Sat on the A1 (M) Waiting for the AA :-(

[ShinyShoe]

Easy with hind sight but with a working car and a trailer safely parked in a carpark I think rather than pay £300 for recovery at 2pm I'd have been googling for a trailer spares company in the area and going to get a new bearing & hub and fitted it myself. Would probably have got mooving quicker too.

Fleet policies and 'free' cover with new cars aren't great for trailers...

[Vincent Vega]

Originally Posted by ShinyShoe

Easy with hind sight but with a working car and a trailer safely parked in a carpark I think rather than pay £300 for recovery at 2pm I'd have been googling for a trailer spares company in the area and going to get a new bearing & hub and fitted it myself. Would probably have got mooving quicker too.

Fleet policies and 'free' cover with new cars aren't great for trailers...

The nice AA man suggested that at first until he got the wheel off and had a look at the damage. He told me that the bearings had to be coded correctly and that the coding numbers had been obliterated so it wouldn't be a simple job. He says at the very minimum I need new hubs and bearings and that I may need a new axle as well. :-(

Not sure if what he told me is correct or not, but he was very helpful and I trusted his experience over my complete lack of experience. At least this will give me the opportunity to learn something new. It's an expensive lesson though. :-)

[Vincent Vega]

Thanks again for all the well wishes, kept me sane(r) whilst I was sat waiting for the AA and wondering what the heck I was going to do. :-)

[beamishken]

Ouch!!!! Expensive ride home

But if you'd found a trailer place and taken the damaged one they could have matched up with the origionals
Or if you wanted numbers off bearings to check stock before you went you could have taken the other side apart and got the bearing numbers off the good side

Sounds like your helpfull aa man couldn't be bothered or didnt have much idea

As long as the threads and retaining nut were in tact you could of got it rolling

You might have had to dress the shaft a bit with a file to get the new hub on.
But even having to buy the gear to do the job (assuming you had no tools) your looking at 40-50 quid tops inc a new hub

We carry a spare hub with our small trailer more usefull than a spare wheel in my experience

[Vincent Vega]

Originally Posted by beamishken

Ouch!!!! Expensive ride home

But if you'd found a trailer place and taken the damaged one they could have matched up with the origionals
Or if you wanted numbers off bearings to check stock before you went you could have taken the other side apart and got the bearing numbers off the good side

Sounds like your helpfull aa man couldn't be bothered or didnt have much idea

As long as the threads and retaining nut were in tact you could of got it rolling

You might have had to dress the shaft a bit with a file to get the new hub on.
But even having to buy the gear to do the job (assuming you had no tools) your looking at 40-50 quid tops inc a new hub

We carry a spare hub with our small trailer more usefull than a spare wheel in my experience

All good ideas, I wish I'd thought of them. This has been a crap experience but hopefully some good will come of it. You live and learn. :-)

[spartacus]

Originally Posted by Vincent Vega

The nice AA man suggested that at first until he got the wheel off and had a look at the damage. He told me that the bearings had to be coded correctly and that the coding numbers had been obliterated so it wouldn't be a simple job. He says at the very minimum I need new hubs and bearings and that I may need a new axle as well.

You are very, very lucky. The wheel was in the process of working its way off the stub axle. The inner bearing race is completely shot. You can see the rollers are flat where they've simply worn out. One of the worst I've seen to be honest.

I'd replace the stub axle, hubs and bearings as a matter of course.

Glad you made it back okay.

[spartacus]

Originally Posted by beamishken

Sounds like your helpfull aa man couldn't be bothered or didnt have much idea. As long as the threads and retaining nut were intact you could of got it rolling. You might have had to dress the shaft a bit with a file to get the new hub on.

A little unfair in my opinion.

The axle is completely shot. This isn't simply a set of worn bearings that can be replaced or repacked with grease. That trailer axle looks like it's been neglected for years. The stub axle needs to be clean prior to installing new bearings. It has more than surface rust, it probably has structural corrosion. Imagine the OP had hit a pothole... the wheel would be overtaking him!

The castle nut will probably damage the thread when it's undone, not to mention the thrust washers are goosed. Right call in my opinion from AA - that way the OP can get home safely, courtesy of low-loader.

[freespirit3]

Sorry to hear of your hassle today. I am glad that you are alright now though and your investment intact.

Hopefully the seller will be reasonable, in a way at least the trailer and boat are secure on the aa truck. To be fair to you with the distance fixing the problem on route would have been difficult for you in unfamiliar surroundings.

It looks like a bramber trailer like the humber, you should be able to get hub assemblies from trailer companies, tow sure have them. And ones that match the wheel size and Pcd.

In my experience so many people take care of their boats and then leave the trailer. Those bearings have not seen any maintenance for a very long time.

Let me know how you get on. If I am close by travelling could pop in and have a look at the setup if that helps you.

[Dan Gurney]

Originally Posted by Vincent Vega

It's an expensive lesson though.

Welcome to the world of boat ownership!

As a relative noob myself I'm getting a very strong " there but for the grace of God..." feeling about this one. Glad you made it home in one piece.

Right, I'm off to check the small print on my recovery policy....

[Chris]

your lucky plod did not stop for a chat I doubt that a 5 meter rib, engine and un-braked trailer are within the towing limits of the car...

[freespirit3]

Originally Posted by Chris

your lucky plod did not stop for a chat I doubt that a 5 meter rib, engine and un-braked trailer are within the towing limits of the car...

Well within, I think the Alhambra is good for at least 1800 or 2000kg towing, excellent tow vehicle, I bet your set up is around the 1000kg weight so I don't think any issues.

[wavelength]

except its unbraked and on your figures a tonne perhaps!

[PeterM]

Originally Posted by Chris

your lucky plod did not stop for a chat I doubt that a 5 meter rib, engine and un-braked trailer are within the towing limits of the car...

Give him a break....he's had a crap day already.

I very very much doubt it needs to be braked.

[spartacus]

Originally Posted by Chris

your lucky plod did not stop for a chat I doubt that a 5 meter rib, engine and un-braked trailer are within the towing limits of the car...

Zodiac Pro 9-man dry weight is 230kg or there about not including console, seating, A-frame or fuel, say another 50kg, Honda 50hp (2005) in region of 92kg, plus trailer, say another 200kg tops.

Unbraked trailer 750kg well within limit for Alhambra.

Don't see the police having any interest in this from a weight or length point of view, other than the condition of the trailer which we all agree is atrocious.

[Chris Caton]

Originally Posted by PeterM

Give him a break....he's had a crap day already.

I very very much doubt it needs to be braked.

+1 tomorrow is another day, time to ponder rebuilding existing hubs, bearings etc or a complete new axle, tonight is the time to be grateful it didn't turn out much worse, and a lesson for everyone else

[freespirit3]

Originally Posted by wavelength

except its unbraked and on your figures a tonne perhaps!

Sorry I meant 750kg, basically this set up is well within the law

At least he will be home safely now

[Vincent Vega]

After this experience I think I'm luckier than I deserve. Unfortunately I took this guys word for it when he told me that he'd done the bearings, although in all honesty I wouldn't have known the difference. I'm just thankful that nothing worse happened. I know ignorance isn't a good enough excuse so I'll definitely be looking to learn more about the general maintenance of the boat and trailer.

Now that the boat's at work, one thing that's immediately obvious is that the trailer for the Zodiac is much narrower than the Humbers trailer. The Humber trailer goes almost to the outer edge of the tubes whereas the Zodiacs trailer goes, from memory, only to the inner edge of the tubes.

Anyway, just wanted to say thanks again for all the helpful tips and pointers and offers of help, it really is appreciated. :-)

I can't wait to get them both out on the Menai Straits. :-)

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by spartacus

A little unfair in my opinion.

The axle is completely shot. This isn't simply a set of worn bearings that can be replaced or repacked with grease. That trailer axle looks like it's been neglected for years. The stub axle needs to be clean prior to installing new bearings. It has more than surface rust, it probably has structural corrosion. Imagine the OP had hit a pothole... the wheel would be overtaking him!

The castle nut will probably damage the thread when it's undone, not to mention the thrust washers are goosed. Right call in my opinion from AA - that way the OP can get home safely, courtesy of low-loader.

I was agreeing with shineyshoe & wasnt implying a pemanent fix & agree the stub is probably goosed but with a little ingenuity & some basic hand tools a temprary repair could have been made to get him the final 80 miles home at a reduced speed at a saving of around £250

he had already done 3hours say 150 miles? so structural strength of assembly reasonably proven especially the hammering it would be getting with a failed bearing

wasnt being critical of the op but aa men are not always the best people to advise its not their money is it? much easier & less dirt on their hands to call a truck out

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Vincent Vega

I'm just lucky I decided to stop after 3 hours of driving, I had planned to drive straight through and if I had the boat, and possibly the car would have been littered over the A1. It could have been worse and I'll certainly learn from the experience. As we tow to Spain each year I'll make sure our breakdown policy covers the trailer as well and not just the vehicle.

I'm not suggesting that the vendor is blameless (far from it) but a 5 hour drive non stop towing an unknown trailer isn't necessarily a smart move. I'd never tow a trailer for 5 hours without stopping to check all was OK after a bit (when the hubs would obviously have been hot). Especially a new/unknown trailer. HGV drivers are required to take rests - driving for that long and maintaining proper alertness is difficult; add in your extra stopping distance and it seems to be asking for trouble.

Whilst I'd like to think if I was the vendor I would not have let it happen, and if I somehow had, would want to put you right, I might take the stance that if you had taken the reasonable precaution of having the right breakdown cover then you wouldn't have a huge recovery bill. Likewise if you had checked the hub after say 20 miles the problem would have been obvious and could have been replaced locally for £50.

I'm not simply trying to be smart after the event - there will be other people who read this and will go on to make similar journeys.

[Chris Caton]

Originally Posted by Vincent Vega

I can't wait to get them both out on the Menai Straits. :-)

given your recent towing experience, just wondered how you're going to two both ribs to Nth Wales, could be an interesting combination