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Old 15 July 2010, 15:29   #1
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Best trailer for long distance towing?

Last year I posted on here regarding converting a bunk trailer to rollers due to ease of use launching in little water....... Lots of discussion until the thread disintegrated into Broke Back Mountain and associates and got censored tut tut!!!! However, during the thread it was highlighted that rollers have less touch points on the RIB than my bunks so this deterred me from adapting the trailer.

http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?t=31388

I tow the Rib approx 1500- 2000 miles a year, so my absolute priority is towing safely over long distances rather than waiting for the tide to rise

Last week my wheel bearings disintegrated, and so now seems a good time to re-visit buying a new trailer.

I attach my RIB (Zodiac 5m) with 3 straps to the trailer (2 back 1 front) as well as the winch. Can anyone recommend the best type of trailer for towing safely/securely over long distances?

Thanks
Julie
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Old 15 July 2010, 15:37   #2
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Yes mines not bad, three years thousands of miles and still on the same bearings


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Old 15 July 2010, 19:33   #3
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Yes mines not bad, three years thousands of miles and still on the same bearings


That looks V impressive, bit complex!

How often does the trailer itself have issues? I'm not mechanically minded - the simpler the better! How do you strap the RIB on for long journeys?

Thanks

P.S. I did appreciate the colour co-ordination on your trailer :-)
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Old 15 July 2010, 19:59   #4
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Yes mines not bad, three years thousands of miles and still on the same bearings


Think you have the proper solution there to keeping a boat trailer well serviced.

Keeping the road wheels, hubs and brakes out of the water completely and having a launching trolley!!!!
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Old 15 July 2010, 20:18   #5
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That looks V impressive, bit complex!

How often does the trailer itself have issues? I'm not mechanically minded - the simpler the better! How do you strap the RIB on for long journeys?

Thanks

P.S. I did appreciate the colour co-ordination on your trailer :-)
I've never really had to do anything to it, just a few mods to make things easier and a bit of grease

It has four straps to hold it on two at the back and two at the front

The trolly locates at the front
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Old 15 July 2010, 21:23   #6
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I've witnessed the Beda-Trailer in action on many occasions. It has always been hiccup free. In fact, Jim's set-up has an advantage over conventional trailers on shallow slips which are short of water.
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Old 15 July 2010, 22:37   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Julie View Post
Last year I posted on here regarding converting a bunk trailer to rollers due to ease of use launching in little water....... Lots of discussion until the thread disintegrated into Broke Back Mountain and associates and got censored tut tut!!!! However, during the thread it was highlighted that rollers have less touch points on the RIB than my bunks so this deterred me from adapting the trailer.

http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?t=31388

I tow the Rib approx 1500- 2000 miles a year, so my absolute priority is towing safely over long distances rather than waiting for the tide to rise

Last week my wheel bearings disintegrated, and so now seems a good time to re-visit buying a new trailer.

I attach my RIB (Zodiac 5m) with 3 straps to the trailer (2 back 1 front) as well as the winch. Can anyone recommend the best type of trailer for towing safely/securely over long distances?

Thanks
Julie
Hi julie, indespenion roller coaster are good trailers but pricey, you can get new bearings from indespenion for less then £30, as long as you grease your bearings every time it go,s in the water they will last for yr,s, buy a grease gun and take it with you where ever you go with the boat , hope that helps
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Old 15 July 2010, 23:25   #8
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Hi julie, indespenion roller coaster are good trailers but pricey, you can get new bearings from indespenion for less then £30, as long as you grease your bearings every time it go,s in the water they will last for yr,s, buy a grease gun and take it with you where ever you go with the boat , hope that helps
Buy bearing savers and you won't have to get covered using the grease gun
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Old 16 July 2010, 06:55   #9
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Buy bearing savers and you won't have to get covered using the grease gun
And get a flush kit fitted. We made a DIY flush kit for mine from Hep20. Surprisingly, the brakes work perfectly a year later.
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Old 16 July 2010, 07:01   #10
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Thanks...

I do smother everything in grease before I go on trips but I guess after 8 years they just gave up.....

I've ordered a 'bearing gear puller' tool, which will beat battering the thing with a hammer for an hour in the dark with midges. I'm also picking up spare bearings and hubs tomorrow.

I actually found the manual as well, seems I should have taken it apart twice a year and put everything back together if I used it in salt water... that never happened once!

Just looked at Indespension - big dippers. The boat seems very flat, in my current trailer it's raised at the end, so on a bit of angle and easy to push off.

Anywhere else worth looking?

Thanks
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Old 16 July 2010, 07:31   #11
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Julie have a look at http://www.gullwingtrailers.co.uk/ Bought one recently and so far impressed, that roller bed will offer good support on a long trip and being aluminium these trailers are lightweight. Possible downside is they use sealed bearings (apparently warranted for 5 years) although some on here recommend sealed for long trips.
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Old 16 July 2010, 20:27   #12
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Buy bearing savers and you won't have to get covered using the grease gun
you still need to grease bearing go in & out of sea water.
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Old 16 July 2010, 20:57   #13
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And get a flush kit fitted. We made a DIY flush kit for mine from Hep20. Surprisingly, the brakes work perfectly a year later.
Yes, that's a definite must as well. I forgot to mention my flushing system. I'm sure that's got a fair bit to do with me being on the 4th year of the same wheelbearings.
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Old 16 July 2010, 21:02   #14
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you still need to grease bearing go in & out of sea water.
No you don't. Just let it cool before you dunk it and the positive pressure in the bearing savers stops water getting in. It's like having a grease gun on it constantly, but at low pressure.
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Old 16 July 2010, 23:58   #15
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Anywhere else worth looking?
CLH

Long way from you though
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Old 17 July 2010, 00:02   #16
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... me being on the 4th year of the same wheelbearings.
Me too
No bearing savers and no hub flush kit
Avonride axle with taper roller bearings - lovely bit of kit.
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Old 17 July 2010, 07:43   #17
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Me too
No bearing savers and no hub flush kit
Avonride axle with taper roller bearings - lovely bit of kit.
While searching for my axle manufacturer (Bradley at a guess), I think I've discovered that Dixon-Bate (rapide) no longer make trailers, with the brand being lost in a buyout. It appears to have been replaced by Snipe.
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Old 17 July 2010, 12:34   #18
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While searching for my axle manufacturer (Bradley at a guess), I think I've discovered that Dixon-Bate (rapide) no longer make trailers, with the brand being lost in a buyout. It appears to have been replaced by Snipe.
As part of my ongoing acquisition the original DB trailer in the spec was binned as it was not available, yes apparently they have been bought out but I forget who by.
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Old 17 July 2010, 16:50   #19
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I tow long distances regularly as some folk here will testify to and I have a modified DeGraaf single axle trailer I had them build with twin axles.
It give a lot of comfort knowing there is more than one wheel on each side
I strip and rebuild mine each year or before a really long tow. The only thing that is bad is the brake shoes are not riveted any more and they come apart after a year or so..........
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Old 17 July 2010, 17:25   #20
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..I have a midfied DeGraaf
WTF is that?
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