SBS trailers

BogMonster · 10 April 2010, 15:51

The trailer for my new boat is probably going to be a bunk rather than roller and the most likely one on the shortlist at the moment will probably be the SBS twin axle as seen here:

http://www.southcoasttrailers.co.uk/...id=0&pro_id=82

Any comments from satisfied (or otherwise) owners?

Twin axle chosen because it will give the boat a better ride on the unsurfaced roads here, and bunks are preferred because of the places I have to launch and recover it single handed, so I've been through that argument with myself, but I want to know a bit more about the manufacturer. As far as I can tell they seem to be generally well thought of? About the only thing I can see that I don't like is that it has a separate step rather than load-bearing mudguards but I can live with that.

Any feedback would be appreciated

Chris · 10 April 2010, 21:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogMonster

The trailer for my new boat is probably going to be a bunk rather than roller and the most likely one on the shortlist at the moment will probably be the SBS twin axle as seen here:

http://www.southcoasttrailers.co.uk/...id=0&pro_id=82

Any comments from satisfied (or otherwise) owners?

Twin axle chosen because it will give the boat a better ride on the unsurfaced roads here, and bunks are preferred because of the places I have to launch and recover it single handed, so I've been through that argument with myself, but I want to know a bit more about the manufacturer. As far as I can tell they seem to be generally well thought of? About the only thing I can see that I don't like is that it has a separate step rather than load-bearing mudguards but I can live with that.

Any feedback would be appreciated

Stephen, If you have to handle it on your own then a single axle is much easier to manouver, I can't really se what difference to the ride it would make having twin axles its more about weight carrying capability and a 5.8 VM should be fine on a decent single axle with a capacity of 1500KG's

Dont forget twin axles mean twice as many bearings / breaks to fail !

Nos4r2 · 10 April 2010, 21:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris

Dont forget twin axles mean twice as many bearings / breaks to fail !

Do you actually need brakes on it in the Falklands?

BogMonster · 10 April 2010, 21:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

Do you actually need brakes on it in the Falklands?

Ermmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm upon first failure the braking arrangement could be modified to make it more reliable

Chris, you haven't seen the roads here, the road to our house is rough as hell even in a 4x4 (gravel road, no maintenance since it was built 20 odd years ago, surface-wise think dirt track in Africa with potholes six or eight inches deep and rocks sticking up six inches above the surface) and a single axle trailer is going to be bouncing all over the place. Something that is rated to carry a certain weight on normal roads will break, pretty sure about that, and having multiple axles means that only one wheel is in a hole at any given time. I figure I'll need to over-specify it by quite a bit to have it last.

Also I will need to move the boat off road both to get it to the house (road stops about 200m from the house) and to launch from other locations, and twin axles will spread the weight on soft ground. Mainly it's about strength though. It's quite likely that in later life the trailer will end up on a couple of old Land Rover axles! The bunk trailer simply looks like a much stronger arrangement, and will support the boat better as well.

Nos4r2 · 10 April 2010, 22:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogMonster

Ermmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm upon first failure the braking arrangement could be modified to make it more reliable

Might be worth speccing one without brakes in the 1st place then? Easier to work on and might even be cheaper to buy.

martini · 10 April 2010, 23:02

My arctic 28 came on an SBS trailer, if it's good enough for the RN it's good enough for me!

Had my 1st dealings with them last week, needed wheel bearings. Phoned numerous times on the tuesday after easter and no reply. Somebody answered wednesday with some completely different company name, I asked if that was sbs and he said yes but the person I need to speak to will call me back.

Obviously he didnt but got hold of him in the end, name was Tony, sounded very knowledgable but no sign of my couriered bearings yet!

The impression I got was that the company is nowhere near as big as the fancy website might suggest but I could be completely wrong and it's not necessarily a negative anyway.

BogMonster · 10 April 2010, 23:17

On a related matter, what are bearings like to change on "proper" boat trailers? My old (home made by first owner) trailer had Land Rover hubs and bearings, they lasted about 2 years or so on the axle at the deep end (never touched the others in 4 years) but took a while to change, maybe a couple of hours per side.

I've had no dealing with what the rest of the world uses to cart a boat around ... how long do the "waterproof" (yeah, right) types typically last and how long does it take to change them? Do I need to order six spare sets with the trailer?

martini · 10 April 2010, 23:42

Think it depends greatly on type of use. If you spent 3 hours doing 60mph down the M whatever then dunk it straight in the water to launch then leave it sitting for 6 months before doing it again, no theyre not going to last!

My old boat used to be kept 200 yds away from the slip, it was backwards and forwards quite regular, I never touched the bearings but still got 6-7 years out of them.

Bearing buddies are a good idea, they replace the dust caps and allow you to attach a grease gun, makes it nice and easy to pump fresh grease in and force any water out. Do that a few times a year I reckon would help a lot

Trailer hubs are all pretty much going to be same as land rover hubs for changing etc, no major drama

bogib · 11 April 2010, 02:44

Just taken delivery of 6 twin axle trailers from them one std length and five extended ones to 24 feet they are all going under ex RNLI Atlantic´s (21 and 75´s) all equiped with brake fresh water flushing system which I hope will extend lifetime of brakes and bearing.

Bogi

Bigmuz7 · 11 April 2010, 08:42

Found mine to be good reliable and well designed,.. I was a little alarmed at the cost of replacement bearings, cables, and brake parts though, seemed much higher by about 30-40% more, than other manufacturers

bearings are sealed units though

and actually were in not bad nick after 2-3 years of road work and plenty of dunkings in the sea

Poly · 11 April 2010, 10:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogMonster

you haven't seen the roads here, the road to our house is rough as hell even in a 4x4 (gravel road, no maintenance since it was built 20 odd years ago, surface-wise think dirt track in Africa with potholes six or eight inches deep and rocks sticking up six inches above the surface)

stephen - you've obviously not been back to blighty recently - this is now known as an A-road!

Quote:

The bunk trailer simply looks like a much stronger arrangement, and will support the boat better as well.

I don't know if it actually makes much difference but I agree it looks like its better supported. Its also essentially a maintenance free option whereas the rollers will need some tlc to keep them rolling, and eventually / potentially spare parts - which are logistics issue for you.

I'd keep an eye on Martini's trial with the PE slides and consider speccing them instead of carpet?

Quote:

Might be worth speccing one without brakes in the 1st place then? Easier to work on and might even be cheaper to buy.

I'm guessing the issue is the boat needs to get from Osprey to the container terminal in the UK.

BogMonster · 11 April 2010, 10:58

Yes it has to get from Osprey to the port and then in from there to me (50 miles or so).

Don't seem to be any major negatives on the design front then, which is good. Bearing savers plus a flushing attachment were part of the spec I sent off and a couple of years out of a set of bearings will be fine.

The other handy thing is that the bunk versions are cheaper which might become the difference between a GPS72 and a small chartplotter

I half heartedly looked at the PE stuff for my old trailer but inertia got in the way and a can of turtle wax now and again was cheaper and less work

ashbypower · 11 April 2010, 10:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogMonster

On a related matter, what are bearings like to change on "proper" boat trailers? .....how long do the "waterproof" (yeah, right) types typically last and how long does it take to change them? Do I need to order six spare sets with the trailer?

Stephen, Waterproof are NOT they are more Damp Proof !!!

We have changed numerous sets and they are really just Caravan Axle's. They are fitted using "One Shot" nuts which are torqued to 210 Nm and the last set we changed 2 weels ago required 8 Ton's to press them out !!!
Personally I would go for a Degraff Trailer Bunks are a no cost option. And they use "Proper Bearings" i.e. Tapered which are freely available from motor factors. And you can strip and GREASE them always a bonus

Chris · 11 April 2010, 14:25

Stephen although I have sealed bearings on my trailer and have yet to sffer a failure (18months of frequent use including immersion) for you it might be worth considering the tapered bearings as you can maintain them whereas the sealed ones are not really that easy to maintain if you dont have the kit to get them out.

I am still not convinced that a twin axle trailer gives you any real benefit.

Dixon Bate Rapide trailer are also worth looking at however they sold up to Mersea Trailers a few months ago and I think most people who had dealt with DB prior to this started looking elswhere becuase Mersea were so shit to deal with. This may have been resolved now.

Top banana · 11 April 2010, 15:01

i am sure that sbs will do taper roller bearings aswell as the alco sealed lifetime bearing, Hugh jardon suffered a bearing after less than twelve months
use. sbs replaced it with a new axle, and im sure chriss opted for the taper roller axle. on a different note ive had to sbs trailers and they have been good value for money, well built. my mate is still on the original hubs on a 2005 trailer. If the roads are as bad as you say, i would go for a twin axle, at least if one hub does collapse you have the safety of another wheel to keep you going. enjoy the vm great boat

BogMonster · 11 April 2010, 15:44

3 wheels being better than 1 in the event of an unplanned wheel shortage was another reason I forgot to mention before

I have a 50 ton VL Churchill press at work so getting old bearings out is not really an issue, but I would prefer taper rollers with adjustment in them if people still make stuff like that these days.

The original quote from Roy was a DB single axle roller so have asked for prices on the twin axle roller, and the SBS twin axle bunk.

Chris · 11 April 2010, 15:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogMonster

3 wheels being better than 1 in the event of an unplanned wheel shortage was another reason I forgot to mention before

I have a 50 ton VL Churchill press at work so getting old bearings out is not really an issue, but I would prefer taper rollers with adjustment in them if people still make stuff like that these days.

The original quote from Roy was a DB single axle roller so have asked for prices on the twin axle roller, and the SBS twin axle bunk.

Drop Matt H a PM he has had both DB and SBS trailers and will give you an honest opinion as to which is best.

Downhilldai · 13 April 2010, 11:39

Avonride do a beam axle with good taper roller bearings.

markg · 13 April 2010, 20:47

given the choice i would go for taper rollers here in the uk, easier to fit, cheaper, and easier to get hold of , press fit bearings are a right pain, and never cheap.

jyasaki · 14 April 2010, 15:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by bogib

Just taken delivery of 6 twin axle trailers from them one std length and five extended ones to 24 feet they are all going under ex RNLI Atlantic´s (21 and 75´s) all equiped with brake fresh water flushing system which I hope will extend lifetime of brakes and bearing.

Hopefully the flushing system doesn't flush the bearings...

Brakes, yes, though I haven't seen a great benefit to the fresh water kit(though to be fair, I dunk the trailer Sat morning, and don't flush the brakes til Sunday night after 3 additional splashings and a 100 mile drive...)

Assuming you have roller bearings, the best things you can do are to keep them greased and allow time for them to cool after arriving at the launch location. And replace them every couple of years or so.

jky