Demco Hydraulic Brake Actuator - Drum - Primed - A-Frame - 2" Bulldog Coupler - 7,000 lbs

Video Transcript for Review of Demco Brake Actuator - Hydraulic Drum Brake Actuator A Frame - DM8509602

Hi everybody. Andy here with etrailer.com. Let's take a brief look together at this Demco hydraulic drum brake actuator for A-frame trailers with a two-inch Bulldog coupler. Now this is also identified by the model number DA91, and this has a gross towing weight of 7,000 pounds and a maximum tongue weight of 700 pounds. And this is going to weld onto your 50 degree A-frame trailer with hydraulic drum brakes. And this hydraulic actuator will activate your trailer brakes when your tow vehicle slows or stops.

As you know, when you apply the brakes in your tow vehicle, deceleration occurs, and momentum pushes your trailer toward the rear of your vehicle. With surge brake systems, the hydraulic actuator is actually triggered as your trailer moves forward once your tow vehicle starts to slow down. When this happens, the actuator contracts, applying force to its master cylinder. This in turn is gonna supply the necessary hydraulic pressure to engage the brakes on your trailer. Now this does feature a Bulldog Collar-Lok coupler that's going to fit tightly around your two-inch hitch ball for a secure connection.

This has a pin-style fastener that's going to hold the collar in place around the base of the hinge ball socket. And lemme just give you a brief demonstration of how this is going to work. So I have a two-inch ball there, and so I'm going to, actually, I'm gonna move this around on the other side, so hopefully you can see that just a little bit better. I'm going to slide this collar back and that's going to pop our coupler open, as you can see there. And so I'm just going to put the ball in there and then slide this collar back.

Obviously this is gonna be easier to do when you have this mounted on your trailer. So slide the collar back, push that in, and then that collar will go right over there and then you're secure in place, just like that. And you'll replace your pin there and then that collar will be secure in there. And then to remove it, you'll just slide that collar back, and then that will allow you to disconnect from that ball. So slide this back into place, collar's back in place, and I'm just gonna slide that pin back in.

If you notice the pin is tethered by a chain, which is great, because that's going to help you not easily misplace that pin. Now the composite master cylinder is durable and efficient. Its glass-reinforced nylon construction's gonna resist rust and corrosion, and the large reservoir provides increased capacity for brake fluid. The automotive style diaphragm cap is going to create a completely enclosed system to help prevent the contamination of the fluid. And then it's probably gonna be a little bit difficult for you to see, but maybe you can see it right, I'm sorry, right through here. This has an acetyl copolymer lining, it's going to provide smooth operation, as this actuator telescopes in and out. It's gonna hold up really well for you. And then the breakaway is included with the snap hook, as you can see right here. And it's on this cable here that's going to activate your brakes in an event of a breakaway situation. So you'll just clip this on your tow vehicle, right around the same place where you're going to connect your safety chains. So this is a excellent feature to have, as most states do require having a breakaway lever and cable. Now this is made here in the USA of a heavy-duty seal construction with this primed finish. It's kind of like a beige color, if I was gonna put a name to that color. And I do wanna point out that 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 this actuator triggering your trailer's brakes. Well, I think that's going to wrap up our brief look today. I do hope that our time together was helpful for you. Again, my name is Andy. Thank you for joining me.