panel problems ifor williams 510

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patbeau

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hi, has anyone had any problems with the panels 'rotting' on the ifor williams 510? i'm selling mine and have been told it needs 4 new panels costing £700 + vat, it all looks pretty solid to me ive never had any problems with it, obviously dont want to sell a dangerous trailer tho, any one else heard bad reports on the 510 panels?
 
I'd get it serviced and ger their opinion.
How old it the trailer?
If it is bad you could sell as s project with a quote as to fixing costs.
Or you could part exchange it.
 
The panels tend to rot out at the back (hindfeet) bottom corner. Take a screwdriver and poke it at the panels on teh outside. If they're rotten, the screwdriver will push into soft material (the panel should feel rockhard, not soft/squidgy).

You can remove/replace the panels by yourself with a few simple tools and a riveter (the roof panels are rivetted to the frame and you need to remove some of them to get the panel in/out on an older (1990s) Ifor.

Reason panels rot at that corner is wet/dung accumulates and squidged to the sides by hooves and trailer-owners tend not to lift the rubber mats and dry the floor/bottoms of inside walls out properly after every single trailer trip so the combination of wet and acid gradually rots that area.
 
Actually the panels rot from the inside outisde in 9 times out of 10 the reason is because the sealant behind the mudguard between the body panel and the framework comes away allowing moisture to run down the panel and the soak upwards.

700 +VAT for 4 panels and labour is a reasonable quote
 
I recently sold my very old (22 yrs) 505 even though the original floor had started going squidgy in the back left corner. The rest of it was pristine; I was totally honest in my advert, showed all the pics of it, that it did need a new floor and if I didn't get what I wanted for it I would keep and get it done by IWT themselves as the trailer itself would have gone on for ever or certainly as long as I wanted one (I'm 65 so reckoning on another 5 years to go before I hang up my boots completely!) Had loads of phone calls, some silly offers but it was a case of first come will buy and I sold it for £1000 without any trouble.
Depends how old your trailer is to start with but people don't seem to be put off by projects and I've rung after several 510s but they do go very quickly, seemingly in any condition. If you're looking to sell anyway, price up the panels (as you've done) to allow for that and work out what you'd be happy with. I looked at it that mine would have cost £500 plus to have the floor done by IWT which I could have put towards a bigger trailer that I wanted. As it was, I found a VGC Rice Beaufort locally, 11 years old which only cost me an extra £250!
 
thanks guys, i've decided to get a second opinion on the panels, and get the trailer serviced before putting it up for sale. ive poked and prodded and given the panels a good old fashioned kick. i dont use the trailer anymore, my old boys long past his competing days and unfortunately my towing vehicle's died! thanks everso for your input x
 
I bought a 505 which had a soft panel. Looks like were water has gotten in. I think the panel was £350 from Ifor Williams so your quote seems on the cheap side. My Dad replaced them I don't think it was a hard job. The panel took forever to arrive when ordered, I think it was 13 weeks. Ifor weren't very helpful to say the least.
 
510's are like gold dust! I've been looking for a decent one for ages, months & months after being given awful stories about the 511's (newest models have been improved though).
They really hold their price and go for very good money.
The panels do start to rot between the two wheels where the mud and dirt gets in and its an area that gets missed when washed down. Its the first thing we looked at when looking at many trailers!
Finally got one now but we also looked into replacing panels (luckily the one we bought doesn't need it) and its not terribly expensive.
Definitely get a second opinion and advertise it honestly - I'm sure it will be snapped up :)
 
i think they're aluminium panels Tiffany - thanks Ravenwood thats reassuring, i'll get a second opinion before advertising it,
 
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Hi,
New to this forum, but I thought a post on this topic would be useful to all. I have just replaced a side panel (the one with front ramp) and the rear ramp on our HB510R. I had to replace the panel as the side panel had rotted due moisture, and the rear ramp had just crumbled because of wear and tear. The rot had started around the fixings for the front resting bar and it had over a period of time moved down the panel. The panels are made of exterior plywood with a painted outer aluminium coating. Myself and a friend stripped the trailer with basic tools in an afternoon, we found that quite a few of the fixings had corroded due to moisture incursion and were difficult to get out. The panels were ordered from a local dealer and took 4 weeks to arrive. Once they had arrived I sourced all the replacement fixings (nuts bolts, screws etc) from a local fixing company. I decided that I would use stainless steel fixings for a better quality job.
I fitted the panels with two friends in a long afternoon (2-6pm). We kept the old panels so we could use them as a template for the fixing holes on the new panels. The panels went in fairly easily using a few wedges to line up the holes. The last job was to re-mastik the joints.
The two panels cost £380 from my local dealer and overall it was a days work for two people. Three sets of hands makes a significant difference.
The local dealer wanted to charge a £1000 +Vat to do this job so it was a worthwhile investment of my time.
I have found out this year that the panel on the other side (jockey door side) is rotting so I will be replacing that one. The other job this year will be to re-mastik all the joints on the roof.

Hope you find this useful??? :-)

M
 
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