Safety Notice - Trailer brakes

[John Perry]

Thanks for the replies over launch and retrieval, I also feel more comfortable with the trailer decision. My home base is in Scotland (Moray Firth) and I am hoping to participate in 'raids' and travel with it across the country, so the trailing bit is very important to me.

[Peter Cockerton]

Steve

Yes, I weighed my grp BR20 on its CLH trailer prior to towing to the Semaine du Golfe last year.  Over 750kg.  I moved stuff out of the boat and into the tow vehicle, getting the all up weight down to 740kg.  Sensibly, I made a note of what remained in the boat.

I lost the note.

From memory, in the boat were all rigging and sails, fenders, lines, Suzuki 2hp outboard.  Not trailed were the anchor, chain and warp, the trailer's spare wheel, the petrol can, the trailer wheel security clamp.

So yes, you can get within the limit.  But you can't use the boat as a space for luggage.

Or shouldn't I have used a commercial weighbridge?  Are they insufficiently accurate/reliable?

Jonno

Jonno

Will get my BR20 GRP and trailer weighed this week following your posting, the Bramber trailers I’m assuming are lighter than CLH as the trailer plate says Max weight 750 kgs Max load 590 kgs so I’m assuming the trailer weighs 160 kgs. This should allow 160 kgs of kit and the boat of 430 kgs. Will report back when checked.

Peter Cockerton

[Graham W]

Sort of more or less on topic, one of my trailer bearings failed just as I left Inverness on my way back from Sail Caledonia yesterday.  I stopped as quickly as I could but couldn't get the grease cap off to see what had happened and had to call out a recovery truck.  When they got the damned thing off, the grease looked normal (ie no water ingress) but the metal bits inside the bearing case looked like small bits of twisted shrapnel.  Despite stopping quite quickly, this had generated enough heat to weld the bearing casing to the stub, so although I had spare bearings, it couldn't be repaired at the roadside.  The upshot is that I am home but my BR20 is still in Inverness and will be delivered on a truck tomorrow.

The recovery driver said that he had had an identical case last week with another dayboat.  Of Turaco, he said that it was a "bonnie wee boat" but that in his opinion, the trailer wasn't big enough for the task.  In other words, the bearings were being asked to do too much work.  To be fair, I do about 5,000 miles with it a year and that bearing hadn't been changed for 18 months.

I won't be upgrading the trailer to a braked version with higher axle limits but will:
1.  Carry spare suspension units as well as hubs and axles on long journeys, in case the welding phenomenon happens again
2.  Change the bearings annually whether they need it or not
3.  Check bearing temperatures even more assiduously that normal (there was no sign of any increase in temperature up to the time of failure)
4.  Continue to keep the bearings out of water as much as possible
5.  Only keep cushions and the like in the boat lockers when trailing long distances
5.  Renew my pan-European trailer breakdown and recovery policy with Breakdown Direct when it expires later this month.  They have done an excellent job so far and all for an annual fee of £86.

Another SailCal participant had a similar problem yesterday, except that he had also welded fast the castle nut, which I suspect would take some doing!   

[Graham W]

I won't be upgrading the trailer to a braked version with higher axle limits but will:
1.  Carry spare suspension units as well as hubs and axles on long journeys, in case the welding phenomenon happens again

The first photo shows why this may not be very convenient if you have a CLH trailer - the suspension unit is a huge and heavy full beam axle.  A spare would cost about £160 delivered but luckily mine was repairable. 

If you ever find yourself in the same situation as I did, best practice for removing the seized bearing casing from the axle is to use an angle grinder/cut off disk to cut into the casing as close as you can to the axle.  Then put a chisel into the cut and whack it with a hammer and it should split open. See second photo.

Thanks to both CLH Trailers for their advice and to Motiv Trailers in Craven Arms for getting me back on the road.

[Jonathan Stuart]

Thanks for sharing this Graham.

The trailer supporting my previous boat didn't have sealed bearings so it was a winter ritual to strip, clean and grease the bearings, replacing if necessary. It was quite satisfying because doing this annually meant it became a straightforward and quick job and I knew the bearings were in good order for the season.

It has always bothered me that the sealed bearings on the BRe's trailer allegedly don't need maintenance. The words "too good to be true" (at least on a boat trailer and even when you don't dip the hubs) spring to mind. I think Graham's just proved that I should have followed my gut feeling, so from this winter I will go back to my old maintenance routine.

[Graham W]

Jonathan,

CLH told me that the newer version of their giant axle now sports sealed bearings, which is presumably what you have for your boat.  Mine are not sealed but the dust cap seemed to have other ideas.

What do you dunk your bearings in to clean them off?

[Rob Johnstone]

Hi Graham,

When I had  Mini, all those years ago, I used paraffin or petrol to wash various bearings in. If using petrol, just make sure you don't smoke whilst doing so!

Your warning is timely.  Vagabonds' trailer allegedly has sealed bearings and has been dunked in salt water a few times, so far without trouble, although I do wonder what it has done to the brake mechanism. I'll have a look at it all before loading the trailer.

Rob J

[Rob Johnstone]

It turns out that Vagabonds' trailer is fitted with ordinary,rather than sealed bearings.

I spoke with CLH, who advised me to look at the label on the cross beam / axle to which the stub axles are fitted - I discovered that this an assembly that CLH buy in to fit to their trailers.
 The one on Vagabonds' trailer is made by Knott, Avonbridge and has a serial number (and a phone number). When I called Knott, they were able to tell me the type of bearing fitted and quoted me the price of a repair kit.

Incidentally, CLH supplied me with a new set of cable for the brakes f.o.c and fitting them was reasonably easy - it could all be done through the backplate of the stub axle (although it helped to have the trailer empty).

[Graham W]

I know that we complain about our trailers (well I do anyway) but it could be a lot worse - http://www.drascombe-association.org.uk/vbforum/showthread.php?4239-Glad-I-didn-t-buy-a-Shrimper-to-Trailer-Sail!

[Jonathan Stuart]

As we all know, trailer sailors need to be easy to launch and recover otherwise it's a real disincentive to go sailing. I've seen Shrimpers being lugged around on their hefty double axle trailers and with a weight of around 1065kg, i.e. approx. twice that of a BC20 or BRe, it's no surprise that most Shrimpers seem to be kept on moorings. Unrelated to trailers but still noteworthy, while at Mylor last year a Shrimper was being rigged while I rigged my BRe. I started after the Shrimper owner, got Mallory launched and he missed the tide.

[Rob Johnstone]

A warning note about braked trailers.
I discovered today that on one wheel the brake shoe material had become detached from the brakes shoes. I only discovered this by looking through the inspection window on the inside of the brake bake plate and rotating the wheel. The photo attached of the view through the back plate window shows the rust brown edge of the brake drum at the top right of the hole, then the blackish grey brake material and then the silver of the brake shoe. When I first looked through the window (using a £10 "endoscope" gadget attached to my phone) it all looked OK until I turned the wheel - the brake material then moved with the drum!
When I removed the brake drum (Ugh, brakes dust and grease everywhere) it was apparent that the brake material had separated from the shoes (see photo). A brake shoe kit was £64 plus VAT (both wheels).
All being well it will work and get us to Mylor!