Can someone tell me what this bit is called so I can at least Google it?

Croolis · 03 February 2025, 20:13

Went to remove one of my sailing dinghies from sailing club as I'm giving them up and focusing purely on SIBbing (am selling an old wooden Mirror dinghy and an old GRP Supergrad. Both have some issues that need to be overcome but not with the hulls, they are good. Both have good combi trailers, one of which I am sorting here. drop me a line if interested.).

When I went to look at the boat I found combi trailer mudguards broken on both wheels. Finally figured out that reason for this is, over time, they must have rotated what I presume is a height adjustment thing, resulting in the mudguards being forced into the top of the tyres.

This pic is not of my trailer, this is a neighbouring trailer that didn't have a boat on it so I got a good shot. Can you tell me what the circled component is called please and what I do to adjust it? The sort of elbow piece. This one seems to have a flat end screwdriver slot in it, though it's painted over and hard to tell. As I say, my one seems to have rotated and now the trailer is too low to the wheel.

Thanks for help.

paulbrown22 · 03 February 2025, 21:26

Looks like a standard unbaked suspension unit/stub axle, e.g.: https://www.trailertek.com/trailer-p...dard-stub-axle .

If they've moved/rotated I think it's a case of buy some new ones!

Croolis · 03 February 2025, 21:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulbrown22

Looks like a standard unbaked suspension unit/stub axle, e.g.: https://www.trailertek.com/trailer-p...dard-stub-axle .

If they've moved/rotated I think it's a case of buy some new ones!

Oh god no. I only want to move it so I can sell it, bah

.

Cheers.

paulbrown22 · 03 February 2025, 21:46

Maybe someone else will have a different idea, but I'm not sure they generally have any adjustment.

If you just need to move around the boat park a bit you could just put a trolley jack underneath it.

Croolis · 03 February 2025, 22:34

Nah was going to move it 15 miles to my house and stick it on ebay, as I'm quitting the sailing club. Gotta get it off the boat park.

<one crash course in trailer wheel axle assembly later> So quick bit of research seems to suggest there's rubber inside the unit which I guess might have perished or whatever, allowing rotation. I do have a trolley jack - i'll go up there at the weekend, jack it up and see if there's anything that can be done with it but looks like I'll need a new pair like what you linked to above. I'll have to make sure that the assembly bolts on to the trailer as expected.

So the wheel just sits on the axle stub on the swingarm via the bearings. If the bearings are OK (I'll look at them) I can just remove the wheel from the axle stub, change the torsion axle unit, and fit the wheel, with bearings still in, straight onto the axle stub I think. Or hope.

Godammit

. Here's a pic of the trailer when I bought it a couple years ago. I'd like a trailer for my SIB, 3.2m. I'm wondering if I could take the launch trailer off, then add box section as necessary to the road trailer bit (a big T shape) along with bunks to make something that could carry inflated boat with outboard on the transom. I am not experienced with metalwork so could be a tall order. I don't fancy paying out £1200 for a new one like smallribber has, and 2nd hand ones are rocking horse shite. Whereas I already own the basis for one. With new torsion arms and wheels lol.

paulbrown22 · 03 February 2025, 22:49

Snap, I assume the rubber part is dead and it's a case of just buy/fit new ones! (possibly not the exact ones I linked to, I just grabbed the first I could find - check the exact mounting pattern and load rating of yours).

The wheel bolts onto a hub, the hub contains the bearing and is slid onto the stub axle and secured with a castle washer and split pin. If it's been sitting there for years with no movement or maintenance you might find the hub/bearing is reluctant to come off the stub axle, and the bearings might fall apart as you try to get it off which isn't uncommon...

Fenlander · 04 February 2025, 10:38

If it's a light dinghy and the suspension units only part sagged as many are then would the mudguards have room to be mounted higher?

Croolis · 04 February 2025, 11:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenlander

If it's a light dinghy and the suspension units only part sagged as many are then would the mudguards have room to be mounted higher?

Nah, the mounting bolts for the mudguard were about as low down on the mudguard plastic as can be, and the actual mudguard mount on the trailer, as can be seen on the pic of the trailer when I bought it, is fixed in place.

In a perfect world, someone will buy a 1970s Graduate 12ft GRP sailing dinghy off me, all in good working order except leading edge (I think it is) of centre board needs fibre glassing. Launch trolley only, not including road trailer part for reasons described, tyres may be bad because currently they are flat and I haven't checked. Rudder pintles need nipping up, look a bit loose. Despite condition of centre board (which is hardly shocking), the boat is complete with sails and rigging, ready for the water with minimal bit of attention. Has a very old cover that is still working but probably won't last too much longer. £100 for quick sale, worth plenty more than that. Get started in dinghy sailing

. You'll need a trailering, flat bed method to collect from Nottingham.

Can get pics, don't have any this minute.

I'll put this in the for sale section

.

Nasher · 04 February 2025, 15:43

Four small plates with 4 holes each would raise the mudguards up.

Or, just take them off

Croolis · Yesterday, 18:17

Can anyone tell me if you think the trailer in the pic I posted above is aluminium? It sort of does have that old motorcycle engine block sort of dusty surface to it. Dunno.

Croolis · Yesterday, 18:37

So I've been for a look and it looks to me like you can't take the torsion axle thing out of the box section that forms the axle. I have taken some photos here and there's a short, not very good bit of vid showing it.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/2ykb2...=remeujo0&dl=0

There are external bolts or anything holding it in, it looks like it just slides into the box section axle and Lord knows how it stays in there - don't see how I could take it out anyway. So I'm wondering if one would weld on a plate with bolt holes to the axle so that I could then bolt new torsion axles to it.

None of this probably worth the bother, of course.

The boat and the launch trolley still for sale

. Next time I go there I'll even take the cover off and get proper pictures.

beamishken · Yesterday, 18:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Croolis

So I've been for a look and it looks to me like you can't take the torsion axle thing out of the box section that forms the axle. I have taken some photos here and there's a short, not very good bit of vid showing it.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/2ykb2...=remeujo0&dl=0

There are external bolts or anything holding it in, it looks like it just slides into the box section axle and Lord knows how it stays in there - don't see how I could take it out anyway. So I'm wondering if one would weld on a plate with bolt holes to the axle so that I could then bolt new torsion axles to it.

None of this probably worth the bother, of course.

The boat and the launch trolley still for sale

. Next time I go there I'll even take the cover off and get proper pictures.

That's a complete one piece axle unfortunately, cheapest & easiest option is cut off the torsion bars & weld a flat mounting plate onto the bottom to accept a standard bolt on suspension unit

Fenlander · Yesterday, 19:08

Yep as Ken says...

These are a one time assembled unit in factory conditions with a press. See 3min 33sec on this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEwBhVyP4Io

jeffstevens763@g · Yesterday, 20:29

If the boat covers the wheels I’d take the guards off for 15miles but IMO if I was buying it I’d want to tow it home otherwise it’s gets awkward and possibly not worth it

Croolis · Yesterday, 21:28

Nah, can't drive that - the launch trailer wheels now bottom out on the ground, plus one road wheel is lower than the other now. It's munted and unsafe.

Will sell the boat with just the launch trailer as described, see if someone will come take it like that. The boat itself is good, and complete. Just the centreboard needs a bit of love.

I will probably take the road trailer part home as it is and maybe one day weld those plates on and see about turning it into a bunked trailer for my SIB. But that's a whole other can of worms.

Cheers for help.