getting the brakes to work great with a good pedal feel, was all in getting the rear brakes adjusted perfect! They need to be tight. Adjusted just enough to slide the drum on without excessive dragging. Do this right and the truck should stop on a dime!

 

^^^^^ Your 2001 has larger twin piston calipers than our 99 and down singles.

Also good shocks and proper air in tires affects brake performance.