As I mentioned in my last blog, I was now well in to renovating a BSA A10 Super Rocket and was already trying to figure out how I could get two bikes to a vintage rally and still stay overnight. What I really wanted to do was to display the Lambretta and the BSA A10 side by side in a "Mods & Rockers" display at rallies.
After quite a bit of consideration, I realised that, despite suggesting that she would go with me to rallies, my wife had preferred to visit the rallies and go home at night. This meant that I really didn't need sleeping accommodation for two people. So I started looking for a box trailer large enough to take two bikes. The idea being that I could do the opposite with the trailer that I had done to the caravans. In other words instead of converting a caravan to a trailer, I would now convert a trailer into a caravan.
After quite a bit of searching on the Internet, I finally found one on Ebay and made a bid on it and won.I had to drive to Chelmsford in Essex to fetch it. A 280 mile round trip. Upon inspection, the trailer itself looked quite solid, although the hand brake didn't work and, when I got it hooked up to the car, I found that the rear lights didn't work either. Fortunately the indicators did. Well I didn't expect it to be perfect and the price I won it for was half the price of others on the Internet, so I went ahead with the purchase.The next problem was getting it home, in the dark with no lights. I decided to find the nearest Halfords, in the hope that it was just failed lamps and swap them. Halfords was only about 4 miles away and they were willing to change the lamps, which they tried, but the problem was not lamps. So I settled for buying some bicycle battery rear lamps and fixing them to the back of the trailer with cable ties and commenced the 140 mile trip home.
Now having spent quite a few years towing caravans, I was quite used to the sensation in the car as you apply the brakes and feel the caravan brakes come on a fraction of a second later. I noticed that this sensation was not there. In fact I seemed to be getting no braking effect from the trailer at all. So I was pretty sure that I would need to overhaul the brakes when I got it back to the workshop before putting expensive vintage bikes in it.
Well the bicycle lamps worked well enough for me to get home and get the trailer into my workshop, where I could finally get a good look at it. I was informed that a previous owner had used it as a mobile dog grooming parlour, which explained why there was a outdoor water tap fitted on the outside along with internal divisions and mains wiring. But first I needed to look at the lights and brakes.Proper inspection revealed that the main 6 core cable, connecting the trailer to the car, was virtually severed under the trailer leaving only the indicator cables intact. Fortunately my business keeps that cable in stock, so I decided to replace the whole cable and after an hour on my back, under the trailer, the new cable was fitted and the lights now worked.
So the next thing for attention was the brakes and that held a big surprise. This Trailer is rated at 711kg load capacity. Consequently it was fitted with brakes to all four wheels to prevent the trailer pushing the car forward during braking.When I removed the brake drums I found that there were "NO BRAKES". Someone had removed all four brakes completely and, by the look of the brake drums, they had been missing for some time.I was very angry. This was potentially lethal. I had experienced a caravan brake failure on my first small caravan and it pushed me across a junction with only the weight of one bike inside. This trailer with the weight of two bikes inside could kill me. I contacted the seller, who at first was very reluctant to help but, after the exchange of a few strong letters, agreed to pay towards the missing parts.
Now it was time to try and find out what was missing. Caravans and trailers have a strange
mechanical braking system which is connected to the front coupling. As the car brakes the trailer slides forward compressing the coupling under inertia and this action pulls on cables which activate the brakes. However when the car is reversing this also compresses the coupling and there is a strange mechanical system in the brake drum that senses the reverse action of the wheels and kicks off the brakes enabling you to reverse.
Well, as you can see, everything was missing. Furthermore inspection of the actuating cables, joining the brakes to the coupling, also revealed that all four cable were either broken or seized. So the end result was a very large shopping list to be ordered and fitted.The new parts arrived and I then set about trying to work out how they fitted and I must
admit I got it wrong the first time. Firstly I got the wrong size brake shoes and secondly I got the reverse mechanism in backwards on one side, when I forgot to take into account that the direction of rotation is different on each side.
Anyway after a fair bit of trial and error I finally got the brakes to work correctly and with new cables and all four brake drums skimmed, the trailer now brakes brilliantly.
More on the next blog as I start on the interior.
You can contact me on hopcroftscoot@gmail.com
Copyright 26.01.18 all rights reserved.
My Other Blogs:
1961 BSA A10 Super Rocket Motorcycle:
http://60sclassicmotorbikes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/before.html
1961 Ariel Arrow Super Sport Motorcycle :
http://60sclassicmotorbikes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/1961-aerial-golden-arrow-restoration.html
Miniature Land Rover Defender:
http://miniaturelandrover.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/1-miniature-land-rover-defender-idea.html?view=timeslide
1971 VW Karmann Ghia Convertible Car:
http://karmannghiarestoration.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/1-karmann-ghia-retoration-project.htm
