New trailer advice

[Jeff]

I could well be in the market for a new trailer following an incident on the autostrade near Bologna! I should also have some first hand experience of the European recovery skills and small print of Brittania Rescue ,,,, potentially interesting small print

Single axle 1800kg roller trailer to suit 6.0m rib
Type approved
Sealed bearings (I know many will think I am mad but find them excellent so long as you treat life as 2 years)
Waterproof lights Inc side markers ( though I can transfer from my old one
Quality build ( I tow 10k miles min each year)
Ideally 14 " rims , 5 on 112,pcd ,,,, spare wheels and tyres in 'stock'

Any valid experience appreciated .

Jeff

[CJL]

Originally Posted by Jeff

I should also have some first hand experience of the European recovery skills and small print of Brittania Rescue ,,,, potentially interesting small print

Details???

I would recommend SBS or DeGraffe trailers.

Chris

[boater]

hi mate, ive just bought an extreme trailer from the lads at Southampton, very helpful and will build what you want, I don't like roller trailers personally, but purchased a bunk trailer with keel rollers, go on their web site and send them an email with your requirements, and they will get back with price reece

[Phil M]

Extreme are not type approved.

[paddlers]

I bought a SBS bunked trailer ex demo from them last winter max 1500kg single axle braked trailer.
The build quality seems excellent with a very easy system for the LED lightboard I bought. Ask me at the end of August how it performed on a 750 mile round trip. Sealed bearings but I don't want to get the wheels in the salty stuff if at all possible.
Lots of spec on their website.

[Ovey]

I just bought an SBS R2/1800-EL from South Coast Trailers (on here). It has everything you have listed, including the type approval, for a reasonable price. It's also pretty good quality except for one slight issue (below). DeGraaf however wouldn't move on their advertised price & offered poor trade-in on my old trailer.

The only gripe I have is that the bow snubber blocks are forced up when the boat is pulled up tight to the front, allowing the bare metal behind them to grind away at the gel coat.

I'm in contact with SBS themselves to try to find a workaround but so far I've had one email reply in two weeks, so customer support from the manufacturer isn't good!


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[SteveHall]

What was the incident?

[Chris Caton]

Originally Posted by Ovey

I just bought an SBS R2/1800-EL from South Coast Trailers (on here). It has everything you have listed, including the type approval, for a reasonable price. It's also pretty good quality except for one slight issue (below). DeGraaf however wouldn't move on their advertised price & offered poor trade-in on my old trailer.

The only gripe I have is that the bow snubber blocks are forced up when the boat is pulled up tight to the front, allowing the bare metal behind them to grind away at the gel coat.

I'm in contact with SBS themselves to try to find a workaround but so far I've had one email reply in two weeks, so customer support from the manufacturer isn't good!


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I would agree with comments about customer support, but to be fair if you ring and ask for Roy he's usually very helpful, the smaller winch posts come with a nice roller assembly which I think is a much better option than the v block with the rubber pads, I had a similar problem with the Revenger, only solution at the time was to bend the v very tight to fit the hull, but not ideal!

[CJL]

Originally Posted by Ovey

I'm in contact with SBS themselves to try to find a workaround but so far I've had one email reply in two weeks, so customer support from the manufacturer isn't good!

I had two emails from them today!!

Chris

[Ovey]

Think I might call them tomorrow then. Hopefully they'll come up with a free fix. Otherwise the bill for the damage to my boat might be around the same price as a new snubber! ;-)


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[Jeff]

The snipe trailer I have is a 2006 model and the axle is fastened to the subframe (that is attached to the trailer frame by u bolts) by 2 M19 bolts each side
After hitting a large trench on the autostrade these sheared and the axle (fortunately square section) flipped 90deg and stayed with the trailer only by the weight of the boat/trailer frame. Brake cables broken and brake rod in fresh air. Fortunately I managed to get to the hard shoulder with no other damage or incident.
This is where it gets interesting with L&V/Brittania rescue ,,,, firstly they use a French based agency IMA who coordinate recovery and they have to then get one of their call centre reps who speak the appropriate language (Italian in this case) as well as English to resolve. All ok so far but then , in spite of giving him GPS positions he could see where I was . Using Google maps and Tom Tom I then gave him location on the A14 ,,, more calls and waiting. He then called back to advise they couldn't recover from a private (toll) roads and I should call the SOS service to get recovered off the motorway, pay them and claim back! Next problem no SOS phones near,,, more calls with them giving me phone numbers for the autostrade SOS, none of which work with a UK mobile ,,, even with the country code. Now 4 hrs gone by. So, jumped over 2 carriageways to an exit toll booth and finally a nice Italian lady calls Europe Assist. 20 mins later a patrol vehicle arrives with crash defence and flags,,, recovery vehicle 10 mins later then get escorted off the motorway through automatic gates to garage. En route I speak to IMA Emanuel ,,, who then advise they must have mechanic diagnostic report before they can decide to repatriate.. Monday ,,, but we can proceed home and they will sort. HOWEVER,,, if the cost of recovery is more than the value of the trailer they will not repatriate to UK and pay me the 'value' This does NOT cover the load ,,, ie the boat ! So, I carry on home not knowing what will happen with baby ? No f chance.
I ring the UK again and it seems so, thus I must check the small print ! Not much use I would say for any of us. Sleepless night but decide if necessary I can sort ,, if it can't be fixed locally, return later with new mounts and cables and fix myself ,,,, £ tolls, ferry, frejus tunnel or borrow a flatbed car transporter and ditto. Negotiate storage costs Sith garage!!.
On Monday Primo mechanic Giuseppe advises he can fix ,,, though wthno mutual language I think that's what he said ,,, ready Thursday. So I am now marooned in Bologna but at least more chilled with a likely resolution. More £ on repair, hotels and sustainence and we will see what Thursday brings.
Apart from seriously thinking of a new trailer(having already had some chassis issues ,,,, sorted by additional flitch plates between the two raiks) I need to find European breakdown cover that will when needed actually get a disabled trailer home. I thought I had good and adequate cover but as with al things insurance-wise, you only know when you really need it.
A few pointless but sharp letters when I get home.
Will let you know how I get on ,,, and think SBS will be next. I never liked the idea of the axle mounts and it's done 80,000+ miles Inc 8 trips on dodgy Italian and Greek roads. Definitely a potential weak point to check
Ciao
Jeff

[Phil M]

I was looking at a De Graaff, until I got a quote from them for delivery. £660 kind of prices them out of the market. Same for Extreme and just about any southern trailer manufacturer. SBS are in the running still, until I get there quote. They are only a 4 hour drive (each way) at least so I could collect. There are some down-sides to living up north.

Phil

[Ovey]

Originally Posted by Phil M

I was looking at a De Graaff, until I got a quote from them for delivery. £660 kind of prices them out of the market. Same for Extreme and just about any southern trailer manufacturer. SBS are in the running still, until I get there quote. They are only a 4 hour drive (each way) at least so I could collect. There are some down-sides to living up north.

Phil

Yeah, and DeGraaf were going to charge me £150 to take my boat off the old trailer and put it onto their new one - if I took the whole lot to them! As I said, they wouldn't move on their internet listed prices either.

Michael of South Coast Trailers (SW Boat Transport on this forum) had my SBS trailer delivered to my local slipway and his driver helped me launch/recover the boat a couple of times so we could set the trailer up - all as part of the price, but I'm not sure if they'd deliver North? (They also did the trailer a bit cheaper than the SBS website, which helped).

I've just spoken to Roy at SBS this morning and they're going to send me a post with the roller snubber on it, as long as I send the "V" snubber back to them. I'd advise anyone ordering an SBS trailer to ask for the roller snubber from the off as the angle of the post/winch is always going to lend itself to the rubber blocks being forced upwards and apart, allowing the boat to come through to the bare metal at the base of the "V".

[Pikey Dave]

I've had 3 SBS trailers, bought straight from the factory in Wolverhampton. Sealed Al-Ko bearings, never had a problem with them. The customer service can be a tad slow, but if you ring, rather than email, things get done. Spares are readily available & reasonably priced (bearings, brakes etc) They don't (or didn't) come with sealed lights, just a bog standard trailer board, but that might have changed. Just starting to think about a new boat & it will be riding on SBS.

[Ovey]

You still have to take the trailer board off, but the sidelights (built into the trailer) are sealed so can take the occasional dunking!

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

I've had 3 SBS trailers, bought straight from the factory in Wolverhampton. Sealed Al-Ko bearings, never had a problem with them. The customer service can be a tad slow, but if you ring, rather than email, things get done. Spares are readily available & reasonably priced (bearings, brakes etc) They don't (or didn't) come with sealed lights, just a bog standard trailer board, but that might have changed. Just starting to think about a new boat & it will be riding on SBS.

Looks like a trip to Wolverhampton then 😊 ,,,, I will refit my current lighting set up which saves the dreaded lighting board ,,, as the yanks say ,,,, less time on the ramp, more time on the water! It saves me running over the board too.

Thanks all for your input so far. I am really interested in seeing how the axle is attached to the trailer frame as the snipe method leaves a lot to be desired on reflection.

Jeff

[Pikey Dave]

I'll take some photos & post them.


.....sh1t happens.......

[Jeff]

Thanks Dave ,,, it's only money lol . Worst places to be imprisoned,,, and no one hurt or other damage. I wouldn't mind if I didn't lavish as much care and attention to the trailer as I do ,,, but as you say, it happens.
Cell block H

[Chris Caton]

I've got two SBS boat trailers, Roy has been very helpful each time I've rung but I would agree with PD that phone calls are much more productive than emails! axle frames are fixed to chassis rails via u bolts, never had any problems with movement

[Jeff]

Couldn't resist going back to the garage to check progress ! I couldn't eait for the call any longer. I shouldn't have worried at all - a 70 year old has fabricated 2 new subframes & welded reinforcing plates to the axle saddles ready for reassembly. Giuseppe thought it was funny to say it would be next Monday before it would be finished ,,,, thankfully humour is international
The rig will be better than new but I think I will still replace with a new one. Too many trips across Europe to risk.
It will probably be a great buy for someone
Photos will follow when I have access to pc.

Wolverhampton isn't too far for me so I will drop in I think ,,, assuming open on Saturdays

Ciao
Jeff