:-c: Can someone help with my trailer, it sat in a shed for 7 or so years, Tyers are on the list, do you grease the towball, and the hitch that spins around do you remove and repack it with grease, wheel bearings, any particular type of bearing, is there any other bits that need use of my 500 litre drum of marine grease. All information will gladly received. 
Cheers Gary

What brand of trailer is it?

In the absence of specific knowledge of the trailer, 

• Tyres, as you said
  
• Coupling - lubricate all moving parts. Some opt to not lubricate the ball part as it may collect dust. If you do, just lightly.
  
• Electrical - I advise replacing the lights with LED units (not LED bulbs in existing units) as many trailer lights are poor quality. Even cheap LED units are often quite OK. Check connections and cable security.
  
• Wheel bearings as you said. Most here in Oz use tapered rollers, so re-pack and adjust. If ball races, check carefully and consider replacing if you don't know age and history.
  
• Suspension - don't know what type, but check all components and moving parts. Replace bushes as necessary
  
• Finally, general structure - is anything looking rusty or likely to break off? Covers? Lids? Hinges and catches thereof?
  

Bill

RicK G wrote:What brand of trailer is it?

Yeah as soon as I posted it, I realised i Had forgot to add the make, brain fade. It's a classic ind ultra lite 2004 model in black, yes I should have also taken a pic before its maiden trip, but was hanging out to go for a spin. Pic will come soon.

Thanks Bill and Rick

Tyers somewhere I read that maybe Rick had a preferred size tyre.

Coupling no grease on towbal (yep they collect dust, will clean the inch of grease off the one on the 4x4)

Lubricate all moving parts!?!?? Lanoline, wd40, grease, the only moving part is the hitch that does 360s. Maybe there's more

Electrical, yep learnt the hard way, bought led bulbs  have now ordered complete led unit thru eBay 

Wheel bearings, will repack or replace when new rubber is fitted

Suspension, hope Rick imparts some wisdom on me

Thank you both, sorry if the questions seem a bit basic, but the brain don't work as well as is , what was the question again.

Garyk100 wrote:Thanks Bill and Rick

Tyers somewhere I read that maybe Rick had a preferred size tyre.

Lubricate all moving parts!?!?? Lanoline, wd40, grease, the only moving part is the hitch that does 360s. Maybe there's more

Suspension, hope Rick imparts some wisdom on me

Not being familiar with bike trailer couplings, but speaking generically again.
Since you don't mention grease nipples I presume it doesn't have them. If possible, dismantle the hitch shaft that rotates, clean and reassemble with your marine grease. Unless there is a good reason otherwise, I use marine grease for everything for its resistance to road water and grime. I find it doesn't go hard as readily as others. Not necessarily suitable for braked hubs, depending.

Preferred tyre size is

1. The same as you have so you don't have to replace wheels.  Subject to to size being common enough to be able to find replacements while on tour if necessary
   
2. If there is a choice of profile/aspect ratio, I'd go higher rather than lower for smoother ride for your trailer contents. Reverse that if you plan to ride like you're in a Moto GP with the trailer on. 
   

Bill

mine has leaf springs , I wd40 these as i reckon they are a moving part .

I use 13" wheels with Nankang 155 x 55 x 13 tyres which can be run flat if necessary DAMHIK without damage because of the light load. Wheels are usually Ford Laser as they are easy to get or Gemini which has a good selection of mags (same as early 318i BMW 4 stud) hubs are easily available. I use 3 leaf springs with the small bottom leaf removed ( DON'T use single leaf they will break) I also use a 11/2 pipe axle welded to the stubs so the main roads approve with the usual trailer tapered roller bearings (Holden) also use Munroe shocks for a Mini.
A special hitch which is available from me with load distribution bars and anti sway made to suit your trailer. They work well and I have never had a complaint or a warranty claim.
I will give anyone who wants them plans for all but the load distribution bars (I own the patent)

+1 on including dampers (shock absorbers).
I suspect classic mini rear shocks might be better matched to the load of a bike trailer and contents, but Rick G will be the guru to take notice of.

Leaf springs have some inherent damping due to friction between the leaves, but with only 2 leaves as per Rick G's recommendation that is limited, and even with more leaves its still far from ideal. 

I installed mini shocks on a 4 leaf boat trailer for noticeable improvement in ride and stability. (A bit out of the league of bike trailers I know, but the principle carries across.)

Bill

indian036 wrote:

Garyk100 wrote:Thanks Bill and Rick

Tyers somewhere I read that maybe Rick had a preferred size tyre.

Lubricate all moving parts!?!?? Lanoline, wd40, grease, the only moving part is the hitch that does 360s. Maybe there's more

Suspension, hope Rick imparts some wisdom on me

Not being familiar with bike trailer couplings, but speaking generically again.
Since you don't mention grease nipples I presume it doesn't have them. If possible, dismantle the hitch shaft that rotates, clean and reassemble with your marine grease. Unless there is a good reason otherwise, I use marine grease for everything for its resistance to road water and grime. I find it doesn't go hard as readily as others. Not necessarily suitable for braked hubs, depending.

Preferred tyre size is

1. The same as you have so you don't have to replace wheels.  Subject to to size being common enough to be able to find replacements while on tour if necessary
   
2. If there is a choice of profile/aspect ratio, I'd go higher rather than lower for smoother ride for your trailer contents. Reverse that if you plan to ride like you're in a Moto GP with the trailer on. 
   

Bill

My trailer uses 10" wheels.
Looked at a price for new tyres, they are 15 years old and cracked. Wheels need painting too.
Best price was to go and buy 2 new wheels complete with the tyres on them.

I think I have a standard classic ind trailer,
[url=https://servimg.com/view/18791023/72][/url]

Whoops sorry about the 2 pics, been a while since I have used that function, seems a bit different to the last time.
That's my grandson Tarvis helping

First question, tyres. I have 13 year old Kings tyres 5.00 - 10 tube type with 5 stud rims 4ex10, can't afford new rims, so any recommendations on replacement rubber
[url=https://servimg.com/view/18791023/74][/url]

The 10" wheels that classic uses are the cheapest you can buy. The centre is machined for bearings or for a "holden" hub
Where the tyre sits is very rarely machined and you need to use a tube and there are no safety beads. To put it bluntly they are a piece of crap. I have seen these wheels running 5mm out of centre from new. The tyres are crossply and most of the suspension is by letting the tyres down to about 15psi which wears them out very quickly and very unevenly.
I have seen one of those trailers bounce so hard that it turned over, yes upside down and know of several others that have done the same.
If the tube punctures you will have an out of control trailer and quite likely also the bike. My sister in law crashed her brand new R1200gs because of a flat tyre on a classic trailer.
The rough suspension is a result of using the rubber block ALCO suspension which is designed for a 750kg box trailer and not a 250kg all up bike trailer and as a result the trailer will spend about half the time in the air on one wheel and quite often with both wheels of the road. Imagine what happens when both wheels leave the ground in a tight corner, you have a pendulum swinging on the towbar.
The 13" set up I described is 10mm larger in diameter than the 10" wheels so will fit under the wheel arches but an extension is needed to cover the tyre and is available from any 4x4 shop.
Every time I see a classic trailer suspension my blood runs cold.
The fibreglass work is very good but the chassis and suspension leave a lot to be desired.
I could go on and on about crappy trailers and the turds selling them :smoke:

Thanks Rick,
Ok so new hubs and wheels to start with, as the setup now is 5 stud Holden ht I think. so I will go 4 stud as ht rims are hard to find.

I use 114.3pcd hubs which are commonly called toyota. they take lots of the 4 stud jap wheels or the gemini/BMW/Suzuki which are 100mm pcd. Check out wreckers as they very often have really good mags that are 1 shy of a set.

Rick G popped up a good post here.

I was about to add a bit about the suspension units, generally 'Indespension' here but the same rubber blocks and commonly used on boat trailers too. They rely on a torsion effect and have no adjustment at all. Not good unladen and even at 150kg limit that's 75kg a wheel is also effectively unladen meaning plenty of bounce and hop.

88 and myself have been discussing these and our roads are not good so its an issue for us. My Erde 142 uses them and bounces like mad when its empty.

Our legal weight limit is 150kg and with a width limit of 1m a high trailer with bouncy suspension is not a good idea. A set up using adjustable motorcycle rear shocks would probably be a better bet.

Thanks for the replies, so crashit industries trailer nonspension is a "hard" problem, will take the advice with the hubs and wheels and Tyers  thank you Rick.
I am handy with the mig welder, as I just modified a tow bar from 1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmuller "motorcycle" to fit my K.

Like many others I have a tight budget, my first thought was source a used axle with springs, but from what. The motorcycle shocks sound good, disable the nonsuspension but still use the mounting points for the hub holders, is there enough room under there to fit shocks
,

This trailer was spotted some time back. I could not make out the suspension arrangement and it has the look of a hard tail. The plastic moulded body is quite lightweight.

I don't think you will have much success with shocks and that rubber suspension, there is very little movement in it.

I had a few of those rubber suspension units on boat trailers when I was towing a Flying Fifteen and also a small runabout. They are very hard and very little travel unless fully loaded. My Erde trailer bounces like mad when its empty but fully loaded to its 600kg rating it then does fine. I suspect a set up like an Earles fork might work provided you don't use all your maximum 1m width as your wheel space.

The suspension units don't seem to dismantle, its like the hub and its arm are simply moulded into the rubber block.

We have a bit more width to play with here in Queensland it's 1220mm or 4ft

Ok, leaf springs are the go, will be easy to weld on to the existing trailer frame as long as the frame is not made of recycled coke cans 

Garyk100 wrote:Ok, leaf springs are the go, will be easy to weld on to the existing trailer frame as long as the frame is not made of recycled coke cans 

I was hoping this post on the new trailer section would be general maintenance for trailers, but it's now about suspension modifications, when I source the axle and springs I will start another topic dedicated to  modifying a classic ind trailer. If all goes well I will put up pics and details, no I better start that new topic now, someone may already know where to source the parts.