trailer boards

A new complete board is so cheap it is not worth sodding about.

I don't, but something like PVC soffit board might work?

Or buy a complete new board for your friend, and sell the working lights and other bits to someone who's smashed their lights.

Owain

Most 5x1 wood does not have holes in it for the wires to run. :-)

Breaking the board but not the lights was an achievement.

eBay?

Can you shorten the board by an inch or two and move the lights across to match?

Would your friend notice?

you can buy plastic board for house guttering use in b and q.

By the time you've faffed around, you may find you wished you'd bought a new one- they aren't expensive.

However, if your really want to repair it:

Solid uVPC board or hollow cladding from places that supply for facias, window sills etc. I bought a 2.4m x 300mmx 10mm solid board a few weeks back for about £15 as I recall (it is useful for all kinds of things). The last trailer board bought, a year or so back, was about £20 off Ebay- pre-wired, complete with plug etc.

If you want to go the uVPC, look under 'Building Plastics' in your are or uVPC cladding.

If you can tidy it up reasonably neatly with filler, I would have thought that a few self tapping screws going through the board and keying into the filler (before it sets) would have stopped it falling out.

Own up, and ask them what they want you to do.

If they realise later you've concealed it they'll never trust you again.

Andy

That's the most sensible suggestion in this thread.

Chris

Trailer boards are the flimsiest plastic. Filler would be absolutely no good at all.

Do you have all the bits?

Plastic welding? A soldering iron can stitch broken thermoplastic together.

Otherwise hot melt glue gun.

I see so many people leaving easily repairable bumper skins behind at the scene of the accident. One even had all the fog lights in it.

and those can be 100 quid each.

The OP said he was worrying about filler falling out. This implies that it might mostly be cracking which could be supported by a "plug" of filler in the hollow part. Boards are quite thick enough to support self tapping screws, particularly if inserted into filler in the core space.

To answer a few replies in one go: I reversed the trailer and it jack-knifed into the wall. Any tips on how to reverse these things? It was too heavy top move by hand, especially as the drive is a downhill slope.

It caught the corner of the board but missed the lights. I am not going to hide this from the owner but I had hoped to say here is your trailer back, sorry I crashed it but I have repaired or replaced...etc.

I wasn't sure what type of filler to use. First I looked at the paste types like isopons p40 and p38 but then I saw their fibre glass kits. However some web sites suggest they do not stick to plastic due to thermal effects of differences in flexibility, so I'm not sure how permanent they would be.

If it's a small camping-type trailer, they are a nightmare to reverse as they 'break' so quickly.

There is no filler or resin that will effectively repair that type of plastic. If you have all the bits, try sticking it with a cyanoacrylate ('Superglue') adhesive.

Otherwise, replacement is the only realistic way to make things good.

Chris

Observation: Short trailer behind vehicles with little or no overhang between the back axle and the tow ball do take quite a bit of effort to reverse. It's like steering a boat where you have to correct it

Being able to see it or something in it (ideally near the back) is key to reversing a small trailer as you *have* to stay on top of it. Once it's even slightly loose then the easiest way to recover it is to pull forward and try again. It's very likely that even being on full lock won't recover a jackknifing trailer (even assuming you have the room at the front). Because I've been towing trailers (behind my cars, motorbikes and cycles) since a lad, I can reverse our small goods / camping trailer through a car wide gap with the Meriva (nearly no overhang) but it does need to be set up *exactly* and 'steered' every inch of the way.

I'd fess up first and then ask them what *they* would prefer. They might like to get a replacement and fit it themselves and you can just pay for it. As mentioned elsewhere, they aren't expensive and if you find a direct replacement (with identical light fittings) they might appreciate the lights (or the lenses and lamps at least) off the damaged units as spares. The bottom line is I'd like to think the owner ends up better of for loaning it to you, not worse.

If you still had all the damaged bits and nothing was too distorted you might find std plastic model or any suitable solvent cement would work sufficiently well. However, see above.

I leant my pressure washer to a mate with the strict understanding that 1) I rarely lend tools to anyone as I have little to gain and everything to lose and 2) if you break / lose it you replace it.

He did the job but didn't seem to mention returning the pressure washer and so after a couple of weeks I pushed him on it. He finally confessed it had 'got broken' and pushing him further it turned out he was mucking about spraying his kids (the very thing I suggested he wouldn't do if respecting my property) and one tripped over the mains lead and ripped the clamp out though the back panel. He had located a replacement base tray but considered it 'expensive' so hadn't ordered it. Ok, the thing still functioned but that wasn't the point.

I just got the PW back off him and he dropped down my 'good friends' list and was never going to be loaned anything by me again.

In contrast, another mate borrowed a pin hammer, got some paint on it so bought me a new one (but he didn't need to as it was only paint). ;-)

Now I only lend stuff (or not) on the basis that I'll never see it again.

Cheers, T i m

Yes. Someone left theirs behind after they hit our hire car while we were at a removal (funeral service the night before the burial) in Ireland. Someone got his number though and he was a bit surprised when the Garda knocked at his door :) He'd been drinking.

SteveW

The main thing is that the back of the trailer or something in/on it is high enough for you to see or that you have a reversing camera. After that it is just practice and gentle manouevres.

SteveW

first practice in an empty car park. the shorter the trailer the harder it is, get a short car and a long trailer and everything is easier.

As soon as you see the trailer is even slightly too much on the wonk, go forward and try again.