Video Transcript for Review of the Dexter DX7.5L A-60 Brake Actuator w Electric Lockout

Hello everybody, this is Jeff at etrailer.com. Today we're gonna take a look at Dexter DX7.5L Weld On Disc Brake Actuator with the electric lockout and it's designed to fit onto a 2" hitch ball, has a 7,500 pound weight capacity. Now you can use this actuator to synchronize your trailer's disc brakes with your tow vehicle brakes. How this hydraulic actuator will activate the trailer's brakes when your tow vehicle slows or stops. Basically what happens is when you apply the brakes in your tow vehicle, deceleration occurs and the momentum will push the trailer toward the rear view vehicle. So with a surge brake system, the actuator is triggered as your trailer moves forward while the tow vehicle slows.

The actuator, the inner portion here will telescope back, which applies force to the master cylinder in the back here, which in turn supplies the necessary hydraulic pressure to engage your trailer's brakes. Now up front, you'll notice has this nice, low profile, coupler latch to ensure a nice, easy, secure connection. And we call it low profile 'cause it doesn't have any large latch. Some of your actuators have a large trigger latch that sticks up high and that can end up getting damaged or bent. This one is pretty low profile, so nothing's gonna really damage it.

And it uses an over center latch mechanism, which will only engage when the actuator's fully seated onto your 2" hitch ball. And just to demonstrate that, I happen to pull, here's a 2" hitch ball. We're gonna show how it attaches to it, but basically first thing you want to do is pull out the safety pin here and it's tethered so you don't lose it. And that'll release it, and then to open the latch, there's this portion up the top here, this little dome portion, it's spring loaded. Slide that over and it'll pop up.

Now with it open, you're ready to attach to the ball. So if we lift this up, you can put the ball underneath it and you can see with it over the ball, it'll go right in place. And then all you have to do is push this down and it'll close right on it. It's locked onto the ball. And then for safety, you do wanna put this pin right back through the hole, slide that all the way through, and that'll prevent that latch from coming up.

Even if something hits it and releases it, you can see it won't let it go up far enough, it'll still stay connected to the ball. And then to remove it, to detach from there, just pull out your safety pin, open up your latch, and it'll let you remove it from the ball, just like that. So very easy to connect and very easy to remove. I gonna put our pin back in there. Now this does include the breakaway cable you can see here. Now breakaway cable is required by law. This will prevent a trailer runaway situation. Basically what you'll do is take this metal hook on this end and this will attach to your tow vehicle. And then what'll happen in a case if your trailer becomes detached from your tow vehicle, it will pull on this cable, which again would apply the latch onto your master cylinder, which would apply the brakes and prevent a runaway situation. Now this actuator does include a little electric reverse lockout. I turn this on its side. You'll be able to see it in the very back here. This is a solenoid. It's an electric reverse lockout solenoid. It'll let you back up without actuating your trailer brakes. Basically, this lockout on this trailer brake actuator will automatically activate when you shift your tow vehicle into reverse. This solenoid right here wires into your trailer connector, which connects to your tow vehicle so that it can detect when you go into reverse And when you're in reverse, the solenoid ensures that the hydraulic actuator will not activate your trailer's brakes and thus allows you to back up your vehicle. Now, to use this electric lockout feature, you must have a five-way flat, a six-way round, or a seven-way trailer connector on your vehicle. The master cylinder right down here, this master cylinder is constructed of aluminum rather than plastic and this or steel, because what it'll do, it gives you increased strength and corrosion resistance since it's of aluminum. And up at the top here is also a flush brake fluid filler cap on the top. Now this actuator does have a nice prime finish to it. It is a weld on installation. It is designed to fit on a three inch by five inch straight trailer tongue. And this part is made in the USA. Again, the application for this is hydraulic disc brakes. The ball size again, it fits on, is a 2" diameter ball. And the weight capacity on this is 7,500 pounds. But that should do it for the review on this Dexter DX7.5L Weld on Disc Brake Actuator with the electric lockout for a 2" hitch ball.