Trailer brake repairs (continued)

I'm amazed - I wouldn't have thought that a trailer was that desirable for tealeaves. Are you talking about on a drive and chained up or on the road? I would have thought that nicking something like that would be a pretty obvious manoeuvre - i.e. needs hitching up etc.

I take your point on the going for an older one idea. Implication is that the new ones are stolen to order.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

It is very difficult to get hold of insurance for trailers because of their nickable nature. Indeed, when I hired one recently, the company (a local independent) said it just wasn't possible to insure them, so the risk was mine.

They had previously had a large flat bed nicked which involved physically removing the gates from their compound and breaking the hitchlock and wheelclamp. They use proper wheelclamps, too. When I was down Indespension asking about clamps last weekend, they said that they had video footage of a group of lads physically removing a 3500kg MAM trailer over the fence.

There's nothing suspicious about hitching up a trailer, though. No-one would think it untoward (unless they owned the trailer!)

Christian.

The photos you have are of a Bradley HU2 auto reverse coupling coupled with a Knott 160 mm auto reverse brake mechanism.

The Bradley coupling is discontinued, though I think I still have a decent second hand one. The Knott brake parts are still available and I should have them in stock.

The HU2 coupling was peculiar in that the brakes were off when the handbrake was vertical, and ON when it was horizontal. The drawtube on this coupling never did rotate.

Hope this helps a little....

Regards

The Bradley HU2 Coupling is Auto reverse already. The energy store is the heavy spring which compresses at the bottom of the handbrake. The HU2 had a manual reversing catch fitted as standard (as did the HU 10 and the HU12) and this seems to be confusing people.

You already have a full auto reverse system.

It sounds as if just needs a lot of fettling..................

Regards

What would you recommend as a course of action? I've got a quote of 6.25 a shoe to reline (from Saftek). Indespension wanted 130 quid for new shoes!

Yes, I couldn't work this out. I couldn't work out why the brake rod went in the opposite direction to how I would expect it to. I obviously didn't think about it enough! What is the lever for if it is not for manual reverse? Perhaps it is a flexible coupling compatible with manual and autoreverse?

Ah, but I suspect it did slide up and down, though! The drawtube is also at a slight angle, around 10 degrees off the horizontal.

Nothing like a bit of definitive knowledge!

Christian.

Apparently so. I should have read your other reply first!

Christian.

I think I'd prefer an old tatty

Something like a nice 1 tonne trailer is handy for taking away the remains of your front drive. A tipping trailer is even better as they can also fly-tip the spoils around our countryside..

I'm 7 years younger than my wife ... ;-)

T i m

But no one thinks that hitching up is suspicious. I once picked up my parents' caravan from a compound at the back of a factory at half past three in the morning. We even had to change the numberplate - a number of people were at the back door of the factory smoking and not one asked any questions.

My parents borrowed my 5' x 3' trailer a couple of years ago and had it nicked from their drive - I wouldn't have minded so much, but I put a bit of effort into building it well. I've been on the lookout for it ever since

- having built it, I'd recognise a couple of distinctive bits.

Steve W