This surge brake actuator is built to handle serious weight, offering a 20,000-lb gross towing capacity and a 2,000-lb maximum tongue weight. When the tow vehicle slows down, the actuator compresses smoothly to apply pressure to the trailer brakes, giving you consistent control for heavy or multi-axle trailers. It’s designed for disc brake setups and mounts to a straight 4" wide trailer tongue for a solid, secure fit.
The unique roller design cuts down on internal resistance when the actuator telescopes, so the braking motion stays straight and steady instead of binding or jerking. That smooth movement helps keep braking consistent even under varying loads, which makes a long haul or stop-and-go towing much more predictable.
A zinc-plated steel body protects against rust and corrosion, which is ideal for marine or outdoor use where moisture is a constant factor. The sturdy housing resists bending or warping if the trailer jackknifes, keeping the internal components aligned and protected over years of use.
Hooking up is simple thanks to the trigger latch design. Just pull back on the trigger to open the 2-5/16" ball socket—no awkward levers or extra tools needed. The circle grip gives you a comfortable handhold whether you’re coupling or uncoupling, making it easy to manage even with gloves on.
This actuator includes a built-in shield for electric-lockout applications (solenoid valve sold separately) and comes with a breakaway kit already in place. The breakaway system keeps your trailer safer in an emergency disconnect situation, while the shield makes it simple to add a reverse lockout later if you want more control when backing up.
Because this actuator does not include a reverse lockout, it is recommended that you equip your trailer with free-backing brakes so that you can drive in reverse without the actuator triggering your trailer's brakes.
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hi everybody. Andy here with etrailer. Let's take a quick look at this Dexter hydraulic brake actuator with lockout shield. Now this trailer disc brake actuator is built for serious towing, especially if you're hauling heavier loads. This is rated for up to 20,000 pounds of gross trailer weight and 2,000 pounds of tongue weight. So this is gonna be more than capable for those larger trailers.
And hooking up your trailer is going to be pretty straightforward as well. This uses a trigger style latch with a circular grip, so coupling and uncoupling is going to feel secure, but it doesn't take a whole lot of effort. Let's see if I can give you a brief demonstration of that. So I'm just going to lift this up and then that's going to open that up and allow me to insert my two and five 5/6ths inch ball. And then I'm just going to bring this back down.
And as you can see, I am fully connected there. And then when I'm ready to uncouple with that back up, and so that's how simple this is going to be. Now, one thing that a lot of folks like about this actuator is the durability. This is made from zinc plated steel, so that's gonna help protect it from rust and corrosion. It's gonna be especially useful if you're around water or dealing with wet conditions a lot.
And there's also this built-in shield to protect the solenoid valve, which you buy separately. That's gonna help prevent damage from road debris or general wear and tear. Installation wise, this is gonna be ready to bolt onto a standard four inch straight trailer tongue. So it's gonna fit many setups without much hassle. The overall length, just a rough measurement here, just end to end real rough, real basic, about 36 and a half inches end to end.
And then if you're wondering about the height, again, just kind of a rough measurement, I just kind of want to give you the idea for the size here, just from the lowest part to the tallest point here, a little over 11 inches, it looks like. Now, this does not include a reverse lockout. That means that if your trailer doesn't have free backing brakes, the brakes could engage when you're reversing. So ideally, you'll want to pair this with free backing brakes to avoid that issue. And this is also has a breakaway kit, as you can see here. So you're just going to hook this chain up to your tow vehicle. And in case of a runaway situation, this chain will pull and activate the brakes, prevent a trailer runaway situation in case of an accidental trailer disconnect. I think that's gonna wrap up our look today. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us. If you want any help with installation on this product page, we have a link underneath the photo section that you can click that will take you to our installer locator, answer the questions that it has for you, and that locator will find an installer in your area that etrailer has partnered with to install this for you. Well, again, my name's Andy. Thank you for joining me.
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