Restoring a Rice Europa help

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Potato!

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I have an Old Rice Europa which i would like to do up, First thing needed is a new floor, I phoned up Rice Richardson and was told that my Trailer is a German spec Rice Beaufort Double. when I described the trailer to them they agreed with me that their records must be wrong and that they couldn’t help. Other than they recommend treated softwood tongue and grooves ply at least 28mm think.

I have been quoted £650 for a company to do the floor which is really expensive. I will look at doing the floor myself as I work for a building company and may be able to get products at cost price. I’ve been told to put down wire mesh underneath the wooden floor just for a bit of extra security.

When i phoned another company they told me that they may not be able to do any repairs on my trailer as they are not sure wether they can get parts etc to comply with legal requirements they were going to charge £78 plus vat to come and tell me wether they can do it.

I dont know if it helps but the hitch is an Alko hitch (if anybody could hekp age my trailer from that)

Also does anybody have any tips as ive never done anything like this before?
 
It is important when removing the old wooden floor from the floor of the trailer and ramp that any rust found on the supporting cross members or side supports is prepared, welded, treated and primed.
Use marine ply as the final layer when you replace the floor boards.
Check that the tyres are in good condition and of the correct type (unfortunately many tyres have been found to be replaced by standard car tyres rather than trailer tyres). Trailer tyres require a pressure of about 60 - 80 p.s.i.
The wheels should be completely removed and the wheel bearings replaced if necessary and the brakes thoroughly checked and serviced. All the break linkage requires thorough examination and lubricating.
Again the tow hitch will require servicing by a specialist to ensure that it is working correctly.
Take a look at www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKqXL-6ORBA
 
Thank you, I ve just had a look at the trailer again, The floor is one layer of 18mm think ply with Rubber mats on top. The area which is soft and rotten is at the from of the trailer between the breast bar and the jockey door.
 
here are some of the phots of the Trailer in question.

TRAILERphoto.jpg

TRAILE1Rphoto.jpg

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hitchtrailer.jpg

Rphoto-1.jpg
 
When we renovated my old rice we took everything out, treated all the frame with hammerite and then put down a layer of ply (bog standard stuff of 12mm i think) followed by a layer of grooved decking layed side to side not front to back if you know what I mean. My theory is that the decking is treated and meant for outdoor use so should last and the grooves give some grip. Also the decking is cheap! The worst thing we found was getting all the old bolts off. We had to angle grind them all off as they were so old and wouldn't budge.

Looking to do the floor again this year (as been down 2 1/2 yrs) as better to be safe than sorry in my view. Considering putting down a sheet of aluminium instead of the ply but will make up my mind when I see what condition it's all in.

P.s I treated all the wood too before puting it in and got B&Q to cut it all to size for me. Much easier to fit in the car!

Enjoy
 
I have replaced a few Rice trailer floors, the way yours has been done is dangerous, even assuming its not rotten.

Ply sheets should not be fitted where there are large gaps between the supports, Rice have very large gaps.

These trailers originally had tongue and groove floor boards running back to front with hardwood planks running left to right. When I replace them I use a layer of ply instead of the hardwood planks but always still use the tongue and groove floorboards first.

Its possible the front & rear ramps and jockey door have already been replaced. Originally I think the most ramps would have been the same metal as the sides with thin planks put in the dips, they then stretched coconut matting over the whole thing. If they have just used ply on the ramps I wouldn't trust it.

As for the tow hitch you just need to check it hasn't worn down to the wear line and that its rated high enough for the gross weight.

It looks like the axles are Avonride (smaller wheels) not the old Land Rover ones which is good as you can still get spares from Avonride. If you look on the axles there is a plate which gives the reference number, you can then get spares easily.


I used to repair floor for just over £100 using materials from the second hand timber yard. As long as it was indoor timber it was fine. I never had a problem fitting the new floors but used to hate spending time with a grinder getting the old one out.

Cant find many pics of my old trailers, this is a Beaufort 2 x 16.2hh, would be about 16 years old now

71bccdb9.jpg


Avonride axles and tow hitch which has not at that time been replaced, it needed it shortly after. (Look at my oldies huge arse :D )

Back of same trailer
tillypassport2044.jpg
 
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Sorry to hijack the thread but:

Rocky's Mum - mine still has the old screw down type hitch/coupling..can you explain what the wear line is/where it is please? Considering replacing it but not sure if we'll ever get it off. Also - mine still has the original wood on the ramps which were still in mint condition when we took the coconut matting off. Have replaced with rubber matting instead.

Owlie - thanks for that video. Will be checking the wear on the coupling this weekend.

Many thanks
 
I thought as much when I saw the floor today. I will get a price for T&G floorboards and ply from work. The ramps I'm not sure about but they are heavy. They have like a carpet like material ( like office carpet) rather than coconut matting
 
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