A trailer dilemma, wwyd?

holeymoley

holeymoley

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 November 2012
Messages
4,826
Visit site
I got my first trailer a few years ago. It is an old type - Bahill of anyone knows of them. We got it purely because at the time we had a small 4 x 4 and wanted a light trailer. We got it serviced and basically re done the full braking system, electrics etc, but left the wooden floor as man said it was very good. Due to various reasons, it hasn't moved since last march :( and I have reason to believe that water has got in and has soaked into the sides of the wooden floor :rolleyes: so I'm adamant I will get it sorted before it gets used again.

I phoned up our trailer servicer, who has said that these days wooden floors get ripped out and replaced with aluminium which is absolutely fine, more piece of mind for me, and the price will be around £300, that's fine too I wasn't expecting anything less. But my dilemma is , is it worth it? The trailer is roughly nearly 30 years old :eek: it's been a fab trailer, and well made for it still to be running but do i want to spend money on it? I can see bits of rust appearing in places. OH has just bought a brand new 4x4 as well and without sounding snooty, it does look a bit 'tired' compared to it. So really what I'm needing is a kick up the arse (!) and a decision to be made. I could max out the finances and buy a brand new Ifor single and sell the current one as it is :confused: or I could put money to the floor and spruce it up on the outside :confused: Don't really want to buy second hand as cant be sure oh history and most ifors are almost the same region as a brand new one!


Arrrgggghhhhh! :(
 
£300 on your Bahill will give you several years more use and is less than it will cost the moment a new Ifor becomes secondhand.

I have a similar rice Beaufort and will be replacing the floor this year. That and a coat of paint will give a few more years and it will cost less per year than the insurance on a new trailer.
 
Spend the money on the floor!!! The little bits of rust can easily be sanded down and tidied up - give it a good coat of Hammerite too. Then give the whole thing a lick of paint and you will have many more years of service! :D

I have an Ifor and would rather just put a new floor in that for a few hundred when the time comes rather than spend thousands on a new one!
 
Thank you both, mind swayed and bank balance safe! :D looks like ill need to stick up on some black and white hammerite! :o
 
Yes just fix it up. No point buying an Ifor and not moving it for 12 months. Do the work, if you find you are using it loads and want to upgrade, you will get your money back on the smartened up old one anyway :)
 
Just to let you's know I'm going to keep it :D we towed it out for the first time in 11months last night and it went like brand new. The only thing that was a bit temperamental was one of the side lights but it worked with a bit of footering around- I think the damp had got into it as discovered a crack in the cover. The floor is solid but I now know that I can put £300 aside and get it done for piece of mind. I now need to stock up on some black and white paint and hope for a dry day!

Oh and another thing, the people before me made a back door for the top of the ramp. It is quite heavy ,hence why I haven't managed to put it up, but we also noticed part of the hinge has gone on its travels !:(. Ideally I'd like *fantasises*. Two half doors on the back but I need to find someone who'd be able to do that. Any other ideas? Tarpaulin? I believe when the trailer first came out it had some kind of material-type cover that you pinned on....
 
gosh, that lit an old lightbulb in my head! A friend had a Bahill when we were young, and it did indeed have heavy taupaulin that pinned up with special twisty things. Think caravan awning material type taupaulin.

If you find a metalworker in your area, they would probably be able to make you some lightweight metal doors to measure for the back. If you're Northwest/West Yorks area I could point you to someone who would.
 
I had an old Bahill trailer, it had a roll up/down rear cover with the eyelets and twisty things to fix it. doesit look like it had any fixings along the top or top of the ramp?.. A caravan workshop may be able to make one up for you?
 
Hmmm I can't remember off hand but I will check tomorrow, and may take some photos for you!
I'm in the west of Scotland so not near unfortunately. Ill check out some caravan sites and see if I could fix up something myself.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top