Original trailer is fine. Most of the later ones were converted to twin axle by the importers. I believe early single axle ones are still legal but inadvisablle. However the original US ones were .mostly steel and you have to watch out for rust weakness especially near the tow hitch.
There is a general problem with American trailers in that the brakes are often electrically controlled from the tow car. This system isn't legal in the UK or I believe Europe. I believe Macgregor must have taken this into account and had European style brakes fitted for exported boats.
I have the original trailer ,some 20 years old now.
I service the brakes and bearings myself and all parts are readily available at most trailer suppliers.
The original trailer is boarderline on weight but still legal . I did loose a wheel once on the motorway due to loose wheel nuts,i now have the plastic direction indicators fitted on the lug nuts and always torque them up correctly. After 20 years , there is still no sign of serious corrosion but for the past 4 years i have had the boat lifted on and off the trailer so no salt water gets into the channels or bearings. Having owned a twin axle before on a previous boat, i will only change trailer if i decide to do any serious long haul trailering. 4 wheels do give peace of mind but also make it more difficult to maneuver . these days all of my trailering is around the south coast.
I think my 19 trailer is as it was 30 years ago. Had my man what does check it out yesterday in preparation for Big Mac and both sets of bearings need replacing after only having been changed in April 21. Since then there have only been 4 different launch and recoveries, two of these in salt water, but enough to let water into the tender bits, even though heavily greased. It might have to be an annual job. Also, although tyres had decent tread, they were starting to split - replacements ordered.
Are they sealed or tapered bearings? As I've just replaced my alko sealed bearings and thinking about changing to a twin axial with tapered bearings. All my previous trailers had tapered bearings and so easy to maintain.
Hi Quentin, I'm 99.9% sure that I'm going to change to a twin axial with tapered bearings. My other trailers we're all tapered and after picking boat out of the water it would only take me less than an hour to take bearings out clean and repack with fresh grease and never had to replace with new bearings. These sealed bearings are a pain especially if don't have a press. I ended up putting my drums in the BBQ to expand the metal the bearing then just dropped in then had to cool the drum down using cold wet towels. So to me that's too much bother to deal with.
I've also owned both Al-Ko and taper-roller equipped trailers, and my experience is that Al-Ko bearings are not suitable for water immersion, especially salt water.
I had a caravan with Al-Ko equipment and it was fine, needing no maintenance in the time I had it. But my twin-axle Al-Ko equipped MacX trailer needed new bearings at least every two years. The "sealed" bearings cannot be re-greased, but the seal is not salt-water-proof.
Replacing bearings is not cheap - prices 10 years ago were £50 per bearing, plus paying someone to press the old ones out and the new ones in (it needs a 3-tonne press). The hubs are held on with large single-use nuts, which means you also need new nuts. You should also replace the nuts if you simply remove the drums to check the brakes! Officially, Al-Ko state that bearings should only be replaced twice, after that you should get new drums (I chose to overlook that). It becomes an expensive business.
By contrast, taper-roller bearings as on my current trailer can be generously re-greased as often as needed - with water-resistant grease - which is usually enough to keep the water away. You can remove and replace the drums as often as you want, and if required the bearing shells can be replaced with simple tools. For an immersible trailer I would avoid Al-Ko at all costs.
—
Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight
I'm with you Rick, we have alko bearings on our caravan and work fine, but this is going to be the first time I'm going to use them on a boat trailer. I'm going to have to put up with them for this season as it will take to long to order and fit new axial's. I will be taking lots of fresh water to wash the hubs and bearings when we launch and recover and force a lot of new grease into the bearing with my grease gun. "FINGERS CROSSED"
Original trailer is fine. Most of the later ones were converted to twin axle by the importers. I believe early single axle ones are still legal but inadvisablle. However the original US ones were .mostly steel and you have to watch out for rust weakness especially near the tow hitch.
There is a general problem with American trailers in that the brakes are often electrically controlled from the tow car. This system isn't legal in the UK or I believe Europe. I believe Macgregor must have taken this into account and had European style brakes fitted for exported boats.
Jonathan
The M boats were shipped sitting on the trailer bunks but there were no axles brakes or tow hitches. Those were fitted in UK, as were outboard motors.
The x trailers were made at West Mersea Trailers in UK
I have the original trailer ,some 20 years old now.
I service the brakes and bearings myself and all parts are readily available at most trailer suppliers.
The original trailer is boarderline on weight but still legal . I did loose a wheel once on the motorway due to loose wheel nuts,i now have the plastic direction indicators fitted on the lug nuts and always torque them up correctly. After 20 years , there is still no sign of serious corrosion but for the past 4 years i have had the boat lifted on and off the trailer so no salt water gets into the channels or bearings. Having owned a twin axle before on a previous boat, i will only change trailer if i decide to do any serious long haul trailering. 4 wheels do give peace of mind but also make it more difficult to maneuver . these days all of my trailering is around the south coast.
I think my 19 trailer is as it was 30 years ago. Had my man what does check it out yesterday in preparation for Big Mac and both sets of bearings need replacing after only having been changed in April 21. Since then there have only been 4 different launch and recoveries, two of these in salt water, but enough to let water into the tender bits, even though heavily greased. It might have to be an annual job. Also, although tyres had decent tread, they were starting to split - replacements ordered.
Quentin Sands, past owner
1991 26C Mrs MacGregor
1993 Mac19, Margarita
Are they sealed or tapered bearings? As I've just replaced my alko sealed bearings and thinking about changing to a twin axial with tapered bearings. All my previous trailers had tapered bearings and so easy to maintain.
Sealed bearings I believe. You make a fair point. I need to be able to maintain them myself.
Quentin Sands, past owner
1991 26C Mrs MacGregor
1993 Mac19, Margarita
Hi Quentin, I'm 99.9% sure that I'm going to change to a twin axial with tapered bearings. My other trailers we're all tapered and after picking boat out of the water it would only take me less than an hour to take bearings out clean and repack with fresh grease and never had to replace with new bearings. These sealed bearings are a pain especially if don't have a press. I ended up putting my drums in the BBQ to expand the metal the bearing then just dropped in then had to cool the drum down using cold wet towels. So to me that's too much bother to deal with.
I've also owned both Al-Ko and taper-roller equipped trailers, and my experience is that Al-Ko bearings are not suitable for water immersion, especially salt water.
I had a caravan with Al-Ko equipment and it was fine, needing no maintenance in the time I had it. But my twin-axle Al-Ko equipped MacX trailer needed new bearings at least every two years. The "sealed" bearings cannot be re-greased, but the seal is not salt-water-proof.
Replacing bearings is not cheap - prices 10 years ago were £50 per bearing, plus paying someone to press the old ones out and the new ones in (it needs a 3-tonne press). The hubs are held on with large single-use nuts, which means you also need new nuts. You should also replace the nuts if you simply remove the drums to check the brakes! Officially, Al-Ko state that bearings should only be replaced twice, after that you should get new drums (I chose to overlook that). It becomes an expensive business.
By contrast, taper-roller bearings as on my current trailer can be generously re-greased as often as needed - with water-resistant grease - which is usually enough to keep the water away. You can remove and replace the drums as often as you want, and if required the bearing shells can be replaced with simple tools. For an immersible trailer I would avoid Al-Ko at all costs.
Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight
I'm with you Rick, we have alko bearings on our caravan and work fine, but this is going to be the first time I'm going to use them on a boat trailer. I'm going to have to put up with them for this season as it will take to long to order and fit new axial's. I will be taking lots of fresh water to wash the hubs and bearings when we launch and recover and force a lot of new grease into the bearing with my grease gun. "FINGERS CROSSED"
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