Arrives before Christmas 
This surge actuator lets your boat trailer's disc brakes work without wiring or a brake controller, so nothing electrical sits in the water. It also includes a solenoid so you can back up your trailer without engaging the brakes.
This Demco DA86 actuator is built for life at the boat ramp. Its zinc plated body resists corrosion when exposed to saltwater, and the master cylinder is sealed with a diaphragm cap and a booted push rod to help keep moisture out, so you can use it in coastal or brackish water environments.
The EZ Latch coupler drops onto a 2" hitch ball and clicks shut on its own, even if the latch is already closed. You do not need to hold the handle while you work the jack or line up the ball. That keeps fingers out of the pinch zone and makes it faster to hook up by yourself. After it clicks, give it a firm tug to confirm the catch, then add a coupler lock (sold separately) to help deter theft while you are away.
The color coded decal on the emergency lever shows when the breakaway is engaged or released, so you can spot a tripped system before you tow. It is not a parking brake. If you are on a slope, use wheel chocks and your trucks parking brake to keep the trailer from rolling.
Inside the actuator, a spring loaded push rod controls line pressure while an integrated dampener reduces impact shock. A large reservoir increases brake fluid capacity, and large rear rollers support movement for smooth operation.
The inline electric reverse lockout ties into the tow vehicle reverse light circuit. When you shift into reverse, the solenoid blocks brake pressure so you can back up without the brakes engaging. A manual lockout tab is included for backup when wiring is not available.
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Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hello, everybody. This is Jeff at etrailer.com. Today, we're gonna take a look at this Demco EZ Latch D86 disc brake actuator for a two-inch ball. Has an 8,600 pound gross towing weight capacity. Now, this hydraulic actuator's gonna 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 is gonna occur and the momentum's gonna push your trailer towards the rear of your vehicle.
So, with this surge brake system, this actuator here is triggered as your trailer moves forward once your tow vehicle starts to slow down. And when this happens, the inner portion of this actuator is gonna contract, it applies force to the master cylinder, which is back here, and this in turn is what'll supply the necessary hydraulic pressure to engage your trailer's brakes. Now, this one is an EZ Latch coupler design. This EZ Latch coupler right here makes for a simple, secure hookup and disconnect. This will let you hook up when the latch is in the closed position like it is right now.
All you have to do is just drop the coupler over the hitch ball and the latch is gonna snap into place. As we mentioned, this one's designed to fit onto a two-inch hitch ball size, and we are gonna try to show you how that works. I happen to pull here's a two-inch hitch bolt. So, you can see when you get this over your hitch bolt, the weight of it is gonna push down, and once it pushed downs, you notice that it snaps right into place. That latch actually would flip up and flap down and it latches onto the ball, and now you're all ready to go.
And then to remove it, you just lift it up on that latch and it removes from the ball just like that. So, it's a very nice easy install and removal. Also, what's nice with this design being very low-profile, keeps anything from damages. Some of your actuators have a large trigger latch on it that could get bent or that. This is nice, low-profile.
It's not as easy to damage. Now, this is a heavy-duty steel construction, has a nice sturdy reinforced outer casing. Does have a zinc plating on it to offer corrosion resistance. The master cylinder, which is in the inside right about here, it is a composite master cylinder. It is durable and efficient. It is a glass-reinforced nylon construction, so it'll resist rust and corrosion, and it's a large reservoir, so it provides increased capacity for your brake fluid. And right up here at the top, you'll notice the cap. It's an automotive style diaphragm cap. This will create a completely enclosed system, helps prevent contamination of your brake fluid. Now, if you notice the very top here, this cable with the hook on the end, this is included. It is a breakaway cable with the hook installed and the breakaway cable is required by law because it does prevent a trailer runaway situation. Basically, when you hook up your trailer to your hitch ball, you'll hook this to the tow vehicle. And then what happens, if by chance it comes disconnected, it's gonna pull this cable which will activate the lever, which again will do the same thing. It's gonna activate pressure in the brake cylinder to apply brakes to the trailer. Now, this one also includes an electric reverse lockout, and the reason that's included, let me just set this back up here, get it out of the way. There we go. The electric reverse lockout right down here, in the back here is a solenoid. This'll let you back up without actuating your trailer brakes. The solenoid's gonna activate automatically when you shift it to reverse. You'll notice the wires on it, the solenoid wires into your trailer connector, which will connect to your tow vehicle so that it can detect when you go in reverse. Now, if you do not use that solenoid, but you still wanna back up, they also offer this attached manual lockout. What this does is you just lift up on it, put it on this little ledge right here, and it holds it. It keeps that inner portion from sliding back. So, this manual lockout could be used to keep you out when you reverse also. It is a bolt-on installation, bolts to a three-inch wide trailer top. This part is made in the USA. Again, the application for this is trailers with hydraulic disc brakes, gross towing weight capacity of 8,600 pounds, maximum tongue weight of 800 pounds, and it does go by a model number of DA86. But that should do it for a look at the Demco EZ Latch DA86 disc brake actuator for a two-inch hitch ball.
Exactly what I needed. Just bolt on and fill with DOT 3
Well made, and rugged. Was skeptical about the ball hitch just dropping on and securing to the trailer ball but works great. Installation was easy. Mounting holes aligned perfectly. I did have to drill two holes for the two cable attachments but went smoothly. However, the only complaint would be that the Grade 8 mounting bolts were not supplied. Would still highly recommend this actuator for towing a #5k+ load.
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