Which Trailer

Bigplumbs

Bigplumbs

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I have received two very similar prices for a new trailer for my Sealine S24

The prices are each very close to £3850 including VAT

These are bunked trailers that I feel will be best for the occasional use it will be put to

One is from SBS and the other is Indespension

Any experiences and view as to which is best SBS or Indespension

Thanks

Dennis
 
The main difference between the two is that the SBS has sealed wheel bearings and the Indespension has taper bearings with bearing buddies.
If you never put the hubs in the water then sealed bearings are long lasting and maintenance free. If you do put them in the water then they may fail prematurely and are harder to change at the roadside without carrying bearing presses and a high capacity torque wrench. The main issue is that unless the bearings are stone cold when dunked, they can draw water in past the seals as they cool down rapidly in the water.
Taper bearings with bearing savers, if used properly suffer less from this problem as the grease in the hub is kept under slight positive pressure and a spring loaded diaphragm moves to reduce the volume in the hub on cooling hence not sucking in water. If you do have to change at the road side it is comparatively easy.
If you are making very short low speed trips to launch you may not notice the difference in bearing life, as they wont get hot and wont get hammered.
I have an SBS bunked trailer at the moment for my Sea Ray 240. Since fitting new bearings and refurbing the brakes when I bought it I have not put it in the water. Apart from launch and recovery by crane at each end of the season we go to the South of France each year. It tows solid and I have no issues with it. I have been trying to look at ways of being able to self launch without dunking the hubs and cant see how to do it as it is two high and too heavy to winch off when high and dry.
Previous to this boat we had a 21ft cuddy on a bunked trailer (Nicholson) with taper bearings and bearing savers. Fully dunked every week end during the summer and annual trips to Europe for 5 years. Never had a problem. I dont think that would have been the case with sealed bearings.
Also the SBS is fully welded whereas the Indespension has some cross members held by U clamps.
By the way, bunked trailers of this size do come up fairly regularly on the used market, usually 2k to 2.5k for something decent. Its the roller ones that are harder to come by.
 
stelican said:
I used various SBS trailers for over 20 yrs without any problems.
Your quoted price seems low are you sure you have got the capacity right.
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I think that price is the difference between phoning up and that Online

I have an email with the correct trailer and the price quoted so that will do me

Dennis
 
Bigplumbs said:
I think that price is the difference between phoning up and that Online

I have an email with the correct trailer and the price quoted so that will do me

Dennis
Click to expand...

Very good reply from CLB.
I had a look at capacity are you aware it only leaves you about 200kg above dry weight, Don,t suppose it matters to you if only local movements.
 
stelican said:
Very good reply from CLB.
I had a look at capacity are you aware it only leaves you about 200kg above dry weight, Don,t suppose it matters to you if only local movements.
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I think I will have more to spare than 200kg

The boat dry is supposed to be 2100 kg and the SBS trailer should be 750 kg

That should allow 650 kg over dry weight for stuff and the possibility that the manufacturers underdo the stated weights

So say 60 ltre fuel and no water so being generous with fluids 100kg of liquid still allows half a ton for stuff

Should be ok

Dennis
 
I have had boats all around the 22 -24 length.
Both had different trailers, One with rollers one with bunks.
And I had some bad experiences. (maintenance wise)
Trailer 1. Satellite Trailer. (Bought in France) On Rollers. Had a design flaw. They have a grease nipple on the wheel bearing hub, the idea is that you pump grease in the hub and at the back of the hub there is a valve which allows excess grease out. so effectively any water which gets past the oil seals can be flushed out.
The snag is that the valve is not stainless steel and the chrome ball bearing started to rust as soon as you immersed the trailer into the water with the result that if one seized and you started pumping grease in it would blow the wheel oil seals and start coating the brake drums with grease. The good news is that replacement bearings are really cheap and brake linings can be bought from an Indespension Outlet.
(Why did they stop riveting brake linings to the brake shoes and relied on glue)

Trailer 2. A Indespension Trailer. ( On Bunks) and quite old, With boats and trailers I will never again believe "I have serviced them myself" as a excuse for not having to take the brake drums off when buying a boat and trailer.
The brakes failed, what had happened was that the brake linings had absorbed salt water and one lining had detached from the brake shoe and stuck behind the other one causing the wheel to lock.
I found that using a trailer with rollers far easier to use than one with bunks.
Especially on a slipway when pulling a boat uphill onto a trailer. (In fact I bent the bracket on the winch)
I would buy a Roller Trailer from SBS, because of the sealed bearings.

PS, I ended up carrying spare wheel bearings with me (and joined the RAC) just in case I had a problem and I could hand the bearings to the RAC man.
Also over the winter to stop thieves I would take a wheel off complete with brake hub, (just under the castle nut and pull) 5 minutes,
 
Bigplumbs said:
I think I will have more to spare than 200kg

The boat dry is supposed to be 2100 kg and the SBS trailer should be 750 kg

That should allow 650 kg over dry weight for stuff and the possibility that the manufacturers underdo the stated weights

So say 60 ltre fuel and no water so being generous with fluids 100kg of liquid still allows half a ton for stuff

Should be ok

Dennis
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I assumed you were going for the 3000 not 3500, SBS are the best
 
DiscoVolante said:
Not sure about SBS being the best but they're very good. Brenderup / DeGraaff are also worth considering.
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I’ve had both SBS and Indespension, all sorts of problems with both. What I’ve noticed travelling through Europe is that the rigs used over there are far superior and presumably more expensive. Worth having a look especially if you are planning longer trips in the future.
Just another point if travelling abroad, don’t think you can stop overnight in “aires”. Gangs raid such overnight sleepers, choose a campsite.
 
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Bigplumbs said:
I think I will have more to spare than 200kg

The boat dry is supposed to be 2100 kg and the SBS trailer should be 750 kg

That should allow 650 kg over dry weight for stuff and the possibility that the manufacturers underdo the stated weights

So say 60 ltre fuel and no water so being generous with fluids 100kg of liquid still allows half a ton for stuff

Should be ok

Dennis
Click to expand...

We were a tad heavy when we were towed up to Scotland last summer. Don't under estimate how much weight gets added to a boat over time.

The S23 is supposed to be 2400kg dry weight but with a few extra factory fitted extras such as a holding tank, heating, trim tabs, nav gear plus all of the clobber you add day to day it is easy to have the weight creeping up. to the limit.

We have considered getting a trailer and tow car but have decided that for the amount of time we will be able to actually tow the boat and use it (we are limited to four weeks holiday a year) then it just isn't worth it. For what little it costs to get the boat moved we let someone else have the hassle of loading, towing and unloading again.

We are heading to the Thames for a couple of weeks this summer. It will cost us less to get towed there and back then the fuel to get there by water plus we get the whole two weeks on the Thames without the worry of the weather scuppering our plans.
 
DavidJ said:
Just another point if travelling abroad, don’t think you can stop overnight in “aires”. Gangs raid such overnight sleepers, choose a campsite.
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Do you have experience of this? In all the years we have been using aires for stop overs we have never had a problem or had cause for concern.
 
For that size boat I wouldn't get a bunked trailer, rollers so much better and you don't need to back the car in so far to launch.
Also make sure they are articulated rollers, if your buying new you may as well get the right one.
 
I agree rollers can make launching easier however Boston Whaler for example recommend you don't use them because of the pressure they exert on parts of the hull. Invariably you can also damage chines when launching and recovering with rollers. I've owned both - just depends on what boat you have, how often you launch and the slip / tide range you can use regularly.
 
That depends on your definition of best. A lot of components on trailers - including SBS - are 3rd party manufactured so ultimately it's the chassis you're paying for. The design of this, quality of build, additional custom features available etc I would put Brenderup above SBS any day of the week. For the money, however, SBS are hard to beat and I've owned twin & triple axle, bunk and roller versions that they produce.
 
DiscoVolante said:
That depends on your definition of best. A lot of components on trailers - including SBS - are 3rd party manufactured so ultimately it's the chassis you're paying for. The design of this, quality of build, additional custom features available etc I would put Brenderup above SBS any day of the week. For the money, however, SBS are hard to beat and I've owned twin & triple axle, bunk and roller versions that they produce.
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So be it SBS for Mr Plums!
 
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