Video Transcript for In-Depth Review of the Demco Hydraulic Brake Actuator-DM8759122

Hello everybody, this is Jeff at etrailer.com. Today we're gonna take a look at the Demco eight-inch, adjustable channel center, hydraulic drum-brake actuator. Has an 8,000 pound gross towing weight capacity and a prime finish. Now this hydraulic actuator will activate your 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 your trailer toward the rear of your vehicle. So with this surge brake system, the actuator is then triggered as your trailer moves forward once the tow vehicle starts to slow down.

And once this happens, the inner portion of this actuator will contract and apply force to the master cylinder in the back here. So this in turn supplies the necessary hydraulic pressure to engage your trailer's brakes. This actuator here uses a nice Acetal copolymer lining around the inner and outer case. Provides a nice smooth operation as the actuator telescopes in and out. You notice, this one has an adjustable center channel, has three different mounting positions for your coupler.

Now the coupler is not included. We do sell that separately. Now we mentioned it's a channel center design, which means if you notice, the channel's actually centered equally up or down. The channel height on this, if we put a ruler on it, from the bottom to the top's eight inches. The inside width, inside to inside, is measured three inches.

This is a nice heavy duty steel construction. You can see it has a prime finish on it. Gives you better corrosion resistance. Now the brake cylinder, or the master cylinder, in the very back here, it is a composite master cylinder. It is durable and efficient.

It is a glass-reinforced nylon construction, so will resist rust and corrosion. And it has a large reservoir to provide increased capacity for the brake fluid. The very top where you put your brake fluid in, you can see it uses an automotive style diaphragm cap. Creates a completely enclosed system. Helps prevent contamination of your brake fluid. Right in the top here in the center, this is your breakaway cable and your hook with the latch included. This breakaway cable and hook is required by law and the reason is it prevents a trailer runaway situation. So basically, when you attach your trailer to your tow vehicle, you'll take this hook, hook it to your tow vehicle, and then what happens is in a case of where your trailer come detached from your tow vehicle, it will pull on this cable which will activate the lever and that again will supply the hydraulic pressure to engage the trailer's brakes and prevent a runaway situation. So this part is included and it is required by law. Now this is a bolt-on or a weld-on installation. It is designed to mount to a straight three-inch wide trailer tongue. This part is made in the USA. Application: this is for trailers with hydraulic drum brakes. Gross towing weight capacity of 8,000 pounds. Maximum tongue weight of 800 pounds. Also goes by the model number of DA91. And one last note I do wanna mention on this actuator, because it does not include a reverse lockout solenoid in the back here, it is recommended that you equip the trailer with either a reverse lockout solenoid that'll attach right here or have free backing brakes on your trailer so that you can drive in reverse without the actuator triggering your trailer's brakes. But that should do it for the review on the Demco eight-inch adjustable channel center, hydraulic drum-brake actuator. Has an 8,000 pound gross towing weight capacity.