I have now owned GladNick for over two years and have never inspected the wheel bearings nor brakes of the four wheeled trailer. Am I tempting fate by giving them the 'once over'?
Is there a maintenance schedule or 'workshop manual' for a trailer that specifies tolerances for brake shoes and the correct grease to use?
Any advice would be most welcome.
Patrick Saddler
Gladnick 26M
Hi, Haynes do a trailer manual available from halfords that it quite useful, if you have Alko hubs then you can download Tech sheets from their web site, it covers setting up up brake shoes and brake cables.
On my alko hubs I can see the brake shoes through a hole on the inside of the brake drum, easier to see without the Mac on the trailer, you can also adjusr the brakes through a little hole just above.
What make of hubs do you have ?
Simon
Many thanks for your suggestions. On inspection the tow bar is a Bradley Doublelock. The brake mechanism on this 'froze' last year until I pumped in a lot of grease and persuaded it a few times. The hubs at the ends of the two axles are difficult to access while the boat in on the trailer. The last time I tried to inspect anything underneath the boat I came away covered in anti-foul paint.
There is not much room underneath with the mac on it.
I had to replace our coupling as it siezed while I was bringing her home having just bought her, the coupling was well greased and looked okay but it was hiding the fact that the coupling had not been used for a long time, 80 miles into our trip home the coupling siezed locking the brakes on the trailer and blew a tyre (the axle was also loose on one side which didn't help).
This is when I started to learn about trailers, the new coupling along with alko stabalizing bracket we fitted has made the trailering since a breeze, it's easier than towing a caravan.
My next job is to replace the wooden bunks before we join the Mac rally to France in June, I used one as a step to reach the ignition key and it cracked.....like to think it's rotton rather than I've eaten too many pies !
Si
The biggest killer/danger is dragging brakes. A little bit of drag will cause alot of heat which will destroy your bearings and blow your tyres. Particularly boring if like us you have a 2 wheeled trailer. I found this out once. However as I greased my wheel nuts (apparently a big no no) I lost the wheel instead.
To this end I pontificate most strongly to get stainless steel cables on asap!!!! Or at least (like me) wrap a couple of meters of shock cord round the axle and cable bridge as an extra guarantee that the cable goes completely slack/home. I think the return springs in alko hubs are just that little bit too weak.
I am researching a cheap system to give an early overheating alarm in the car. One can buy radio temp sensors for the price of a winch n a few shackles on ebay....
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice; In practice, there is.
Thanks for your suggestions. I bought the Haynes trailer manual (brand new) on ebay for half the rrp! Just sitting down to read it now. Hope the weather holds this weekend to allow me to get some wheels and hubs off to inspect.
Would it be worthwhile to take lots of photos to show how to (or not to ) do it?
P@ S.
perhaps there is a more elegant solution to removing the big nut cap other than beating it off with a rock? ;)
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice; In practice, there is.
I could not get the original brake cables to fully release no matter how much WD40 I soaked them in. Upgraded to stainless steel ones and they have worked great, not that much more than normal cables.
Check the force required to retighten the hubs, the alko one recommends 240nm, thats a big torque wrench.
I would be iterested in any pictures as planning to do the job myself this May, good look.
Plenty of good comments above.
There are 3 golden rules for succesful trailering - maintenance, maintenance and maintenance! Leaving well enough alone does not feature in this strategy. After all, we are dunking the things in sea water with all those metal moving parts - what do you think is going to happen!
Correct torque wrench settings are important both on the hub nuts and of course on the wheel nuts (that's why garages go to the trouble of checking them even when a highly experienced mechanic has put them on).
A torque wrench for the hub nut is indeed a pricey bit of kit but what isn't when it comes to boats? Don't use the torque wrench to remove the nuts (even though it is reversible the makers say it is better to use a "breaker bar"). Remember the hub nuts are "one shot" although my local garage mechanic suggests you are OK to reuse them once - just give them a tap with a hammer to squash them slightly out of true. I think I'll just pay up for new ones!
I always check tyre pressures on each trip - electric high pressure pump from Halfords (make sure it is the heavy duty one). They only last a couple of years then the compressor gives up the ghost.
I also stop and check the wheels for heat (binding brakes) from time to time.
Mike
Good points Mike.
I use a human torque-wrench - I calculated that the Al-Ko hub nut torque of 290Nm is achieved by my weight (80kg) on the end of the breaker bar in my 3/4" socket set! So I just stand steadily on the end of the bar, being careful not to bounce which would overdo it.
I bought a Draper 3/4" socket set because it was only slightly more expensive than buying one 36mm socket and a breaker bar separately. One or two of the other sockets have come in handy since, though most are completely unused.
My policy now with hub nuts is to put new ones on the left-hand side, putting the ones from the left onto the right. The reason is that the direction of wheel rotation will tend to tighten the right-hand side, but undo the left-hand side. Knocking used ones out of true to make them stick better is a neat idea though!
Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight
When standing on the breaker bar, I do hope you make the appropriate adjustments for your "winter weight" (including all those pints of Goddards with steak pies and chips) and your "summer weight" (presumably also including lots of beer and pies but worked off to some extent with the morris dancing?!
Mike
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