Tow Assist
Hydraulic drum or disc brakes are a core part of Dexter’s business. It would be a logical addition to the product line at some point.
Yes. The brake controller is still a required component. The Tow Assist system is not meant to take away driver control. It always allows the incoming signal to be passed through, but yet enhance it with a prevailing ABS function. In the end, owners will no longer be required to adjust the brake controller to match the capability of the most aggressive brake to avoid lockup. Instead the owner can now increase the brake controller output from what it may typically be set, removing any worry about brake lock-up or tire skidding.
Initially orders will need to be directed to Albion as our production and quality checks are being established at P12.
No. The Tow Assist system is designed for electric brakes only.
Not yet. The system is being released with a 12” x 2” with an 8 on 6.5” bolt pattern for grease or oil lubrication, but will continue to grow into the product line where demand requires.
No. It is IP67 rated for pressurized water spray, but not against submersion.
Yes. The suspension system does not inhibit the function of the Tow Assist.
Yes. The Tow Assist system does require special brakes, designed with Wheel Speed Sensor (WSS) integrated into the brake, and special hub-drum with integrated tone ring. The brake assembly and hub-drum will be offered via aftermarket for replacement as we do for all other Dexter products. The WSS kit will be offered, it will include the sensor, mounting block and mounting screws.
Compared to existing electric brake systems, Tow Assist is installed similarly. Either being installed during the production process or on an existing unit the time to install should be relatively short. The Tow Assist ECU has some basic location and orientation requirements during mounting, while the harness uses weather proof connections to plugin nearly all the connections. All are meant to reduce time while avoid confusion with intuitive plugs to differentiate components and left/right color coding.
No. The only data the Tow Assist ECU retains are diagnostic codes.
Yes. The system is designed to mitigate wheel lock-up regardless of trailer loading, road conditions or speed regardless of controller setting and/or light loading the ABS will work to mitigate wheel lockup.
No. Through several years of testing and development there has been no sign of adverse brake wear created by the Tow Assist. In fact since brake efficiency is maximized.
Yes. During installation the Tow Assist ECU can be configured as a single, tandem or triple configuration.
The odometer feature is available on the Tow Assist App.
Numerous trailer sway products currently exist in the market. Bosch applied years of experience in automotive sway and braking on vehicles and adapted it onto trailers. Their focus has been on Safety, Robustness and Adaptable control.
In addition to Sway Mitigation the Tow Assist product includes an overriding ABS feature and odometer. It’s really the best of several features wrapped into one safety product.
The tow-vehicle driver controls and activates the trailer braking via the Electric Brake Controller. Bosch uses an industry proven method of wheel sensors to monitor the wheels for brake lockup. If the Tow Assist system determines the wheel is nearing a lockup scenario, it will take control of the wheel braking and maintain the driver requested level of braking while mitigating the wheels from locking up. This is managed independently at each wheel end, up to three axles to maximize brake force output.
The Tow Assist improves safety by using advanced monitoring and braking algorithms to ensure the trailer is being braked to match the effective level for the sway input, road surface, mechanical brake efficiency and trailer weight. When paired with ABS, trailer sway mitigation is extremely affective in adapting to all trailers irrespective of the weight, loading or braking efficiency.
Yes. The Bluetooth App only provides users with a way to read the odometer and fault codes, but does not deter from the functionality of the system.
No, even if the Tow Assist system loses power, the trailer brakes will still work. You would just lose the additional functions offered by the Trail Assist system (ABS, sway control, etc.).
12”x 2” Nev-R-Adjust electric brakes equipped with wheel speed sensors, 12”hub-drums designed with an integrated tone ring, Tow Assist Electronic Control Unit (ECU), indicator light, wiring harness.
Our Q4 Tow Assist product launch focuses on the 12” x 2” Nev-R-Adjust electric brake and the accompanying 8 on 6.5” brake drum, with ½”, 9/16”and 5/8” stud combinations with oil or grease lubrication.
Ongoing efforts will be to complete the release of additional 12” hub-drums, like a 6 on 5.5” wheel bolt pattern and Nev-R-Lube versions. In 2020 we’ll seek to release the brakes and accompanying hub-drums needed to equip Dexter’s 8,000 - 15,000 lb. 12-1/4”product line.
Development of Dexter’s 10” x 2-1/4” Nev-R- Adjust electric will follow.
The Tow Assist system has been validated against all major OEM in cab and most aftermarket brake controllers.
It will be offered with 12” x 2” Nev-R-Adjust electric brakes with 8 on 6.5” bolt pattern hub-drums.
The indicator light does a couple of things.
At startup the indicator light identifies to the operator that the system has gone through a “good check” and will identify to the user that the system is functioning properly with a green light.
The green light will remain on at all times while powered, but will transition to a “dim” mode following the good check. The light will intensify when either an ABS or sway event occurs. This does not require any action by the driver, but in effect notifies the driver of function.
The amber light is used to notify the driver of a potential diagnostic code in the system.
Diagnostic codes can be accessed two different ways. First, a user can access the ECU service mode by compressing the brake pedal 10 times in sequentially. Once in service mode the indicator light will then identify the codes to the user through a series of flashes through the indicator light. The truth table outlining the codes and full procedure can be found in Tow Assist operators manual (LIT-1XX-00).
Users can also use their smart phone via blue tooth through the Dexter App.
If the customer changes the size of the tire, the ABS and sway mitigation functions will not be affected, but odometer accuracy will be affected. Since the odometer is controlled by the ECU, this will not be able to read properly.
The Tow Assist system is warranted for 2 years to the original purchaser from the date of retail sale. The warranty covers all electronic components in the system against a manufacturing defect. As normal with Dexter brakes and hub-drums, the warranty is 5 years. The axle warranty will still remain at 5 and 10 years, depending if it’s sprung or Torflex.
The12” x 2” Tow Assist system will be available to OEMs in Q4 of 2019.
The Tow Assist ECU will require axle count and tire size to be configured during installation by the OEM. This is meant to reduce the need for additional inventory.