SBS trailers

[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

[Chris]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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