CrystalEyes

The road to my favorite camp site has a lot of hills and sharp corners, which means a lot of braking while loaded up with camping gear. If I'm driving at night when the air is cool and I can set my own pace, no problem; but if there's a lot of traffic on a hot day and I don't want to hold up the people behind me (by going below the speed limit or braking excessively before corners) or rear-end the people in front of me (because they're towing a boat or trailer say) then the brakes can start to fade, sometimes quite alarmingly. The brakes were recently serviced (inspection and bleeding with new brake fluid), so the pads and shoes should be okay and there shouldn't be any air in the system. I never had this problem with my previous camping vehicle (a full size Chevy van), so I'm wondering why this is happening. It's true the van was significantly larger and heavier than the Sonoma, so relative to vehicle weight the truck is more heavily loaded. Even so, I can't see being anywhere near exceeding the rated lode, since the suspension is not noticeably sagging or wallowing around when braking and cornering, and though occasionally bulky, none of the gear is particularly heavy. I've also seen this problem once or twice while off-road in steep terrain, even without a bunch of gear in the back; meaning I've got to go much more slowly than conditions would otherwise permit and/or use lower gears at higher engine rpm than I would like to in order to spare the brakes. There's no mushiness in the pedal or fading in normal driving, so I'm wondering if maybe I'm just expecting too much from my little truck. I'm not an aggressive driver and I've done plenty of driving off road, and I just can't help feeling like the Sonoma's brakes don't compare well to those of other vehicles I've driven under the same conditions. I've always owned wagons and vans in the past making this my first small truck, so maybe my expectations for it just aren't realistic. Any thoughts?