Broken suspension unit

[Slaphead]

Last Sunday I was on my way from Newcastle to Stranraer towing a boat when the offside suspension unit (rotten) fractured on the trailer with 100 miles to go. The AA man arrived within 5 minutes and did an emergency repair with two cargo straps I had with me.
With the first he ran the long tail from the back of the trailer,round one side of the fracture a couple of times and led it to the front of the trailer where it was tensioned off with the ratchet.
With the second he also ran it from the rear, around the other side of the fracture and back to the rear again where it was tensioned off with the ratchet.
This caused fore and aft tension on the suspension unit which pulled it up almost straight again. I think the pics show what I mean.

He was very helpful and offered to get a flatbed lorry if I wanted but said that system should be ok. He even followed me for 20 miles to see that everything was fine.

Just thought it might be of use to someone

[jwalker]

That modern bright blue paint is crap; it has no strength at all.

[Downhilldai]

Originally Posted by Slaphead

Last Sunday I was on my way from Newcastle to Stranraer towing a boat when the offside suspension unit (rotten) fractured on the trailer with 100 miles to go....

That's very brave of you with that trailer.

Originally Posted by jwalker

That modern bright blue paint is crap; it has no strength at all.

Yep - people really think that it will hold everything together