The Camping Forum

[Rob-merlin1973]

Have to admit it was bloody lucky.
with all my planning i never considered the weight issue until it was to late

[in-a-tent]

Have to admit I have no idea what our trailer weighs fully loaded.

[Rob-merlin1973]

Usually it is not a problem but with the size increases i had done i was a little worried

[Rob-merlin1973]

Just a little add on to this as the season approaches...

Make sure before you go away that you check your trailers over.

Many of us after the winter will just hitch up and go but be aware.. When your trailer has been standing the tyres will have flatspots which will make them horrible to tow. I always store my trailer with the tyres off the floor or i roll it about every couple of weeks.
I also make sure i grease all the hubs and shafts and check that all bolts are tight and that the tyres are at the correct pressure and check that all the lights are working.
One last thing is to get a little grease and grease your tow ball or your hitch socket to stop friction when towing.

You dont need to have a service on a trailer but think about the miles it does and the weight it carries, check it out, Happy camping

[Wayne]

I have only just found this thread and enjoyed reading it from start to finish.

Well played with the weight issue, It crossed my mind how heavy it might be for an un-braked unit

I agree with your remarks on checking your trailer over after winter, and before each outing (regarding tyre pressure and lamps)

Also, if you are buying a new trailer and it comes flat packed, consider smearing Vaseline n every thread and nut (and I mean everything), it makes life so much easier if yo have to undo any and protects them from the element. Also check everything is tight after the first outing and keep a small tool kit with the trailer that covers most of the required spanners. Does the wheel brace for your car actually fit the trailer and did you invest in a spare wheel for your trailer

Question:
Something that has puzzled me slightly is the issue concerning the break away cable on the trailers (forget about braked models, I know there slightly different). Mine has a chain that is fixed to a bolt on the trailer arm and forms a loop that I just drop over the ball on the car towbar, does that sound right or should it be physically fixed to the car

[Rob-merlin1973]

As far as i know the loop over the tow bar will do fine.

I have to admit that i do not have one on my trailer.
I looked in to it and i dont know if there are any hard and fast rules about them but on another forum the majority of opinion was that it is safer to let the trailer go and recover it than have something dragging and yanking on your car putting you at risk of crashing.

Not sure really any help on this anyone

[Wayne]

Actually I should have used the correct terminology and said "Secondary Coupling".

Secondary Coupling - fitted to un-braked, A legal requirement on trailers manufactured after 1st January 1997.
Breakaway cable - fitted to braked trailers (have no more information on this)

Its interesting that you don't use one. I can see what your saying and its a valid point, but your right it don't help me much

[in-a-tent]

We have a brand new Erde 143 (well it was brand new to us) and it's got a loop of chain as you describe that just drops over the towball, it is not long enough to do anything else with it. You certainly couldn't attach it to the car. Our car doesn't have anything to attach it to anyway - the tow loops screw in when you need the and the chassis is well hidden.

So I'd say yes it just goes over the towball.

On the other point - it's too short to allow the trailer to drag on the ground so you would end up pulling it along on the chain with the end of the draw bar hanging under the towball, not sure how it would cope when you braked. I guess it might make a mess of the rear end of the car but then again if it just dropped off it'd make more of a mess of the car following you - and it's occupants.

Just my thoughts I've not researched it obviously - it's a sunny Sunday afternoon and I am mid tent pole fix after all.

[dadsbeaniemad]

Just had a quick scan and may b e picking your brain

We recently bought a Conway Kontiki DL to strip out and make into a trailer but then decided we had no idea where we should start with it. It's got the end kitchen and all we know is that we need to keep it on as the balance will be all wrong if we simply remove it and leave it off.

Will get OH to have a proper read through

[Rob-merlin1973]

Just had a quick scan and may b e picking your brain

Not much to pick but you are welcome to get your tweezers out and pick away

[Rob-merlin1973]

Ok so it's winter and i am ressurecting this thread.

Why ........ becouse there are extra works that need doing and becouse i have nothing better to do

Trailer projects for this winter.

Firstly i am going to chock up the trailer to take the weight off the wheels and prevent flatspots.

There have been some cracks in the paintwork where the wood seams are so i need to get these reinforced, filled and re-painted.

I need to remove the screws from the hinges and replace these with bolts (damage done in the wind on the campout)

The join between the 2 lids is watertight but when you open the lid it loses that seal and water runs down the lid and in. I intend to fit a hinge cover over the width of the trailer to stop this happening.

With the weight of the trailer and the bad state of our inside lane of the motorway i get a little bit of sway under braking so i am going to fit a bulldog anti sway bar.

So that will do for starters ....... here we go again

[Rob-merlin1973]

Ok so i have had a morning checking over the black box and giving the running gear a good grease.

I got some small bolts and have replaced the screws so that is one job off the list.

I have some leatherette to go over the hinge section but i need some metal strips to go across the width of the traile to hold and seal this down.

I need to do a little more re-inforcing on the lid and then a wash and paint will finish it off ready for the new season.

[CrazyCamper]

With the weight of the trailer and the bad state of our inside lane of the motorway i get a little bit of sway under braking so i am going to fit a bulldog anti sway bar.

Just been reading this thread, and noted that you weighed the entire kit and it was fine.... but one of the known reasons for swaying is noseweight related, so have you checked that at all when laden? With those bikes on, there's a good chance of it running nose light which would affect the handling in a way you have described?

Just another theory to put into the thinktank

[Rob-merlin1973]

I checked the nose weight and it was fine but it is cured now.

The swaying actually happened without the trailer on the inside lane and is known to old discovery owners as the death roll.
As it turned out it was becouse i had 2 different makes of tyres on the front which reacted differently when hitting the rutts on the inside lane of the motorway

I swapped the front and back tyres over and now it is smooth and straight.

[CrazyCamper]

Oh that's ok then? Those dammed ruts really annoy me - I drive a rather large 4x4 with wider than standard tyres and even that doesn't prevent me going into "Scalextric" mode where I might as well take my hands of the wheel for all the good it does....
Not such an issue if you intend to be going straight ahead, but when you literally have to 'climb out' of the things to exit at the junction of your choice it's like going off-road...