Some trailer advice please

[Aaron_Fogarty]

Gday
I have a 5.3 tinnie on a new belco custom trailer. It is a single axel trailer with mechanical over ride brakes. I have been moved from brisbane to darwin with work and am in the process of preparing for the long tow up the top end.

I have fished the daly river a few times in the past and Ive seen the punishment boats and trailers recieve getting towed offroad up there.

For all you NT trailer boat owners do you have any advice for me on trailer hardware.? Is 4wd rims and tyres recommended?
At the moment I have 14" ford rims on it.
regards Aaron

[Payneful]

Aaron

I am not a NT trailer boat owner but I went into building an offroad trailer a few months ago. The bloke at the trailer shop advised me not to put 4wd tyres on the boat trailer, the reason being is that the larger diameter tyres have more leverage on the axle and you're more likely to snap it. He recommended to use light truck tyres.

Another thing i would be checking is to see if your bearings are ford or holden and the size of your axle. The ford bearings are a slimline bearing so the axle is about 3mm thicker than a holden bearing setup. Apparantly an extra 3mm makes a lot of difference.

As far as springs go, your better off with the springs that are attached at both ends (ie shackles) rather than the "slipper" type spings found on most smaller boat trailers.

Call up a few trailer places and see what they have to say, the information that was passed on to me was by a bloke in Cairns who has been is the trailer industry for over 25 years and had seen broker trailers coming back from the cape etc. He seemed quite knowledgeable.

Cheers

Sam.

[Glug]

What long tow Aaron? Darwin is just up the road from Brisbane.
If your trailer is not designed for off road don't take it far off road or chances are you will break some thing. Seeing that you are moving don't overload your trailer if you intend leaving sealed roads. If you have to carry a lot in the trailer stick to sealed roads and explore later just take your time and relax. Sam gave you some good advice to help you judge how good your trailer is. Some trailer places use second hand tyres or retreads on new trailers, I don't know what Belco uses but used tyres are not a good risk off road or long distances with a heavy load. Most guys go for same hubs on off road trailers because they can use the same spares for trailer and fourby. If trailer hub size is different it is pointless paying heaps for off road tyres.

[Aaron_Fogarty]

Thanks guys
I have got ford hubs with the slim line bearings and the thicker axel but the spings are the single leaf parabolic type. they are set up only attached towards the front of the trailer the rear of the spring is in the slide configuration. I intend to do alot of offroad stuff with the trailer up north as the move will be at least 3 years.

thanks guys for the advice
regards Aaron

[Glug]

ganbatte ne

[Scott_Mitchell]

Sam:What was the trailer makers views on tandem axels vers- single axels for off road work if any ?

I'm currently working towards a new trailer as well to take my 475 hornet into Weipa next year ;)

Regards Scotto

www.alpineangler.com.au

[Payneful]

Scott

I didn't ask him on his views as far as single vs tandem. In my opinion a single would be better because its one less set of tyres to worry about as well as the whole trailer setup would be lighter. Tandem might be better if you intend to load the trailer up a bit, although i would try and keep the all up weight down to a minimum. Less all up weight, less load on everything and better fuel economy to boot. Oh and if you go make sure you carry plenty of spare bolts and nuts, because you are sure to loose a few. (I gently damage the thread just above the nut with a centre punch so if it does come loose you don't loose the nut, and you can still undo it if required)

Cheers

Sam

[megafish71]

Hey Aaron,
Most of the roads to the major rivers in the NT are now sealled. It's only places like Shady Camp and Leaders creek/ saltwater arm boat ramps that are likely to be dirt for a while. Even the road to Dundee Beach is slowly but surely being sealed. During my 7 years in the Territroy I had no trouble with boat trailers, just remember that you are towing a boat and drive to the road conditions (keep the speed down on the dirt). The only modifications I made to the tandem trailer I had was changing the springs to a soft spring( note not lighter, not smaller and definately not heavier) just softer riding springs. The biggest problem with most trailer set ups is the springs are to hard, thus not soaking up the bumps but transferring the energy to the rest of the trailer (particularly the wheel bearings) and the boat. I have come across guys in the NT with pretty dam heavy duty boat trailers with collapsed wheel bearings. Most of these guys were complaining about the poor quality of the wheel bearings as they may have only changed them a few months earlier. The other thing all of these guys said was " I wish that you could get boats built as tough as my trailer" seams most were having troubles with hulls cracking. For three years with my 5.6 quintrex and tandem trailer not once did I have a bearing failure or a problem with any part of my boat cracking, but I didn't tow it like I just stole it either. BTW most places I fished required considerable amount of towing both on the highway and along the dirt. Just keep the maint up on the trailer and the speed down and you should have no problems. The only other thing you should consider is some good quality covers for your boat. This will help to keep the stone chips down and help keep the dust out of the boat. All the best and your moving to the best part of Australia...... Lucky Boy.

[Aaron_Fogarty]

Thanks mate
Good advice on the springs I never thought about spring temper before. Mate thats a great cover , obviously a custom jobby.
The advice is appreciated
regards Aaron

[Jeno]

Hi Arron
Just did the Weiper trip for the third time towing a boat. First two times 395 Stacer proline standard redco trailer no probs.
This year 4.1 Sea Jay special trailer built by Sea Link, Smashed everything. Both springs "all leaves", spare wheel holder and wheel fell off and is somewhere in the scrub between here and Weipa, two of the four jerry can holders, both lights smashed, both mud guardes cracked.
What I have learnt is
1. Do not get too heavy a frame as adds so much weight to setup
2. Have full length keel support.
3. Use Landcruiser springs "Not Galvanized". softer with more travel
4. Use Treg tow hitch.
5. Replace Springs before every long offroad trip.
6. Fully weld Trailer including all roller and skid support.
7. Do not have a multi roller trailer.
8. Have V nose block on bow instead of Roller.
If you want some pictures emailed to you of a trailer I took photo's of up there let me know, is a ripper.
And finally and this is from the owner of the Coen Mechanical workshop (where we replaced both sets of springs), who has been in the Cape for 30 years.
NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO YOU WILL NEVER EVER STOP TRAILERS FROM BREAKING UP HERE.
Stephen.