Walker trailing log – which is better, Mk III or Mk IIIA?

[MJBorley]

Assuming both units have had the same amount of use, which is better constructed, a Mk III or a IIIA? Looking at the cut away diagram of the IIIA it would appear to have ball bearings on the shaft where the III just has a plain (plastic?) bearing surface and the ball bearings would seem a better design to me. However, the Mk III comes with metal spinners while the IIIA comes with plastic ones, which would suggest some cost-cutting went on in the later production.

So, given the trade off between improved design and possible economies introduced in the production of the newer unit, which is better overall, the Mk III or IIIA?

Not a burning question of the minute, but maybe someone out there will have experience they can share with me!

Many thanks,
Mark

 

[Blueboatman]

Well if its a choice between plastic bearings and plastic spinners I would expect the spinner to outlast the bearing

 

[tobble]

is there any chance you could get your hands on metal spinners separately? Just a thought, I guess those are the bits that generally get lost, which would make them less likely to pick up on ebay, but more likely to be available from a supplier? but my feeling would be to agree with blueboatman, the spinner probably doesn't suffer much in the longevity steaks if it's plastic rather than metal, but the bearings will, so go for the IIIA. then again, the 'metal' of the ball bearings would have to be something corrosion resistant, or the plastic one would certainly out last it!

 

[VicS]

[ QUOTE ]
the III just has a plain (plastic?) bearing surface

[/ QUOTE ] Unlikely to have plastic. A sintered bronze would have been more likely I would have thought

 

[Woodlouse]

Dunno much about the MkIII but recently towed a MkIV (with a metal spinner) to Portugal and it performed admirably. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif