trailer bits and bobs

[jacob]

Have a derelict 12ft caravan with good chassis which would convert to an excellent trailer. Is there a catalogue/diy guide etc. for this to avoid having to sort it all out from basics?

cheers

Jacob

[Andy Dingley]

Indespension. Good catalogue, good section in it on the legalities, and they sell all the bits you might ever need.

Do not _build_ a trailer. If you do, you'll find that all sorts of relatively recent rules kick in about how much braking efficiency you now need. If however you merely re-style your existing caravan to an ultra-low-profile model, you only have to conform to the old rules that were in force when your caravan was originally built.

It's now very difficult to build a trailer from an old car axle, as we used to do years ago. But if you already have one, you can keep it.

[Rob Morley]

Pointer to relevant information please :-)

[Lobster]

[Autolycus]

Are you sure? Some caravan chassis are very flexible once the body is removed, and the suspension may be very soft, as it is designed for a load which only varies by the weight of some melamine cups and a bottle of something blue and evil. If it's an old chassis, it may not even have a hydraulically damped coupling or auto-reverse brakes, both of which are very beneficial if you manage to get the brakes to work at all.

Caravan (and many trailer) bearings are horribly crude arrangements, which fill up with water then fail rapidly and spectacularly. Check the load carrying capacity of the wheels and tyres. 3.5J wheel rims are common, so you're limited to 155x13 tyres at the widest, which are usually rated at only around 900kg for the pair.

The Indespension catalogue is excellent, though their prices aren't, and their service may not be. Abbey Trailers in Derby (01332 348630) are a small, friendly lot who, I believe supply by mail order.

is another good starting point for advice on trailers and towing, and for links to suppliers.

[Zikki Malambo]

That would be

Indespension

Towsure

Tony Maris

Can't remember any of the web addresses, but if you search google then you'll find all 3 (remember to put rabbit's ears (") round Tony Maris when searching). Tony doesn't have a catalogue, but has an excellent website and hangs out in uk.rec.caravanning (sp?!). His prices aren't always as cheap as the big companies, but his products and mail order service are excellent!

[Mary Fisher]

And you get personal service - you can always talk to or e-mail Tony in person. If there's a Mr Towsure or Indespension I've never found him.

Go for Tony.

Mary

[Rick Dipper]

You see these things on eBay all the time, I suggest you take a look there, to see what to do and what not to do.

Some of them look like accident black spots waiting to happen. You end up with a HUGE trailer, with little load capacity. Would to put a ton of sand in your caravan and tow it ?

Rick