Weak and Delayed Trailer Brakes with Dexter Electric Over Hydraulic Actuator

Updated 05/09/2016 | Published 05/07/2016

Question:

dexter electric over hydraulic actuator HI,I have a ford 2006 f250 6.0 diesel. my 5th wheel is a titanium by Glendale 2008 32-37 feet, when i bought the trailer it came with 6000lb axels and never lube bearings. When coming home from Texas 4 years ago 3 out 4 bearings sized up, so i decided to have the axel change to 8000lb.Dexter sent me 2 complete axels which i had installe and allign. My problem is that there is a 2-3 second delay between i applying the brake in the truck and the response of the trailer. Is that normal,i changed the the controller in the cab to a DRAW-TITE which is hily recommended 2 I have a problem with my trailer braking the actuator faintly make a humming sound. normally i can hear it very loud, the trailer has a hard time to stop when brake is appied. if i apply the emergency switch nothing happenes My question is do i have a problem with the actuator or the controller Hope to have a reply ASAP

asked by: Gaetan S

Expert Reply:

First, there are only certain brake controllers that are compatible with electric over hydraulic brakes. None of the Draw-Tite models are compatible. I recommend going with the P2 # 90885 which does have an electric over hydraulic mode. After you switch to a compatible controller the problems you are having should go away.

On the off chance that they only improve a little then the delay issue could be a result of the distance between the actuator and the trailer brakes. The fix for this is to go with a larger diameter brake line. Also, with new axles be sure to adjust the brakes out (if drum brakes) since they won't come pre-adjusted. You will want a slight but constant drag of the pads on the drum (if they are drum brakes).

You also have to make sure that the actuator being used matches the type of brakes on the trailer. If the trailer has drum brakes then the actuator needs to be a drum brake model. The same goes for disc brakes.

expert reply by: Michael H