Best 2017 Ram 3500 Brake Actuators

Ordered the HBA16 to install on 2013 Dutchmen Rubicon 2900 TH with 7K Lippert axles, feeding the Kodiak Disc Brakes also purchased from etrailer. Unit was received with out any problems, installed and worked as advertised. The only real issue I had was prior to the order finding out for sure if this Actuator would work on my 2014 F-350 with or without the HBA-CAM. Once I received the HBA-16 the documents that came with it from Cargo Towing solutions provided me with another resource to verify what my truck would need. I contacted Nick Ruehlman with Cargo Towing Solutions and he assured me the HBA16 would work on 2014 F-350's with built in controller without the HBA-CAM. Installation was done by a brake tech and went in without any problems. etrailer customer support was very helpful in completing this project. Brakes are outstanding now that the electric's disc's are out.

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Pump works great. Disc brakes with this pump work 10 times better that electric drum brakes. 4 stars because it took a couple of months to get

When the OEM steel brake lines wore out on my boat trailer I decided to upgrade the surge brakes to electric over hydraulic (EOH). I replaced the damaged lines and wired up this Demco actuator and now I can stop my trailer on a dime -- should have done this 10 years ago. The actuator works flawlessly with my 2017 GMC's built in controller -- nothing else was needed! Please note though that the GM controller does not apply the brakes when depressing the pedal if the vehicle is not moving (duh). So don't be surprised if you try to test it sitting in your driveway and think that it's not working -- it's designed that way to save wear on the pump if you're not moving. Pressing the manual control does apply the brakes though. (The brakes also apply if you're on an incline). I fabricated a mounting plate out of 3/8 aluminum since the trailer tongue was not wide enough and attached the pump using 4 countersunk 1/4" stainless bolts and then used two 1/2" square u-bolts to affix it to the trailer. If I set the gain on the truck to max, I can actually lock the trailer's wheels, something that surge brakes can't do on their best day! Back in 2010 I upgraded my disc brakes to Kodiak all stainless steel rotors, mounting plates and calipers -- 8 years old and they were still like new -- also well worth the money!

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As of now I'm very excited to put this new product on my trailer.

Still working like great no problems

Was a great tease, received box 4 of 4 and had to wait until Monday for the rest to arrive, the boxes were a bit hammered, and when a caliper mount bolt fell out I was worried how many other bolts had gotten lost, but everything was there. Service was great, free shipping, these were heavy boxes, and they are tough to pack well so they don't pop open. Thanks to the order staff and especially Sammi G for getting my order straightened out from my miss ordered parts, will be ordering my trailer parts from them again!

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Works perfectly, much better than the surge brakes it replaced. Tows better, no banging back and forth. I installed myself, and I'm no mechanic,

The reason for 4 stars is in photo 1, the junction box is by far the cheapest and worst junction box I have ever had the pleasure of putting together, and I have installed many of them. My local suppliers junction boxes make this junction box look well let the imagination roam on this one, TERRIBLE. Again the break away setup in my opinion is sub par, not well built, though which break away system now a day's is they are all cheap. The 7 way harness as well is sub par, I have hand built better. The actuator, very interesting and a little different, not to sure about the quality, only time will tell, it does seem to be working and working well at this point. Stops trailer and tow vehicle on just trailer brakes alone, impressive.

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I live in the mountains and the hitch actuator brakes create so much heat and don't get a chance to release going down mountain slopes / fire hazard. I removed the actuator hitch and welded a Bulldog hitch on. I wanted to keep my disc brakes on the boat trailer and installing the Hydrastar system is the only way to do that. The Hydrastar is a awesome system for electrical and braking hydraulics which gives you full control of trailer braking. That is a peace of mind, knowing your trailer brakes will not get hot uncontrollably to the point of a fire. Hydrastar system works great and the best purchase I ever did for boat trailer braking. It is controlled with the brake controller in the vehicle cab and when applied, the pump on the Hydrastar will put out plenty of PSI and will down right shut everything down - even without using the vehicle brakes applied (just testing it). The boat alone weighs 6500 lbs. loaded with fuel etc. I Highly, highly recommend this system and was enjoyable and easy to install.

The controller is still working. It tends to run at a low rate even when we're not braking, but perhaps it's something with our pickup or trailer wiring.

Product came damaged.

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Thanks you! a great experience with the ordering and receiving my parts that I needed. I would recommend Etrailer.com to anyone needing competitively priced and quality parts fast.

Reps are friendly and helpful.

Spring on the lever broke almost immediately after installation.

Got my Brake Actuator so fast. I love that these guys have so much stock, amazing prices, and do customer service the old fashioned way!!! Thank you etrailer.com??

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We never got it to operate properly. We ended up removing the entire hydraulic system and replaced it with electric brakes.

Awesome coupler. My trailer is a 1990 and the old coupler was welded on. Had no other option than to weld the new coupler on. Came out great and works perfectly. Made my own brake lockout key. See photos below

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I received the actuator with no manual. Contacted etrailer.com to get the manual and was told they didn't have but would contact UFP. Nothing from UFP. I contacted Dexter, who apparently bought the line from UFP. They don't have it either. I have it installed but am trying to figure out how to bleed the master cylinder. OLD instructions from UFP are NOT accurate.

The product was great. Very satisfied.

the unit itself is easy to install and is working great,I bought it last March/April and unpackaged it and installed on during off season in Dec. and noticed the fill cap broken during shipping to Canada, etrailer said they would not replace the $XX.00 cap because too much time has passsed,so un package ASAP. Otherwise there prices are great.

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I pulled my boat for 1,500 miles soon after replacing the old pump. Brakes were effective and worked perfect. That was a year ago. Last week I launched my boat for the first time since then. No brakes. After a lot of contact cleaner, plugging and unplugging the cable to the truck, exercising the brake actuator, I finally got the pump to work again. That was the reason I replaced the original pump which was inop because of not being used. If you don't use it, you will lose it. It is a very expensive part. Dexter will not sell you the electronic pressure proportional valve that gets gummed up causing the pump to fail. Dexter will not give you the part number for that valve. Unfortunately, the stamped part number got obliterated part number during removal was unreadable. This was a very expensive lesson to learn, $1,069.98. In the future I will be exceptional careful when removing the valve should I have another failure. That valve will probably sell for less than $100.00. As far as Etrailer is concerned, they are the best when it comes to shipping quickly and helping the customer get what he needs.

I am most please that this company stands by their product and is a pleasure to deal with!!!!!!!!!!!!

The cap to the brake fluid broke in shipping wondering if u can send a new one

Outstanding addition to my Reflection 5th wheel. Back from 7000 mile trip to Canada and no problems whatsoever. One panic stop and brakes were very effective. With over 80,000 on my trailer this is this first trip without some kind of brake issue: broken wire, needs adjustment, put together incorrectly at dealers, etc. I installed the unit myself. Relatively straight forward. I did get confused on the wiring, could have been just me, but a separate wiring diagram for a 5th wheel might help. I didn't realize (and probably should have) that the emergency brake needs to get it's hot from the existing trailer battery and the main braking control has to get it's hot from the truck. All of this can be done in the pin box and is actually pretty straight forward. Great product. Should have installed years ago.

The reason I gave it only four stars is because the subject Hydrastar Actuator I purchased a year ago replaced the same actuator I installed 2.5 years prior as part of a complete uprade of our Airstream trailer with six disc brakes and the extensive hydraulic lines required to make this triple axle trailer work. The previous Hydrastar Actuator worked for exactly 5,100 miles. It failed with out any warning during an extensive trip to California and then east to Texas! It simply quit internally. With the help of your company I called the manufacturer; in good modern-day unresponsive fashion I bounced into their voicemail. I realize it was six months beyond the two year warranty period. I did not expect a brand-new one from them. Rather my expectation was that would take mine in and diagnose and rebuild it on my dime or at their cost!? Since I never heard from them and I was planning to sell the trailer and wanted everything to work for the new owner I held my nose and bought the unit you are inquiring about now. I works as designed with about 20 miles on it. The trailer is still for sale as of this writing and will hopefully go to a new owner soon.

I think this one might be the best design on the market. Slim profile makes it easier to tuck out of the way, and the performance is perfect. A very nice way to get away from the coupler actuator and the “clunking” when stopping/starting. Plus have brakes in reverse adds comfort at the boat ramp.

hydrastar system has been the answer as we can back down the boat ramp with our tri-axle being able to have braking power in reverse. The product is every thing it was said to be and can not say enough about the system to our friends. We installed six new brakes and kit lines all from etrailer.com. The staff was very helpful, and would deal with them again.

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Awesome product works way better than my surge brakes, the terminal connection box made wiring a breeze! Awesome customer support from E trailer.com to resolve a cracked hydraulic cap!

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Melisa was very helpful on the phone and promptly shipped my parts. Appreciate it very much.

Had a problem with first shipment , was resolved promptly

It working good on my M105A2 Military trailer. Thanks etrailer.

Well built unit that works well .

I installed this brake actuator on a 3500 lb boat trailer with drum brakes, is working great so far. Needed to replace the existing broken hitch on my trailer and this was a suitable replacement to get the brakes working again.

Delivery was very fast. Quality seems very good. Installation was super easy since my Shorelander swing tongue trailer has this standard hole pattern. I love how it looks and the extra foot of distance I get between the boat and my tow vehicle (so less chance of needing to get my feet wet or crawl through the SUV).

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this is the best product it's so easy to use!just lower the hitch and it locks in and is also easy to unhitch, no binding. I would highly recommend this actuator.

Best brake actuator I have ever used. Had issues with my brake line fitting up to the actuator and George J helped me trouble shoot the problem and got it resolved in no time. Best price, best product and superior support staff. I would not hesitate to purchase any product from them at all and will definitely use them in the future for all my trailer needs.

Product arrived just as described and packaged well!

Original brake actuator was welded to the trailer tongue. I had to cut it back and weld a new piece of 3x3 tube steel and extend it out enough to install the new actuator. It lengthened the trailer by about a foot but worked out pretty well. The new one works great.

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